Articles

At this point the excellent work done on the website Yorke Peninsula: Past & Present needs to be acknowledged for the extensive work carried out in compiling much of the Peninsula’s history. The many references and links provided, made this short history much easier to prepare.

Some of the notable points in the development of the township are:

The Township

Yorke Peninsula: Past & Present – Maitland History

was proclaimed on 22nd August 1872, and named by Governor Sir James Fergusson after Lady Jean Maitland, one of his ancestors. The Rogers family were pastoralists with a lease on a property known as Ynoo, until 1872 when their lease was revoked and the land was subdivided for closer settlement and agriculture. The streets of the town are named after their family: Robert, Elizabeth, Gardiner, Alice, Walter, Caroline. The family remained  in the area buying up large areas of land they farmed by growing wheat.

The first site picked for the town was in the middle of the Ynoo property, less than a kilometre from the homestead, but the Rogers had it moved for being too near. The site was relocated to the Government salt well further north, sank to get water for the settlers. The site was again changed after a flood rushed down the valley carrying all the tents away from the well, leaving them in the middle of Greenslade’s farm at Urania. So the town was finally built straddling the top of the hill, half-way between St. Vincent’s and Spencer’s Gulfs, the distance from one to the other being, about 48 Kms, so that there is always a sea breeze, which, makes, the climate particularly healthy and invigorating.

The town took shape between 1874 when the town consisted of a few houses of weatherboard and iron, and 1883 when it was inaugurated as an incorporate town comprised of some fine buildings. At that time wheat was being shipped from the ports of Ardrossan and Wauraltie, lying to the east and west respectively.

Over the years there were many glowing reports regarding the prosperity of the town, but its growth was not without the usual growing pains as indicated by the following news reports. The complete articles can be seen by following the links provided after each entry.

1873 Liquor Licence

there was a meeting at  O’Tiddy’s store on Friday 3 Dec. , to try and prevent Mr. Driscoll getting a licence for, his new public-house which is in course of erection since my last. O’Tiddy has commenced building his new store in the township.

Fri 12 Dec 1873, Harp and Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1873 – 1875)

1874 – First Proposal for a District Council

June 18th, 1874. The Maitland Hotel was opened last week by Mr. Driscoll, and it will be a great convenience for travellers, as there was no place of accommodation in the district. Yesterday, the 17 inst, there was a public meeting held at the Maitland Hotel to consider whether the district should be formed into a District Council or not. Mr. MacAulay presiding. A resolution was carried by a large majority against it.

Tue 23 Jun 1874, Yorke’s Peninsula Advertiser and Miners’ News (SA : 1872 – 1874)

1876 – Second Proposal for a District Council

On Saturday afternoon a large and influential meeting was held at the Maitland Hotel, for the purpose of discussing several important questions. Mr. H. Lamshed, J.P.. was voted to the chair. He stated that two or three of the inhabitants bad spoken to him about a District Council for Maitland, he should remain neutral in the matter unless he heard arguments either for or against that would convince him. The matter was then freely ventilated. Messrs. J. Smith. J. P.. A. Waterman, T. McCaulay. J. Cliff, and others debated the question, and on a motion being put to the meeting for a District Council it was lost by a very large majority. 

Fri 25 Aug 1876, Yorke’s Peninsula Advertiser and Miners’ and Farmers’ Journal (SA : 1875 – 1878)

1877 – Town Progress

November 15.

The site for the township of Maitland his been most judiciously chosen. It lies in a hollow, surrounded on three sides by gently declining slopes, thus the heavy rains which fall in the wet season are caught and stored by the inhabitants. Some four years ago this now thriving township was a piece of waste land. Maitland is surrounded by most fertile country, and the hardy agricultural pioneer is rapidly converting it into fields of golden grain.

The township contains one hotel (which is the oldest built house in the district, and a new one is in corse of erection), three good stores a branch of the South Australian Bank, a post and telegraph office (not a public building), two saddlers, two butchers, one baker, two carpenters, four churches, masons, boot-makers, and artisans of all descriptions, and a few private residences. A railway from Maitland to Ardrossan, if the jetty at that port were lengthened so as to reach deep water, would be of immense benefit to the settlers.—

The first house erected here was as before stated, the Maitland hotel, by the present owner and landlord Mr. J.Driscoll. Four years ago it was a very small building, but the proprietor has added a new wing and is about to erect a large room for the accommodation of I.O.O.F., M.U., and for holding public meetings. —

A new and very handsome hotel is being erected in Robert-street, opposite the Government Reserve. The front is built of grey species of granite which was discovered some few months ago in a quarry on the land of a Mr. Wandusett, about two miles from the township. The sides, &c, are of limestone, quoins and dressing red brick. It will contain on the ground floor five rooms, billiard-rooms, bar, and other necessary apartments. On the first floor there will be nine good bedrooms, and along the front is a spacious verandah.

