When the Foundation Act of 1834 was signed declaring all land in South Australia to be "waste and unoccupied", the aborigines were, in effect, dispossessed of their lands. This expropriation of land, combined with the smallpox epidemic which swept down the River Murray from the Eastern States, followed by epidemics of measles, influenza and the common cold, led to a decline in the numbers of the Peramangk people. The Peramangk people were not known to be confrontational to settlers and there are reports that Hahndorf settlers had been shown how to catch possums and where to find edible roots by them. By the early 1900s it was believed that there were no Peramangk people still alive, but a number of people now know that they have Peramangk ancestry, as well as other Aboriginal ancestry, and can identify as living descendants of the original Hills people. For more information, see the Adelaide Hills Council History & Heritage website . [external website]

The map is a section of a topographic map that is located at the Mount Barker Library (History Section). This map is believed to have been made c.1930 but was drawn to represent the district around the turn of the century.
Click here for a larger map.

The original Little Hampton Town Plan was drawn by Benjamin Grey C. 1857. In 1908, it was still Little Hampton but some years later it evolved into Littlehampton. Also see the map (above) showing 'Little Hampton'.

During WW1 there was intense anti-German sentiment, which led to the 1916 South Australian Government decision to erase German heritage, renaming 69 towns and districts with British or Aboriginal names. Some were reversed in 1935 but some were not reversed.
Click here for a full list of changed place names.
Source: The South Australian Government Gazette Jan 10 1918 (page 37).

Localities (under development - please visit later.)

    Andrewville
    Blakiston
    Craigdarroch
    Dawesley
    Grunthal (now Verdun)
    Little Hampton (now Littlehampton)
    Mount Barker
    Nairne
    New Hamburg
    Staughton & St.Ives
    Totness
    Willyaroo