Contents
Home
Location
Playground
Images
History
Underwater
Beach cleaning
Beach worms
Links
News Letter
Updates
Guestbook
The Kaurna (pronounced garna) tribe inhabited the Adelaide Plains area for thousands of years. Their territory stretched from Port Wakefield in the north to Cape Jervis in the south and east to the Mount Lofty Ranges.
The Kaurna people were hunter gatherers. They lived in family groups of 20 to 30 and moved seasonally between areas. Dwellings were of a temporary nature and usually dome shaped and constructed of readily available materials such as branches, bark etc. The existence of a burial ground had been reported in Old Noarlunga opposite the site of the Horseshoe Inn. In 1842 there were about 650 individuals in an area of 300,000 square miles. A population density of one person per 4.5 square miles. 100 years after the advent of European occupation the Kaurna people had virtually disappeared. Their traditional lifestyle and habitat destroyed by land clearing, processed food, alcohol and introduced disease such as smallpox. Aboriginal place names of interest in the area and their meanings are as follows.
Noarlunga....(No-Orlunga)...."fishing place" although some suggest it means "the place with the hill". To further confuse matters it is also suggested it may be derived from nurlo-ngga-nurlo "curvature or elbow" (suggesting the shape of the river)
Onkaparinga.. Also known as the following...Ponkepurringa Creek (Barker given name by local Aborigines), Unkaparinga (Arrowsmiths 1841 plan), ogangkiparri (Teichelmann and Schurmann) , Ungkeperringga (Dr Wyatt) or Ngangki-parri-unga. The meaning would appear to be "women's camp by the river" or "the place of the women's river". It is believed to be so named because the local tribe used to hide their women along the upper reaches to protect them from raids by tribesmen from the Encounter Bay and Murray River areas.
| DATE | EVENT |
| 1802 | Matthew Flinders charted coastline |
| 1805-1828 | Visits from whalers and sealers and escaped convicts |
| 1831 | Captain Collet Barker looking for outlets for Lake Alexandrina ventured into Onkaparinga Estuary on April 17th. He was later killed by natives at the Murray Mouth. |
| 1836 | Colony established at Holdfast Bay |
| 1837 | First expedition to Noarlunga area to recover 2 horses that had strayed from near the Sturt Creek. The expedition encountered local natives at Port Noarlunga. After initial cautious contact, a corroboree and a hunting expedition the party proceeded to Old Noarlunga where horse prints were discovered. The horses were no longer in evidence and the expedition returned to Holdfast Bay the next day accompanied by a party of aborigines. The party were met by Governor Hindmarsh. The Aboriginies accepted pork fat, sugar and blankets. |
| 1839 | Settlement of area commenced |
| 1841 | Noarlunga district population estimated to be 150. Whip well put down at the corner of Witton Road and Gawler Street. |
| 1843 | Flour mill in operation at at Old Noarlunga |
| 1844 | Reference to Onkaparinga River being 20 feet deep nearly all the way to the sea. Although too shallow at mouth to be navigated. |
| 1855 | Tramway and tunnel constructed from "bulge in river" to jetty to transport flour from barge to jetty |
| 1878 | Jetty extended to 578 feet. |
| 1921 | Old Jetty had been condemned and new jetty constructed. The old jetty was about 100 feet south of the current one. At certain times of the year it is possible to see the remains of the old piles near the shore. |
More information on the history of the District is available from the following publications.
THE HISTORY OF THE NOARLUNGA DISTRICT by MAX COLWELL...available for loan from the Onkaparinga Library call number 994.2213. Copies may also be purchased from the post office at Port Noarlunga. Cost is around $6.
A FORTUNATE LOCALITY A HISTORY OF NOARLUNGA AND DISTRICT by DAVID J TOWLER....published by The City of Noarlunga. ISBN 0 909209 11 1 available for loan from Onkaparinga Library (Noarlunga) call number 994.23243.
PORT NOARLUNGA AN ENDEARING COASTAL TOWN 1840-1998 by LITA MARTELLA. This is also available from the Post Office at Port Noarlunga cost around $30. 200 pages packed with lots of interesting pictures and stories. Lita can be contacted at 34 Anderson Avenue, Port Noarlunga, 5167. Her phone number is (08) 83825197.
|
Book chapter titles are, 1. Early History 2. Pioneer Families 3. The District 4. Local Goverment and Organisation 5. Personalities and Enterprises 6. Churches 7. Government Agencies 8. Private Commercial Ventures 9. Recreational 10. Sporting Clubs |
|