In the same street a very fine building is being erected for the branch of the Bank of South Australia. It is built of the same material as the hotel. On the highest point of one of the slopes to the eastward a new school is being rapidly completed. In about two months’ time all these new buildings will be finished, and the town will assume a more imposing appearance.

Post and telegraph accommodation is much required. The business is at present carried on in the very pretty residence of Mr. Waterman in Elizabeth-street, in which the bank of South Australia also has a room. Police protection is much wanted, and I think before long the inhabitants will bestir themselves in order to obtain a Local Court and Police Barracks.—

A very useful piece of road is now being made by Mr. D. Wardne on the main road to Ardrossan; but useful and necessary as it is it will not prove of such great benefit as at might if the western portion of the road were made, as the water coming off the Ardrossan road will cause a swamp to be formed in Elisabeth-street.

Mr. Beck has nearly finished, the new dam or reservoir, and I believe the surveyor is well satisfied with the work, which, as far as I can judge, is well done. It is a pity it is not larger, as a second or third, reservoir will have to be built before long.

Sat 17 Nov 1877, South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1868 – 1881)

1878 – Third Proposal for a District Council

A largely attended meeting was held at Pearce’s Hotel, Maitland, on Saturday, August 17, to take into consideration the question of forming a District Council. The Chairman (Mr. H. Lamshed, J P.), having briefly stated the object of the meeting, called upon Mr. Peter Howard, J.P., to move the first resolution. Mr. Howard then moved—

“That a District Council be established, comprising the whole of the Hundred of Maitland and such portion of the Hundred of Kilkerran as is included in a strip about two miles wide, bounded by a road running north and south from Section 68 to Section 125 on the west side, and adjoining the Hundred of Maitland on the east side, also to include a portion of the Hundred of Waraultee, about 10 square miles near Urania, the said District Council to be called the “Maitland District Council.”

‘The mover said he would rather have done without a District Council, but he thought that it was impossible to go any longer without one, as they had not received sufficient public support for many local wants. He alluded more particularly to the apathy shown by the public of Maitland and the surrounding district in not subscribing towards the fencing in of the cemetery, also to the bad state of the roads, and thought the boundaries fixed were but fair.

The Hundred of Kilkerran was included in the proposed district, as the people of that hundred made more use of the roads than the Maitland people themselves did.

Mr. J. Smith, J.P., said it was well known that he had hitherto been opposed to District Councils, but finding that the inhabitants did not come forward in response to a three weeks’ notice to subscribe towards fencing in the Cemetery, he would second the motion.

Mr. B. Cornish supported, and pointed out some of the advantages to be derived from a District Council.

Mr. Thomas Bowman quite concurred in the boundaries fixed. He thought that all should take their share in carrying out certain public works.

Mr J Lamshed supported the motion. Speaking as a ratepayer he fully bore out the remarks that had fallen from the previous speakers. He did not himself require a road, as one was being made to his door, and he hoped before long to see a good road to Ardrossan and Port Victoria. In reference to the fencing in of the Cemetery and other public matters he thought it very hard that a tax should be made upon himself and a few others, and certainly thought that the whole district should come forward, There were gentlemen who were always ready to support public matters, but he could show letters he had received from others who declined putting their hands in their pockets until there was a corporate body formed and they knew what became of the money. It was through the kindness of neighbours that he himself had got through the summer. The Government refused to do anything unless they formed themselves into a corporate body.

Mr, Lindo, amidst frequent Interruptions, was understood to say that he was in favour of a District Council.

Mr. R. Hyde said, that the ratepayers of Kilkerran intended holding a meeting to consider the advisability of forming a District Council of their own. He would object to Kilkerran being included within the proposed boundaries.

*Mr. John Hill spoke as to the present bad state of the roads, and said that in order to have the work done completely it was necessary to have a District Council, as the Government would not assist them without.

Mr. Cottrell considered that the time, for forming a District Council had not yet arrived. The land should be actually the property of the present occupiers before they could go to the Government for a District Council. He went on to say that before six months the people would be taxed very heavily by the Government, and he thought that it was a wrong thing to form a District Council. He would not move an amendment but was “decidedly “against the motion. As regarded the fencing in of the Cemetery he had never been asked to subscribe, and he knew nothing of the list.

Mr. Ward then moved  “That the District of Kilkerran be taken out of the resolution.”

Considerable confusion here took place and much desultory conversation. When something like order had been restored Mr. Pitcher said he was opposed to a District Council. He wished to know what complaint had been made against the state of the roads.

