District Council of Yankalilla

The Fleurieu Peninsula was originally inhabited by the Indigenous Kaurna people, who openly met with the Ramindjeri and other peoples for trade and exchanges.[7] Aboriginal myth credits the formation of the land forms of the Fleurieu Peninsula to the travels of Tjilbruke as he grieved carrying the body of his nephew from the Sturt River to Cape Jervis.[8]

Evidence of Megafauna, including bones attributed to Diprotodon, Maesopus – the giant kangaroo and Thylacoleo – a marsupial lion, was discovered in the 1890s. A Diprotodon leg bone was found in a swamp in the 1890s and conjecture surrounds the possibility that the animals were hunted by local aboriginal groups.[9]

The Fleurieu Peninsula was first mapped by Europeans in 1802 with both the French Nicholas Baudin and the English Matthew Flinders travelling the coastline, with Baudin giving Fleurieu Peninsula its name.

William Light was the first to land on the mainland, at Rapid Bay in 1836, and declared the area "rich beyond expectation". His report resulted in the early intensive settlement of the area and the district was considered for the site of the new settlement of South Australia, before further surveying showed the site of Adelaide to be superior.[10]

Governor Hindmarsh recorded the aboriginal pronunciation of "Yoongalilla", as applied to the district and noted this in dispatches of 1837. Other legends as to the origin of the name exist, with some claims that the area was named after an American "Yankie" whaler, whose kind frequented the area at the time. There is little evidence for most of these theories however. In 1911, the town was officially proclaimed Yankalilla, which was to later become the name of the district.[11]

Whalers and sealers became the first Europeans to establish semi-permanently in the district in the early 19th century, with a whaling station established at Fisheries Beach, but a combination of shipwrecks, decreasing whale numbers and the petroleum industry forced its closure in 1855.[12]

Farming land in the district was also surveyed for purchase in 1838, with land released in 1840 and communities established at Myponga, Second Valley, Rapid Bay and later at Yankalilla. Sheep, potatoes and wheat were the first produce, with a variety of other crops grown later, including milling and the extraction of tannins from wattle bark prevalent in the district. Second Valley, Normanville and Yankalilla all had jetties constructed to serve the increasing demand for export.[10]

In 1852 the South Australian Government proclaimed an Act of Parliament appointing District Councils to administer local affairs. The District Council of Yankalilla was constituted on 5 April 1854.

The district has remained an important one to the State, transforming from the early days of European settlement as a vital connection for resources, to an integral part of South Australia's tourism interests and links between the mainland and Kangaroo Island.