Place Names of South Australia - B
Baker Sandhill - Baldina Creek
- Baker Sandhill
- Baker, Hundred of
- Baker Springs
- Bakewell Town
- Bald Hills
- Baldina Creek
- Balaklava
- Balcanoona
Baker Sandhill
The Register of 5 July 1922, page 6e says this place was the site of Lock 3 "below Kingston".
Baker Sandhill - Baldina Creek
B
Place Names
Baker Springs
Nomenclature
On section 550, Hundred of Gilbert. William Baker, who introduced the first sheep to the district. Born in 1810, he arrived in the Emerald Isle in 1838. Until recent times the Rhynie Hotel was known as 'Baker Springs Hotel'. The Register of 25 March 1904 at page 6c says they were named after Mr John Baker on whose property existed a 'natural flow of water'. An obituary of Mrs William Baker is in the Register, 21 May 1907 and it says that the springs were named after she and her husband.
Baker Sandhill - Baldina Creek
B
Place Names
Baker, Hundred of
Nomenclature
In the County of Russell, proclaimed on 19 April 1860 and 11 May 1893. John Baker, MLC, (1851-1872). Born in Somersetshire in 1813, he arrived in the Elizabeth in 1838 from Tasmania, being more attracted to the new colony by its economic advantages rather than its social ideals. He imported 10,000 sheep from Tasmania which culminated in him being a leading pastoralist in Australia.
In 1846 he protested against the imposition of a royalty on minerals and took an active role in the formation of the Chamber of Commerce in 1850. In 1865 he opposed Goyder's pastoral lease valuations and later was conspicuous by protesting against the removal of Justice Boothby from office. He died at Morialta in May 1872.
John Baker and Richard Chaffey Baker
Following John Baker's death in 1872 it was said of him that he had held an eminent position amongst the squatters of Australia; he was elected to the Legislative Council in 1851 where "he was always careful when on the unpalatable side to let his opinions be known." He fought fiercely to carry a clause in the new Constitution Act to provide for terms for life of members of that chamber. An obituary concluded by stating that "it may appear strange that one who has taken so important a part in the politics of the country should only have held office for eleven days, but Mr Baker was not of that stuff of which Ministers are too often made..."
George F. Loyau, in his works, which tend to glorify the men under scrutiny, opined that he possessed great ability and, accordingly, the reason(s) for his conspicuous absence from the government benches may be found in the newspaper columns of his lifetime. For example, in June of 1861 the Editor of the Chronicle said, inter alia:
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We really fear that "The King of Morialta" must have suffered in health since he reached the latitude of London... He is most decidedly suffering from the "blues". This is the mildest construction we can put upon that gentleman's extraordinary efforts to run down the colony in which he has feathered his nest - pretty considerably.
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[His] real complaint against the newspapers, we suspect, is that they do not see their way to recognise his talents or to feed his vanity by indiscriminate adulation.
[He] is always to the front when a snubbing of the Assembly is on the board. By previous training and hereditary prejudices he is well qualified for this sort of thing. He has always been a minority man. He has never sought to represent the majority of the people, because he believes minorities should always rule... If blame there be it rests with ourselves for selecting him to represent us.
Chronicle, 15 June 1861, p. 1e (supp.); Register, 31 August 1863, p. 3f; 17 December 1867, p. 2d; Observer, 25 October 1879, p. 3b; Register, 29 November 1887, p. 7g.
General Notes
On 15 June 1861, page 1e (supp.) the Editor of the Chronicle said, inter alia: A correspondent to the Register on 31 August 1863, at page 3f, opined:
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...Power is the commodity Mr John Baker wants most. He feels in the high road to it now. Happily for the country he is too impatient to conceal his designs...
In truth, Mr Baker is never happy in his attempts at the sensational. Whenever he goes out of his way to perpetuate his name by some brilliant achievement, he is sure to lead his followers into the mire and leave them there. Anything he attempts is pretty sure to exhibit in its details a singular combination of adroitness without judgement and ingenuity... We can call to mind no instance in which he has, even by accident, deviated into success.
(Editorial, Register, 17 December 1867, page 2d.)
13 September 1864, page 2c has an editorial on him;
"The Hon. John Baker and the Advertiser" is in the Chronicle,
11 February 1865, page 4a,
"The Hon. John Baker and the Press" in the Observer,
14 January 1871, page 3e.
His obituary is in the Register,
20 May 1872, page 5a and
that of his wife in the Observer,
16 May 1908, page 40a.
His son was apparently cast in a similar mould in view of the following comments:
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[His] real complaint against the newspapers, we suspect, is that they do not see their way to recognise his talents or to feed his vanity by indiscriminate adulation.
(Observer, 25 October 1879, page 3b.)
[He] is always to the front when a snubbing of the Assembly is on the board. By previous training and hereditary prejudices he is well qualified for this sort of thing. He has always been a minority man. He has never sought to represent the majority of the people, because he believes minorities should always rule... If blame there be it rests with ourselves for selecting him to represent us.
(Register, 29 November 1887, page 7g.)
2 March 1877, page 2b,
22 June 1877, page 2c,
Register,
20 December 1893, page 5h,
Weekly Herald,
23 March 1901, page 14c,
4 May 1901, page 5a.
"Sir Richard Baker - His Life and Work" is in the Observer,
22 December 1906, page 39a.
Baker Sandhill - Baldina Creek
B
Place Names
Bakewell Town
Nomenclature
A town in England of the same name derives from the Old English badecan-wylle - 'The well of Badeca'.
