Melrose, South Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melrose South Australia
Melrose Township with Mount Remarkable in background
Melrose Location in South Australia
Established	1840
Postcode(s)	5483
Location	265 km (165 mi) N of Adelaide city centre 65 km (40 mi) E of Port Augusta
LGA(s)	District Council of Mount Remarkable
State electorate(s)	Stuart
Federal Division(s)	Grey
Website	Melrose
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall  ? ? 550 mm 21.7 in
Localities around Melrose: Wilmington Wilmington Willowie Wilmington Baroota Melrose Booleroo Centre Baroota Bangor Murray Town Murray Town
Footnotes	Adjoining localities

Melrose is a historic town in the Flinders Ranges area of South Australia. It is the oldest town in this beautiful mountain range. The town was once known as "Mount Remarkable" because it is very close to the actual Mount Remarkable mountain.

Melrose is famous for being near Mount Remarkable and the National Park. It also has a popular caravan park and interesting old places like Jacka's brewery and the Melrose Courthouse.

History of Melrose

People are not entirely sure how Melrose got its name. One idea is that the person who surveyed the town named it after George Melrose. George Melrose helped him when he was sick.

Another story says that Alexander Campbell, a landowner, settled here in 1844. He might have named the area after his hometown, Melrose, in Scotland. A historian named Geoff Manning believes the town was named by A. L. Elder. Elder was a director of the Mount Remarkable Mining Company. He was a proud Scotsman and likely named it after Melrose in Scotland.

The first European explorer to visit this area was Edward John Eyre in 1840. Farmers and sheep graziers started settling here about ten years later. Copper was found in 1846, and mining began. However, it wasn't very profitable, so mining stopped in 1851. The mine opened and closed a few more times, with the last closure in 1917.

In 1893, when many people didn't have jobs, Wilton Hack started a special farming community here. At its busiest, about 130 settlers worked on 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of land. After some bad farming seasons, about half the settlers left by 1895. The government closed the village in 1896.

The police station in Melrose opened in 1848. It was the first permanent police station in the region. It was also the base for the largest police district in the world! One constable, two troopers, and an Aboriginal tracker were in charge of a huge area. This area stretched all the way to the Timor Sea.

The Wilmington railway line from Gladstone opened near Melrose in 1915. It closed in 1990. The train station was about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) north of the town. Melrose is also located on the Horrocks Highway, which used to be called Main North Road.

Melrose Heritage Sites

Melrose has many places that are important to its history. These sites are protected because they are part of the town's heritage. Some of these include:

• 3 Brewery Street: Keating Cottage
• Melrose to Orroroo Road: Mount Remarkable Woolshed
• Melrose to Orroroo Road: Mount Remarkable Station
• Mount Street: Jacka's Brewery and Yard Walls
• near Melrose: Rankine's Hut
• Lot 2 Spratt Street: Timber Slab Dwelling
• Stuart Street: Melrose Post Office
• Stuart Street: Melrose Courthouse and Police Station
• Stuart Street: Mount Remarkable Inn
• 22-24 Stuart Street: Blacksmith Shop and Dwelling
• 13 Whitby Street: Timber Slab Dwelling

Jacka's Brewery History

Jacka's Brewery was a family business started by Joseph Jacka in 1877. Joseph and his brother William had already leased the land for the brewery. The Jacka family also owned the North Star Hotel in Melrose. They were experienced brewers, having owned a brewery in another town before.

Joseph continued brewing in Melrose, and William moved to Burra. Jacka's brewery was very successful and popular with local people. Joseph bought more land and made the brewery bigger. Jacka's brewery delivered beer to Port Pirie and Port Augusta. They used special wagons pulled by eight horses to travel through the Flinders Ranges. William returned to the brewery in 1901 after his brother Joseph passed away. He helped his nephew William J.S. Jacka run the business. The brewery stopped making beer in 1934. This was because of World War I and the Great Depression, which made it too hard to keep the business going.