Mr. John Hill thought that the arguments used against the formation of a District Council were all empty ones. The gentlemen who opposed it had not been much in the habit of attending the public meetings in Maitland, and the very gentlemen who were there that night to oppose the resolution were the ones who would not subscribe to support necessary public works unless a corporate body was formed. He knew that the Government would not pay for their works unless a District Council were formed. There were things to be met, which could not be done without the support of every ratepayer. He was surprised to hear such arguments as had fallen from Mr. Cottrell. He further pointed out that with the assistance of a District Council many evils could he obviated. In his opinion there was every reason to have a District Council.

Mr. R. Hyde had not altered the opinion he had formed two years ago that they should first pay for their land. If the Maitland people attempted to bring in Kilkerran no proposition for a District Council would go through. After a great deal of confusion Mr. J. McCaulby was understood to move an amendment on the original motion —”That the District Council comprise the Hundred of Maitland alone.”

This was seconded by Mr, Hall, and on a show of hands being taken was declared carried.

(At this stage the meeting became most disorderly, the Chairman having twice to leave the chair.)

Order having been restored a motion was put to the effect that the rate payers of the Hundred of Maitland should decide whether they would have a District Council or not, leaving out the other districts, and the show of hands was against the formation of the District Council. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chairman.

Sat 24 Aug 1878, Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 – 1904)

1878 – A Brief Outline of Town History.

November 6.

As some of your readers may be unacquainted with the position and status of our little town a brief outline of its history may not be unacceptable. Though unlike its namesake in New South Wales, which can boast of its population in thousands, the inhabitants feel justly proud of the progress the district has made since it was opened up some five years since. At that time the land lying between Moonta and Yorketown, a distance of 80 miles, was little more than a trackless waste, dotted here and there by shepherds’ huts, but there are now hundreds of smiling homesteads, busy townships, and a population which can be numbered by hundreds: The part known as Yorke Valley, where Maitland stands, is by far the most fertile and pleasing in appearance.

The wonder to many is that with such prospects before us there is not a miller with sufficient enterprise to start a mill here. Water of sufficiently good quality could be obtained, it is believed, for milling purposes. The township has made rapid strides since it was sold five years ago. The best allotments were disposed of for sums of from £10 to £20, and some of these have since changed hands at ten times their cost.

We have five, large substantial general stores, two handsome hotels, a very fine branch of the Bank of South Australia, and various tradesmen.

Telegraphic communication was opened 18 months since, and the Telegraph Department is now building premises containing three rooms and an office.

We can also boast of a school and teacher’s residence. The, former, however, is too small, there being only accommodation for 60 children, whereas there are at least double the number of a school going age.

Great inconvenience is felt from the want of a Court-House and Police Station, the nearest one being at Moonta. What is still worse there is no trooper stationed between Yorketown and Moonta. Surely, with a population of 1,500 souls, residing in and around Maitland, we have a good claim for police protection. A trooper from Moonta has to come down frequently two or three times a week.

The inhabitants are now bestirring themselves in the matter of an Institute, and Mr. James Driscoll, of the Maitland Hotel, has generously offered to give a piece of land of that purpose. A railway from here to Ardrossan (15 miles) it is believed would prove a paying concern, and would be the pleasantest and shortest possible route from Adelaide to Moonta.

Wheat will be shipped from Port Ardrossan this season, and the passenger traffic is considerable, the steamer Wakefield frequently taking to and fro between twenty and thirty passengers, and this number would no doubt be largely increased were railway facilities afforded, as it would bring Moonta within eight hours of the metropolis.

Sat 16 Nov 1878, South Australian Chronicle and Weekly Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1868 – 1881)

1911 – Maitland’s Birthday

Maitland, July 17.—

Thursday last was the twenty-eighth anniversary of the inauguration of Maitland as an incorporate town. To commemorate the event, the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr. and Mrs. J. T. King) invited the town Councillor’s and officers to a social evening in their new home. A pleasant evening was spent by the fireside, chatting over the past history of the town. The Mayor, who was one of the first Councillors, has watched the gradual advancement of the town. He was here when the greater part of the surrounding agricultural areas was dense scrub, and has enjoyed the benefits of the good seasons of the last few years, which have enabled those responsible for the progress of Maitland to make it equal to any-town on the peninsula.

So rapid has been its growth, that there is scarcely an available building site, and those wishing to make their homes here have now to build outside the borders of the municipality.

Millerville estate, which borders on the north side, is shortly to be cut up and sold for this purpose. The council has spent a lot qf money in beautifying the streets and park lands. The streets have recently been kerbed and squared off at the corners, and a number of culverts have been laid; the park lands have been nicely fenced, and many trees which were a hindrance to business people in the main street have been removed.