General Notes
William Bakewell's obituary appears in the Register,
26 January 1870, page 5d; also see
28 January 1870, page 5d.
Baker Sandhill - Baldina Creek
B
Place Names
Balcanoona
Nomenclature
Twenty-eight kilometres south of Arkaroola. An Aboriginal word meaning 'old woman'; This refers to the profile of a woman which can be seen in the high cliffs of the creek. The 'Balcanoona Run' was taken up by F. Hamp in the 1870s (lease no. 1378).
General Notes
Information on the pastoral station is in the Chronicle,
18 February 1899, page 22d:
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We stayed at Balcanoona station for the night and were most hospitably treated by Mrs George Noble. The drought has by no means broken up here and the portion of the run we passed over is in a woeful condition as not a bit of any kind of feed is to be seen for miles. There are about 2,500 sheep on the run and Mr. Noble, when we were there, had them on a back part of the run where there is a little bush, thus trying to save the remnants of his flock. For nine months last year he travelled his sheep in various parts of the north to get feed for them. Wild dogs and eagle hawks are very troublesome, the latter having killed about 800 lambs last year.
8 September 1928, page 40; also see
23 and 30 July 1931, pages 32 and 31.
Baker Sandhill - Baldina Creek
B
Place Names
Bald Hills
Nomenclature
In 1866 it was described as a pastoral village: 'situated on the Yankalilla River', and Bald Hill itself as 'a remarkable elevation which is a landmark for the surrounding country'.
Its post office, 8 km south-east of Yankalilla, opened circa 1856 by Caleb Fidler, stood on section 343, Hundred of Encounter Bay, while its school opened in 1860 and closed in 1863. (See Place Names - Back Valley) The name is also applied to a hill in the Hundred of Landseer; the 'Bald Hill Run' (lease no. 2112) was established by W.L. Harding circa 1873, 'Near Tilleys, SE district'.
General Notes
A reaping match is reported in the Farm & Garden,
13 February 1862, page 123.
The Register of 19 April 1877 at page 5b reports of this place on Yorke Peninsula and the excavation of a reservoir.
The laying of the foundation stone of a Bible Christian Chapel at Bald Hills near Yankalilla is reported in the Register, 7 October 1858, page 2g:
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On 28 September 1858 the foundation stone of a Bible Christian Chapel was laid at Bald Hills, Yankalilla, by Mr. James Ashton, the senior minister of the circuit. Immediately after the 'whole company' repaired to a tent that had been erected for the occasion which was tastefully decorated with garlands and tables plentifully supplied with rich varieties of tea. A paper containing the names of the trustees, etc., was deposited in the foundation.
School examinations are reported upon in the Observer,
30 November 1861, page 5f.
For the opening of a dairy factory see Register,
18 August 1890, page 7h.
Also see South Australia - Industries - Rural, Primary and Secondary- Dairying.
The district near Victor Harbor is described in the Register,
27 April 1892, page 6c.
An obituary of James Mayfield is in the Register,
28 February 1899, page 7d,
Observer, 4 March 1899, page 42e.
Baker Sandhill - Baldina Creek
B
Place Names
Baldina Creek
Nomenclature
On section 150, Hundred of Kooringa, east of Burra. Rodney Cockburn says it embraces an Aboriginal word which refers to the springs feeding the creek. The 'Baldina Run' was established by Henry Ayers in 1851 (lease no. 22).
General Notes
It is described in the Register,
27 March 1856, page 2f-h.
The Baldina Creek Run (lease no. 33) is described by its lessee, Alfred Barker, in Parliamentary Paper 57/1865-66, page 16.
An obituary of "Mr Humphrey" is in the Register,
28 February 1862, page 3f.
See Place Names - Humphrey Springs.
"Sheepwashing at Baldina" is in the Observer,
17 and 31 October 1868, pages 3f and 9d,
Chronicle,
7 November 1868, page 4g:
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Messrs Cowper of Baldina near the Burra have erected, in a simple and yet serviceable manner under the superintendence of Mr. B. Dowling, suitable apparatus [for wool washing] and, when the largely increased value of the wool is taken into account, the cost is trifling. The washing place is situated on the Baldina Creek in which a stream of water runs constantly. Advantage is taken of a natural descent and the water is conducted along a race over sloping ground until it attains a height of six feet from the surface. The race is about 110 feet long and near the end are two spouts, a few feet from each other, so that two sheep can be washed at the same time.
The quantity of dirt washed out of the sheep on the run is from 50 to 60 per cent, the bales of cleansed wool averaging about 200 lb., net, while a bale of unwashed wool weighed four hundredweight.
Crop failure is discussed in the Register,
15 February 1881, page 1d (supp.),
20 January 1882, page 5d.
Also see South Australia - Northern Lands Development and Allied Matters - Comments on Goyder's Line.
The Baldina School was opened in 1885 and closed in 1930; see
Observer,
4 March 1882, page 33e.
Irrigation from the Baldina Creek is described in the Register,
17 February 1886, page 7h; also see
Advertiser, 6 March 1886, page 6e.
Baker Sandhill - Baldina Creek
B
