Cleve, South Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cleve South Australia
Cleve Location in South Australia
Established	1879
Postcode(s)	5640
Elevation	196 m (643 ft)
Location	527 km (327 mi) North West of Adelaide
LGA(s)	District Council of Cleve
Region	Eyre Western
County	Jervois
State electorate(s)	Flinders
Federal Division(s)	Grey
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 22.0 °C 72 °F 11.3 °C 52 °F 964 mm 38 in
Localities around Cleve: Campoona Campoona Mangalo Miltalie Campoona Rudall Cleve Cowell Rudall Rudall Verran Arno Bay Cowell
Footnotes	Adjoining localities

Cleve is a small town in South Australia, located on the central Eyre Peninsula. It's about 226 kilometers southwest of Port Augusta and 143 kilometers north of Port Lincoln. Cleve is a farming town, known for its agriculture. In 2006, about 738 people lived there.

The town started in the 1850s, but it was officially set up about twenty years later. Today, Cleve is an important center for farmers and their suppliers on the Eyre Peninsula. Every two years, it hosts a big event called a field day. This event shows off the newest farming equipment and livestock.

History of Cleve

The first European settlers came to the Cleve area in 1853. They were three brothers named James, Peter, and Donald McKechnie. The first European woman arrived in 1862. These settlers started a sheep farm about 43 kilometers from where Cleve is today. They lived there until 1869. After Peter and Donald passed away, James went back to Scotland.

In 1873, George Melrose bought the farm. He had great success at first, shearing 30,000 sheep in his first year. But this didn't last. Dingos attacked his flock, and he also reported seeing rabbits for the first time on the Eyre Peninsula. Rabbits later became a big problem for farmers.

In 1878, the area where Cleve now stands was checked and measured. This was done to plan a new town. The town was needed to support the growing wool and crop industries. During this time, Arno Bay became the port where products from Cleve were shipped.

The town of Cleve was officially created on March 6, 1879. It was designed like a square grid, similar to the city of Adelaide. The main street and other streets were surrounded by North, East, South, and West Terraces. Outside this area, there were parklands, a school, and a golf course. The town was named after Cleve House in Devon, England. This was the home of the Snow family, who were cousins of Sir William Jervois, the Governor of South Australia at the time.

The Cleve school opened in 1886. It became well-known for teaching dryland farming techniques. Cleve has remained a top producer of grain and wool since it was founded. Other activities, like copper mining nearby, haven't been as successful.

Historic Places

Cleve has a few sites that are listed as heritage places. These include:

• Cleve-Cowell Road: Sims Farm Homstead
• off Cleve Road: Yeldulknie Cottage
• off Cleve Road: Yeldulknie Weir

Geography and Landscape

Cleve is located in the central eastern part of the Eyre Peninsula. This is a large, triangular piece of land in South Australia. The natural features of the land, like its rocks and hills, affect how the land is used and what plants grow there. Since Europeans settled here, the landscape has changed a lot. Now, most of the land is used for farming. There are still some areas with native plants. The Cleve Hills are a major feature of the region. They have areas where natural plant life is protected.

Rocks and Soils

The town of Cleve sits on very old rocks. These rocks have changed a lot over millions of years due to heat and pressure. The area has rocks like schists, gneisses, and granites. These rocks are part of something called the Hutchison Group. They formed between 600 and 2300 million years ago. The land was shaped by huge movements of the Earth's crust that formed Australia.

Just south of Cleve, there's a clear change in the rock layers. Newer layers of sediments (like sand and mud) were laid down less than 1 million years ago. These newer layers are from rivers and slopes.

The soils around Cleve are closely linked to the types of rocks in the area. Cleve often has sandy loam soils on top of clay in the hills and on most slopes. This soil is sometimes called 'Cleve soil'. It's very good for farming if it's deep enough to hold water. However, it can easily be washed away by rain, especially on steep slopes. Many soils in the area also contain a lot of limestone, especially away from the hills.

Weather in Cleve

Cleve has a hot Mediterranean climate. This means it has very warm, dry summers and mild, somewhat wet winters. Temperatures change throughout the year. In January, the average high is about 28.3°C. In July, the average high is about 15.3°C. The average low in February is about 16.1°C, and in July, it's about 7.2°C.