Melrose Cemetery History

Melrose Cemetery was started in the 1860s. Local newspapers mentioned its opening. For example, the South Australian Register wrote about a whooping cough outbreak in 1863. This epidemic caused many new graves to be dug soon after the cemetery opened. About ten years later, the South Australian Register still called it "new." They also said pigs were rooting around in it, suggesting the council should take better care of the grounds.

Today, gardens are on the site of the old cemetery. These gardens honor the people buried there.

Indigenous People of Melrose

Nukunu People

The Nukunu Indigenous people lived east of Melrose and Mount Remarkable. The name 'Nukunu' might come from a term used by the Kaurna tribe. Efforts are being made to help the Nukunu language be spoken again.

The Nukunu people's history is seen in local place names. For example, the property 'Bartagunyah' means 'home of the Bardi Grubs'.

Adnyamathanha People

The Adnyamathanha people also lived in the northern Flinders Ranges. They have lived in this area for thousands of years.

Tourism and Landmarks in Melrose

Today, Melrose is a popular spot for people visiting the Mount Remarkable National Park. It is also a hub for local farmers.

The Melrose Tennis Club holds a tennis tournament every Easter weekend. The final games are played on Monday morning. About 200 people usually join in the different tennis events.

In June, Melrose hosts the Fat Tyre Festival. This is a fun event for off-road bikes. People explore local bike trails and show off unique "freak bikes."

In August, Melrose is home to the King of the Mount trail race. This is a race to the top of Mount Remarkable. Runners and walkers climb over 600 metres (2,000 feet) along a 7.7-kilometre (4.8-mile) trail.

Melrose also has a caravan park that welcomes 100,000 tourists each year. The town has many other sites and activities that attract visitors all year round.

Paradise Square Park

Paradise Square was the first cemetery in Melrose. It is located near the Melrose Heritage Centre. About 128 burials took place in Paradise Square. It closed in the 1850s when the new Melrose Cemetery was established. Some burials from Paradise Square were later moved to the new cemetery.

In 1890, on Arbor Day, 70 trees were planted where Paradise Square used to be. These trees were replaced by tennis courts in 1925. The tennis courts were later removed. Now, beautiful gardens are there to remember the people buried in Paradise Square.

Bartagunyah Winery and Estate Activities

Bartagunyah Estate and Winery is about 5 kilometres (3 miles) from Melrose. Its closeness makes it a popular tourist spot for the town. The Nukunu people, who are Indigenous to the Melrose area, originally named the land. The name means 'home of the bardy grubs'. The property was used for farm animals in the 1930s. In 1997, it became a vineyard and winery.

Visitors can try wine tasting and enjoy many ecotourism activities. These include mountain biking on ridge top trails. You can also camp with amazing views of the Willochra Plain. Four-wheel drive tours are also available.

Old Emu Foot Tree

Old Emu Foot is known as the largest tree in South Australia. It is special because of its width more than its height. It is also the biggest River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in Australia. Experts compared its size to other large trees across Australia.

Kym Knight, an expert, nominated the tree as the largest River Red Gum. He believes the tree is about 400 years old.

Old Emu Foot is not a tourist attraction because it is on private land. It is not easy for the public to visit. It sits about 1.2 kilometres (0.75 miles) from the Melrose Showgrounds. It is in a sheep paddock owned by farmer David McCallum.

The tree is 35 metres (115 feet) tall. Its trunk is 14.82 metres (48.6 feet) around. Its crown, or top part, is 29 metres (95 feet) wide.

Wilochra Creek

On the west side of Melrose, the Wilochra Creek flows northwards. This creek has fresh water. It is home to freshwater leeches, ducks, frogs, and water insects. In some places, the creek can be up to two metres (6.6 feet) deep. Bike trails cross the creek many times and follow along its path.

Education in Melrose

Melrose has several places for learning, including:

• Melrose Primary School
• Melrose Kindergarten
• Terka township
• Wilmington Primary School
• Wilmington Kindergarten
• Booleroo Centre District School