Quite a number of new residences have been erected or are in course of construction. In the main street a stone building has been erected for a printing office, from which a weekly paper will shortly be published.

Sat 29 Jul 1911, Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 – 1931)

1920 – A Town I Have Visited. Maitland, Yorke’s Peninsula

Maitland is a very pretty town, situated on a rise, with sugar-gums planted on all sides. It has metal roads and most, of the footpaths are paved. There are some very nice buildings in Maitland. The chief ones are an hospital an institute with a library and lodge rooms, as well as a few other rooms attached to it. There are four churches, Congregational, Methodist, Church of England, and Roman Catholic, several general stores, two hotels, both have upstairs and balconies, a nice post office which is a beautiful building with letter boxes, and telephone connected to nearly all the houses in both the town and district, and also to Adelaide : a baker’s shop, two butchers’ shops, several green-grocers, three blacksmith’s shops, two carpenter’s shops, a council chamber, police station, and court house, several tinsmiths, two motor garages, one of which has an electric light plant to light up the town at night. There is also a printing office, a public school, two banks, a masonic hall, a chemist’s shop, and several other business places, such as tailors, hairdressers, and saddler’s shops, a nice show ground with a pavilion that has a balcony to is for the band to play in on special occasions. They also have grounds for cricket, football, tennis, and golf. I am sure everybody that has visited Maitland will say it is a very pretty little township. It is quite a business place, and has some lovely dwelling houses in it. This is all I can think of about Maitland.

Sat 13 Nov 1920, West Coast Sentinel (Streaky Bay, SA : 1912 – 1954)

1952 – Its Prosperity Is Everywhere

HEART of Yorke Peninsula, Maitland, sets up a throb of rural prosperity which courses along its arteries of roads and penetrates all over the peninsula. Maitland’s story today can only be a success story. Seven successive good seasons with payable prices have given the district an aura of prosperity. It is typified by the excellent crops of barley and wheat to be seen on every farm. The harvest promises to again compare with the best. Its prosperity is reflected in the fine homes built in the town by farmers for their retirement. And it is underlined by the heavy mechanisation of their properties. Before the tractor, South Australia’s finest Clydesdales were bred at Maitland. For a town without a water supply, Maitland must rank with the cleanest in Australia. No industry But for a key centre, it is unusual in the complete absence of manufacturing industry. None of its produce is processed there. Its cleanliness and orderliness are greatly facilitated by not having to withstand the assaults of factory smoke and dust. It does not even stack the grain grown all around it, as does almost every other town on the peninsula. Maitland’s wheat and barley go to the seaboard at Ardrossan and Port Victoria.

Maitland today exists solely as the commercial shopping, and community Centre of its neighbouring, farmers. All its townsmen are occupied providing these services. Straddling a hill, it Is about 1,000 ft. above sea level, within sight of Spencer Gulf, and only 14 miles from St. Vincent Gulf. The town is about a mile square, on which Maitland Corporation puts a capital value of £105,000. Its population of 700. live in solid limestone houses, surrounded by a quarter mile wide green belt of parklands.  £60 an acre Farms in the district are on some of Australia’s best barley and wheat soil. Up to £39 an acre was paid during the 1928-30 boom, £37 has been the top price in recent years, but many have rejected £40. Pick of the land is estimated today at up to £60 an acre.

Top yields have been up to 60 bushels of barley and 45 bushels of wheat to the acre. This is land where they prefer to talk in bags rather than bushels to the acre. Rainfall averages 19 in. a year, and nearly all of it invariably falls during the growing season. The Pioneer of the district was Samuel Rogers, one of four brothers who with their mother, held nearly all the land on southern Yorke Peninsula in the early eighteen fifties. Rogers built his homestead, called Ynoo, in Yorke Valley, about two miles from the present town, From the mallee scrub he won good grazing land, and raised sheep; but does not appear to have tested its potentialities for crops. Ynoo homestead, its wool shed, and the well which Rogers sank 220 ft. for water remain on the property, which is now occupied by 62-year-old Mr. R. F. Honner, who was born at Maitland. Avondale, his homestead, is only 200 yards away from the first building, in the district. The Government reclaimed Rogers’ lease in the early seventies, Rogers keeping 1,126 acres surrounding his homestead. The remainder was auctioned in ‘Adelaide about 80 years ago, and taken up by pioneers, nearly all of whose families still farm the land today. Maitland is one of the few rural districts which does not have difficulty in retaining its young people. It has no drift-to-the-city problem. There is a strong Cornish strain in the district. Many of the families came south from Moonta, that Cornish stronghold. whose copper mines had first attracted them. There were some epic pioneering stories.

News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 – 1954), Wednesday 24 September 1952, page 12