Place Names of South Australia - B
Blanchewater - Blumberg
Blanchewater
See Register,27 October 1856, page 3f,
7 November 1856, page 2e and
3 January 1857, page 2f for accounts of Babbage's exploration.
Also see notes Place Names - Babbage and Place Names - Paralana.
The Register of
10 June 1865, page 2d carries a report on the murder of a shepherd by Aborigines:
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The blacks are getting very troublesome. They have killed one of Mr. Jacob's shepherds, a young man named Walter Gerald... The wild dogs have eaten the poor fellow's feet off. The only thing the natives left with him were his boots, and they were by his side... If the police don't come up here and put a stop to their goings on there will be more mischief done by them...
A photograph of the station is in the Chronicle,
29 March 1934, page 7.
Blanchewater - Blumberg
B
Place Names
Bletchley
Nomenclature
Eight kilometres east of Strathalbyn. On 1 November 1853 'David Jones, of Mount Barker' obtained the land grant of section 2655, Hundred of Strathalbyn and on 13 August 1856, upon receipt of ten shillings, he sold one acre on the northern side to the 'Trustees of the Methodist Connexion' (sic).
Its post office was opened by Thomas Tapson in October 1868. There is a town and parish of Bletchley in Buckinghamshire, England which in 1222 was written as blecheslee - 'Blecca's leah (meadow)'. David Jones (1825-1915), emigrated from that county in the Caucasian in 1852 and gave the name to his property.
General Notes
The laying of the foundation stone of the Wesleyan Chapel is reported in the Register,
10 September 1856, page 3h and
its opening on
25 March 1857, page 3g;
Observer,
28 March 1857, page 6h:
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The corner stone of the new Wesleyan Chapel was laid on 1 September 1856 by the wives of the trustees. After prayer a document was read on which were the names of the Wesleyan ministers of the colony, Trustees of the chapel, etc. The said paper and a copy of the Mount Barker circuit plan for the present quarter were sealed in a bottle and placed with the Observer newspaper under the stone...
Its school opened in 1868 and closed in 1956; see Register,
29 November 1906, page 6d.
An obituary of Mrs Jane Tink is in the Register,
1 January 1914, page 6a,
of Francis Shields on 12 March 1919, page 6h.
Biographical details of J.M. Hudd are in the Register,
3 August 1915, page 3f.
Reminiscences of the district by William Brooks are in the Observer,
7 August 1915, page 11b.
A photograph of "Ruffy", a "clever dog" owned by Mrs C. Hassam, is in the Chronicle,
5 July 1924, page 36.
Blanchewater - Blumberg
B
Place Names
Blewitt Springs
Nomenclature
About 13 km north-east of Willunga. Mary Evans (nee Blewitt, nee Orchard), wife of the surveyor William Greig Evans.
General Notes
Its school opened in 1935 and closed in 1970.
A field day is reported upon in the Chronicle, 4 March 1937, page 5c:
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Mr. DuBois took up a scrub block 15 years ago... Some idea of the size of the timber, he said, could be gained from the fact that one tree cut 420 vine trellis posts and provided enough material to timber a 20 feet well... Mr. Dowdell is one of the original settlers and his tobacco was equal to any seen in South Australia... The curing barn that he has erected was full of leaf...
Blanchewater - Blumberg
B
Place Names
Bligh
Nomenclature
The name was changed to "Arno Bay" on 19 September 1940.
Also see Place Names - Arno Bay
The Register of 28 February 1924, page 13d says it was named in 'honour of the Hon. Ivo Bligh who came to Australia with a team of English cricketers a good many years ago.' Sir Pelham Warner in The Book of Cricket at pp. 121-22 says, inter alia:
-
After the conclusion of Murdoch's tour [of England in 1882] the Hon. Ivo Bligh - 'St. Ivo' as he was called in Australia - set forth to recover the Ashes, and winning two out of three matches was presented with an urn containing some ashes, which stands in the pavilion at Lord's today... Unfortunately, in a sense, 'St. Ivo' was persuaded to play a fourth match... which he lost, and the historians still argue as to whether he did in point of fact regain the Ashes.
'How the Ashes Originated' is discussed in the Advertiser, 12 January 1933, page 8:
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A party of Melbourne women put some ashes into a small black urn and gave it to... [Hon Ivo Bligh]... On [his] death [it] became the property of the MCC and is now in the pavilion at Lord's...
The English team arrived at Glenelg on Friday, 10 November 1882 in the Peshawar and that evening Gov Jervois, patron of the South Australian Cricket Association (see SA Directory, 1882, p.465), entertained them at a vice-regal dinner (see Register, 11 November 1882, page 5).
On 17 November 1882, in respect of a recently surveyed town to be named in the Hundred of Boothby, Governor Jervois appears to have first written the word 'Darnley' on the Government docket, struck that out and substituted 'Bligh'.
