Copley, South Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Copley South Australia
Copley Location in South Australia
Established	1891
Postcode(s)	5732
Elevation	237 m (778 ft)
Time zone	ACST (UTC+9:30)
• Summer (DST)	ACST (UTC+10:30)
Location	5 km (3 mi) northeast of Leigh Creek 265 km (165 mi) north of Port Augusta 540 km (336 mi) north of Adelaide
LGA(s)	Pastoral Unincorporated Area
Region	Far North
State electorate(s)	Stuart
Federal Division(s)	Grey
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 26.3 °C 79 °F 12.8 °C 55 °F 230.1 mm 9.1 in
Localities around Copley: Myrtle Springs Leigh Creek Station Leigh Creek Station Myrtle Springs Copley Leigh Creek Station Leigh Creek Leigh Creek North Moolooloo North Moolooloo
Footnotes	Climate Adjoining localities

Copley is a small town in the Australian state of South Australia. It's located in a part of the state known as the Far North.

How Copley Got Its Name

The town of Copley has an interesting history behind its name.

Officially Named Copley

The area next to the Leigh Creek Railway Station was officially named the Town of Copley on 27 August 1891. This was done through a special announcement called a proclamation. The town was named after William Copley. At that time, he was an important politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council for the Northern District. The Legislative Council is like a part of the government that helps make laws.

The Name Change Debate

For a while, there was some confusion because the railway station and post office were called "Leigh Creek," but the town itself was "Copley." A historian named Rodney Cockburn wrote about this. In 1916, a group called the Nomenclature Committee decided to change the name of the railway station and post office to Copley. This was to make sure everything had the same name.

The Committee felt it was confusing to have different names for the town and its services. They pointed out that the town of Copley was officially recognized under the Crown Lands Act. This law deals with how land is used and named. The name "Leigh Creek" for the station and post office wasn't as official.

However, the people living in the town were not happy about this change. They strongly protested against it at a public meeting. They wanted to keep the name Leigh Creek for the station and post office. Despite their protests, the name was changed to Copley for all government purposes.

Copley's Place in South Australia

Copley is part of different areas that help manage the state and country.

Government Areas

Copley is located within the federal division of Grey. This is an area used for national elections. It's also in the state electoral district of Stuart, which is an area for state elections.

Local Services

The town is part of the Pastoral Unincorporated Area of South Australia. This is a special region that doesn't have its own local council like most towns. Instead, a state government agency helps manage services for the community. As of 2016, the Outback Communities Authority provides services to Copley. These services are like the ones a local council would provide, such as looking after roads or rubbish collection.