The area gets about 402.2 millimeters of rain each year. Most of this rain falls in winter. It usually rains about 108 days a year. The rainfall is generally not enough to cause big floods in the town. However, the Cleve Hills collect rainwater for Salt Creek. Localized flooding has been reported in the valleys of the hills. The highest temperature ever recorded was 46.0°C in January 2019. The lowest was 0.2°C in June 1972.

Plants and Animals

The most common type of plant life in the Cleve area is called Open Scrub. This is typical for the mid-eastern Eyre Peninsula. It includes different kinds of Mallee trees and Melaleuca uncinata, also known as broombush.

The southern Cleve hills have a wider variety of plants. Here you might find Open Scrub with Mallee trees and Saltbush. This includes trees like Eucalyptus porosa and Eucalyptus oleosa, with Atriplex vesicaria (bladder saltbush) growing underneath.

You can also find Low Open Forest in the hills. This forest has sheoaks (Allocasuarina verticillata) and various Acacia species. Native grasses and heath plants also grow here. Blue gum woodlands are found mainly in the valleys of the Cleve Hills and along creeklines.

The native fauna (animals) of the region used to include euros and western grey kangaroos. These animals were common. However, their numbers went down after land was cleared for farming. Also, new species like rabbits and foxes were introduced, which caused problems for native animals.

Cleve's Economy

Cleve's economy depends a lot on farming, especially on how much rain falls. The main products from local farms are grain from different cereal crops and wool from sheep. Because Cleve doesn't get a lot of rain, farmers use special methods called dryland farming. These methods help them grow crops successfully. The local school even teaches these techniques in its agriculture courses.

The town has many shops and services. You can find a supermarket, clothing stores, and places to buy art and craft supplies. There are also banks, medical services, a butcher, a post office, and places to buy farm supplies. You'll also find a hotel, car repair services, a news agency, a garden center, and a pharmacy.

Tourism is a smaller part of Cleve's economy. Events like the 'Eyre Peninsula Field Days' and other yearly events bring visitors, mostly those interested in farming. There are also some attractions in town, like murals, parks, and Ticklebelly Hill, which offers a view over Cleve.

Community Life

Cleve has many community facilities and groups for health, education, sports, and culture. For health, Cleve has a modern hospital with 20 beds. It serves the Cleve District and has local general practitioners and a physiotherapist. Several specialist doctors also visit the hospital.

The Eyre Peninsula Field Days is a big event that lasts three days. It happens in Cleve every second August in even-numbered years. Other yearly events include the agricultural show and a Christmas pageant.

Local News

The regional newspaper for the area is called the Eyre Peninsula Tribune. Its main office is on Main Street in Cleve. This newspaper has been published every week since March 1911 and serves the surrounding region.

Learning in Cleve

Cleve has good education options. There's childcare, an area school, and a TAFE campus. Cleve Area School is a well-known agricultural school in South Australia. It specializes in dryland agriculture. In 2005, some students at the school got perfect scores in their agriculture subjects. The school won an award in 2005 for teaching good land management practices. It was also a finalist for a national award in 2006.

Sports and Activities

Cleve offers many sports and clubs. You can play basketball, lawn bowls, cricket, football, golf, netball, pistol shooting, and tennis. There's also a pony and hunt club, softball, and a swimming pool. Many of these sports teams compete in local leagues.

Who Lives in Cleve?

In the 2006 Census, there were 738 people living in Cleve. About 49.6% were males and 50.4% were females. A small number, 0.4%, were Indigenous persons. About 19.3% of the people were children aged 0–14 years. About 33.1% were 55 years and older. The average age of people in Cleve was 41 years.

Most people in Cleve (93.5%) were Australian citizens. About 90.8% were born in Australia. Other common birthplaces included England (1.9%) and Zimbabwe (0.5%).

For religious beliefs, the most common were Uniting Church (26.0%), No Religion (15.9%), Catholic (15.1%), Anglican (13.1%), and Lutheran (9.6%).

Getting Around Cleve

Cleve is not on the main highways of the Eyre Peninsula. However, it is located where the Arno Bay-Cleve and Cowell roads meet. Both of these roads are paved. You can also take other routes on unpaved dirt roads.

Most people get to Cleve by car. There is also a regular coach (bus) service called Stateliner. This bus connects Cleve with other towns on the Eyre Peninsula, including Port Lincoln. You can also use these services to get to Cleve from Adelaide. Another option is to take the SeaSA Ferry from Wallaroo to Lucky Bay, which helps cut down travel time.