The Hon. Ivo Francis W. Bligh was the second son of the 6th Earl of Darnley and in 1900 he himself became the 8th Earl. (SeeThe CompletePeerage, Vol IV, 1916, pp. 85-86 and GRG 35/1, docket no. 1952 of 1882 at State Records Office.) (Also see under Place Names - Cobham.)
The English team arrived at Glenelg on Friday, 10 November 1882 in the Peshawar and that evening Gov Jervois, patron of the South Australian Cricket Association (see SA Directory, 1882, p.465), entertained them at a vice-regal dinner (see Register, 11 November 1882, page 5b).
On 17 November 1882, in respect of a recently surveyed town to be named in the Hundred of Boothby, Governor Jervois appears to have first written the word "Darnley" on the Government docket, struck that out and substituted "Bligh".
Gov Jervois left South Australia for New Zealand on 8 January 1883 in the Clyde; thus the "official" naming of the town was undertaken in the Government Gazette by the Lt-Governor, Sir Samuel Way on 18 January 1883.
Ivo Bligh's marriage in Victoria is reported in the Advertiser, 15 February 1884, page 7f.
Blanchewater - Blumberg
B
Place Names
Blinman
Nomenclature
In 1859, Robert Blinman (c.1802-1880), a shepherd on the 'Angorichina Run' was sitting on a hilltop tending his sheep when he noticed signs of copper in an outcrop of rock. He interested a number of Adelaide businessmen, including Henry Martin, and the upshot was the formation of a syndicate, which sold the lease in 1862 for £70 000 to the Yudnamutana Copper Company.
General Notes
A cricket match is reported in the Register, 4 June 1863, page 2f:
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The Queen's birthday was duly recognised as a general holiday and the men employed here amused themselves with a cricket match... After the game was over the men were provided by the kindness of Captain Anthony with a substantial dinner and spent a very pleasant evening together, enlivening their meeting with glees, songs, dancing, etc.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Cricket - Miscellany.
The Blinman Mine School opened in 1864,
while the Blinman School opened in 1868 and closed in 1980.
The opening of a chapel is reported in the Observer,
6 July 1867, page 4h.
A complaint as to the location of the post office is made in the Register,
21 and 28 May 1868, pages 3e and 3b.
Information on the mine is in the Chronicle,
8 April 1871, page 4f.
Also see South Australia - Mining - Coal.
"Township Perplexities" appears in the Register,
30 July 1868, page 2g,
while North and South Blinman are described in the Register,
30 July 1868, page 2g,
Observer,
17 March 1877, page 19d,
15 September 1888, page 28a,
Advertiser,
10 May 1888, page 6e,
Register,
17 October 1892, page 7d,
21 December 1899, page 5f; also see
Advertiser,
17 February 1887, page 3f.
Photographs are in the Observer,
26 August 1905, page 29,
20 April 1907, page 29,
8 February 1919, page 26,
9 August 1924, page 34.
Historical information is in the Register,
8 July 1922, page 7f.
The reopening of the mine is reported in the Register,
24 May 1882, page 5f.
"The Blinman Mine - A Hive of Industry" is in the Advertiser,
21 November 1906, page 7f,
20 and 26 February 1907, pages 8f and 11a,
"The Blinman District" in the Chronicle,
2 March 1907, page 41.
Photographs are in the Chronicle,
24 November 1906, page 41.
"Blinman Paper Currency" is in the Observer,
24 April 1869, page 4d,
8 May 1869, page 4e,
21 August 1869, page 4c.
A horse race meeting is reported in the Chronicle,
4 January 1868, page 11d,
Observer,
15 January 1870, page 2f.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Horse Racing.
An Aboriginal feast in the town is discussed in the Register, 14 January 1870, page 5b:
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[They] were regaled with bread, mutton and plum pudding... 70 Aborigines put in an appearance and speedily disposed of 16 quarters of mutton and 70-80 loaves of bread and 12 large plum puddings, the last affording about half a pound each... Mr Blood of Kapunda was on the ground with a photographic apparatus...
9 October 1869, page 5g.
Also see South Australia - Immigration - Migrants.
An interesting account of the exploits of a mail coach driver, Mr Barnes, is in the Register,
12 September 1872, page 5b.
"A Trip to Blinman" from Adelaide is described in the Register,
14 and 15 September 1888, pages 6e and 5h; also see
24 September 1888, page 6h,
1 October 1888, page 7g,
Advertiser,
10 August 1928, page 15d.
Also see South Australia - Transport - Horse Coaches.
"Telegraph to Blinman" is in the Advertiser,
19 December 1872, page 2d.
Also see South Australia - Communications - Telegraphic - Miscellany.
The Register of 7 February 1873 at page 5e reports the "newly surveyed township at Blinman's Well" - no evidence of this is to be found within the Department of Lands.
