Wind farm power generator. Near Millicent in South Australia.
Millicent.
The town sits on a remnant sand dune in a flat limestone area, with volcanic soils nearby with views of Mr Burr an old volcano. Any history of the town has to look at drainage schemes for the swamps and areas of annual flooding between Millicent and the Woakwine range near the coast. In 1844 Governor Grey, Charles Bonney (the lake was named after him) and Thomas Burr, Deputy Surveyor General explored the South east for suitable areas for settlement. A year later Sir Samuel Davenport (of Macclesfield) occupied a run in the Millicent area. He called it the Rivoli Bay run. Davenport was a great land speculator and city gentleman so he sent down Mr. George Glen in 1846 to run the property. In 1851 George Glen took over the leasehold from Davenport in partnership with William Vansittart a wealthy Irishman from Mt Gambier. Vansittart was accidentally killed in 1854 and left Glen as sole owner of Mayura run. Materials were carted from Rivoli Bay to build a homestead for Glen which was called Mayura in 1857, the year he married Millecent Short. She was the daughter of Bishop Augusta Short, a neighbor of the Davenports at Beaumont. The town three miles from Mayura was gazetted by the government in 1871 and became known as Millicent. As the years went by parts of the Mayura run were resumed as Hundreds were declared for survey and settlement. But settlers faced a major problem with flooding near Millicent.
The first South East drainage scheme happened in 1863 when a cutting was made at Narrow Neck near Rivoli Bay (Beachport.) Drainage works were taken over by the Surveyor General’s Department in 1866 and George Goyder visited the South East to inspect for himself. Then Wyrie Swamp and the Muirhead Flats were drained and this became the site for the proposed town of Millicent. This involved a cutting 858 feet long and up to 28 feet deep at Milne’s Gap. The drains, completed in 1869 all ended up in Lake Bonney. The early settlers also had the problem of coast disease, a disease that eventually killed many sheep. Henry Marston of the 90 Mile Desert fame solved this problem too by discovering that a deficiency of cobalt and copper which were absent from the pastures was the problem. From 1935 sheep were fed a cobalt pellet to stop the wasting disease.
One of the first buildings in Millicent was the Somerset Hotel erected in 1872 for Aaron Lane. He also built hotels at Southend, Beachport and Tantanoola. The façade of the Somerset was changed in the 1920s. The Old School was built in 1873 for 76 pupils. In the 1920s it became Millicent High School until the new high school was built in 1935. The new Primary School was built in 1910 in mock gothic Tudor revival style. Davenport requested police protection for the district in 1846 against the aboriginal people but the first policeman was not stationed here until 1874. Today the town has about 6,000 residents. Mt Muirhead which can be seen from the town is an extinct volcano.
Wind farm power generator. Near Millicent in South Australia.
Millicent.
The town sits on a remnant sand dune in a flat limestone area, with volcanic soils nearby with views of Mr Burr an old volcano. Any history of the town has to look at drainage schemes for the swamps and areas of annual flooding between Millicent and the Woakwine range near the coast. In 1844 Governor Grey, Charles Bonney (the lake was named after him) and Thomas Burr, Deputy Surveyor General explored the South east for suitable areas for settlement. A year later Sir Samuel Davenport (of Macclesfield) occupied a run in the Millicent area. He called it the Rivoli Bay run. Davenport was a great land speculator and city gentleman so he sent down Mr. George Glen in 1846 to run the property. In 1851 George Glen took over the leasehold from Davenport in partnership with William Vansittart a wealthy Irishman from Mt Gambier. Vansittart was accidentally killed in 1854 and left Glen as sole owner of Mayura run. Materials were carted from Rivoli Bay to build a homestead for Glen which was called Mayura in 1857, the year he married Millecent Short. She was the daughter of Bishop Augusta Short, a neighbor of the Davenports at Beaumont. The town three miles from Mayura was gazetted by the government in 1871 and became known as Millicent. As the years went by parts of the Mayura run were resumed as Hundreds were declared for survey and settlement. But settlers faced a major problem with flooding near Millicent.
The first South East drainage scheme happened in 1863 when a cutting was made at Narrow Neck near Rivoli Bay (Beachport.) Drainage works were taken over by the Surveyor General’s Department in 1866 and George Goyder visited the South East to inspect for himself. Then Wyrie Swamp and the Muirhead Flats were drained and this became the site for the proposed town of Millicent. This involved a cutting 858 feet long and up to 28 feet deep at Milne’s Gap. The drains, completed in 1869 all ended up in Lake Bonney. The early settlers also had the problem of coast disease, a disease that eventually killed many sheep. Henry Marston of the 90 Mile Desert fame solved this problem too by discovering that a deficiency of cobalt and copper which were absent from the pastures was the problem. From 1935 sheep were fed a cobalt pellet to stop the wasting disease.
One of the first buildings in Millicent was the Somerset Hotel erected in 1872 for Aaron Lane. He also built hotels at Southend, Beachport and Tantanoola. The façade of the Somerset was changed in the 1920s. The Old School was built in 1873 for 76 pupils. In the 1920s it became Millicent High School until the new high school was built in 1935. The new Primary School was built in 1910 in mock gothic Tudor revival style. Davenport requested police protection for the district in 1846 against the aboriginal people but the first policeman was not stationed here until 1874. Today the town has about 6,000 residents. Mt Muirhead which can be seen from the town is an extinct volcano.