"The Blinman Cemetery" is in the Observer,
3 May 1873, page 6g.
"The Wants of Blinman" is in the Register,
21 July 1875, page 5d.
"Blinman Mail Experience" is in the Register,
15 April 1876, page 5c.
Also see South Australia - Communications - Mail and Postal.
A complimentary dinner for the explorer, Ernest Giles, is reported in the Register,
22 September 1876, page 5f.
A trip from Blinman to Sliding Rock is described in the Register,
12 March 1877, page 6d; also see
15 March 1877, page 5a where North and South Blinman are visited.
"A Deplorable State of Affairs" in the district is reported upon in the Register,
27 April 1877, page 5a.
"The Blinman Court" is in the Register,
14 and 16 November 1877, pages 3g (supp.) and 3c.
Also see South Australia - Crime, Law and Punishment - Law - Local Courts.
Information on the town's hospital is in the Register,
22 August 1879, page 5e,
16 and 30 April 1880, pages 6g and 5c.
The survey of the railway to Parachilna is reported in the Register,
25 July 1882, page 5b.
Also see South Australia - Transport - Railways - Miscellany.
Information on the Blue Ribbon Army is in the Register,
31 December 1883, page 5c.
The reopening of the mine is reported in the Register,
24 May 1882, page 5f.
"Sanitation at Blinman" is in the Observer,
19 February 1887, page 34e.
"The Blinman and Wirrealpa District" is in the Chronicle,
12 May 1888, page 19d; also see
Express,
14 and 19 September 1888, page 3f and 7c.
Information on the mine is in the Observer,
11 August 1888, page 27a,
22 September 1888, pages 37c-38a.
A proposed tramway to Parachilna is discussed in the Observer,
1 December 1888, page 35a and
a new highway on
9 February 1889, page 30e.
Information on date palms grown by H. Sutcliffe is in the Register,
8 April 1890, page 5b.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary - Fruit and Vegetables.
"Snow at Blinman" is in the Register,
25 July 1890, page 5b.
A fire at the mine is reported in the Observer,
14 February 1891, page 30a.
A sports day is reported in the Chronicle,
13 January 1900, page 15a.
"Labour at Blinman Mine" is in the Register,
6 September 1905, page 6g.
A photograph of a donkey team on its way to Blinman is in the Chronicle,
20 April 1907, page 28; also see
28 January 1932, page 32.
"First [Golf] Match in the Far North" against Angorichina is in the Register,
1 July 1908, page 9b.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Golf.
"Departed Days" is in the Observer,
29 January 1921, page 30e.
"Lost Riches of the North" is in the Advertiser,
2 January 1937, page 11g.
Blinman - Obituaries
An obituary of Captain W.T. Bryant is in the Register,
6 October 1885, page 5c,
of Captain J.W. Doble on 20 September 1892, page 5b.
An obituary of Captain J.W. Doble is in the Observer,
24 September 1892, page 29e,
of John Branch on 28 February 1914, page 41a,
of George Pope on 4 April 1914, page 41b,
of Patrick Henry (Henery?) on 9 February 1918, page 13d.
An obituary of Mrs P. Henery is in the Register,
8 August 1908, page 11h,
of George Pope on 30 March 1914, page 8a.
Blanchewater - Blumberg
B
Place Names
Blood Creek
Nomenclature
In the Far North. Mr J.D. Somerville, formerly of the SA Museum, said: 'Ernest Giles refers to a Mr Blood at Peake Station on his first journey into the interior'. H.C. Talbot records that Mr J.H.S. Blood was stationmaster of the Peake telegraph office in 1872. A Lands Department source says it was named by Christopher Giles of the Telegraph Department after a member of his party, J.H.S. Blood, probably the son of Dr M.H.S. Blood, of Kapunda.
General Notes
A portrait of Dr Blood is in Frearson's Weekly,
14 April 1883, page 152.
A photograph is in the Observer,
6 June 1908, page 31.
Mr J. Baile's Angora goat venture is described in the Register,
10 January 1905, page 4g:
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Mr. John Bailes of Blood Creek is a strong believer
in the future of the Angora goat industry... When
he went there he had 140 common goats and 240 merino
sheep. In 2 years he increased the goats to nearly
700 and they were improved from the common goat to
the third cross Angora, the bucks having been purchased
from Mr. E.C. Kempe of Peake Station...
Also see
31 March 1905, page 4f and under South Australia - Flora and Fauna - Goats.
A photograph of cyclists is in the Chronicle,
25 July 1908, page 30.
Also see South Australia - Sport - Cycling .
The Federal Station is described in the Observer,
16 June 1923, page 4b.
Blanchewater - Blumberg
B
Place Names
Blood Range
Mr J.H.S. Blood's obituary is in the Register, 21 May 1890, page 5c:-
Mr. J.H.S. Blood died at Brighton at the age of 49 years in 1890 and was buried in the Clare cemetery. He had been telegraph master at Auburn for some years and was clerk of the local court...
