Melrose, South Australia

It is important to note that any information on Indigenous Tribes – in Melrose and beyond – is often limited and provided through a colonial lens. Any insight into the Nukunu tribe that exists in close proximity to Mount Remarkable that follows in this article is drawn from resources that themselves note that any information on Indigenous people’s may not be completely accurate.

As of 1974, there are records of the Ngaiawang Indigenous Tribe, also referred to as the Nukunu, being located east of Melrose and Mount Remarkable. The term ‘Nukunu’ may have been based on the term ‘Nokunno’ used by the Kaurna tribe, and may refer to a metaphorical assassin that hunts at night. Variations of the name include but are not limited to: Wongaidja, Nukuna, Nookoona, and Nuguna. Furthermore, according to Tiechelmann and Schürmann’s 1840 account of the tribe, the Nukunu also practiced both subincision and circumcision as male initiation rites.[8] Efforts are currently being made to revive the Nukunu language.[9]

The presence and influence of the Nukunu people in Melrose is evident in place names. An example of this is the property of ‘Bartagunyah’, which, according to the Bartagunyah Estate website, means ‘home of the Bardi Grubs’. [10]

As of the 2016 census, Indigenous peoples accounted for 0.9% of the population.[11] This 0.9% also included only Indigenous females, with a median age of 21 years.

It is worthwhile considering the technicalities of how census information is collected when understanding the aforementioned percentages. The Australian Bureau of Statistics states that in the 2016 census, respondents were given the option to tick yes/no to indicate their Indigenous status – and if both boxes were ticked, “then the indigenous status was set to not stated”. The bureau identified such respondent error and technicality as a likely impact on results. It is important to acknowledge this technicality when examining the insight into Melrose’s Indigenous population provided by this census information.[12]

The first European explorer in the area was Edward John Eyre in 1840; pastoralists settled in the area about a decade later. Copper was discovered and mining started in 1846, but it was not economically viable, and ceased in 1851. The mine was opened again three more times, with the latest closure in 1917.

In 1893 at a time of high unemployment, Wilton Hack founded a communal settlement in the area. At its peak, some 130 settlers were working 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land. By the end of 1895 after a succession of poor seasons around half the settlers had left, and in 1896 the village was closed by the Government.[13]

When it was opened in 1848, the police station in Melrose was not only the first permanent police station in the region, but the base of the largest police district in the world. A constable, two troopers and an Aboriginal tracker were responsible for an area extending to the Timor Sea.

The Wilmington railway line from Gladstone opened near Melrose in 1915 and closed in 1969. The station was almost 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the town. Melrose is also on the Horrocks Highway, formerly known as Main North Road.

Mining attempts at Melrose only lasted five years. This is due to the copper deposits located in the area being too small and therefore economically inviable. Only 5 tons of copper extractions have been recorded. The primary tunnel reached only 18 meters, and a connecting shaft reached 6 meters. Copper is not the only mineral present in Melrose’s mine; azurite, calcite, chalcopyrite, hematite, malachite and quartz have also been detected, although this mineral list may not be comprehensive as no recent analyses of the mines have been conducted.[14]

The State Library of South Australia’s Melrose Collection contains an image of women staging a protest in Melrose, holding up signs saying ‘votes for women’ and ‘Give us seats in parliament’. The image is dated at December 12th, 1916, and provides evidence of suffragette activity in the town.[15]

Melrose has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• 3 Brewery Street: Keating Cottage[16]
• Melrose to Orroroo Road: Mount Remarkable Woolshed[17]
• Melrose to Orroroo Road: Mount Remarkable Station[18]
• Mount Street: Jacka's Brewery and Yard Walls[19]
• near Melrose: Rankine's Hut[20]
• Lot 2 Spratt Street: Timber Slab Dwelling[21]
• Stuart Street: Melrose Post Office[22]
• Stuart Street: Melrose Courthouse and Police Station[23]
• Stuart Street: Mount Remarkable Inn[24]
• 30 Stuart Street: Blacksmith Shop and Dwelling[25]
• 13 Whitby Street: Timber Slab Dwelling[26]

Jacka’s Brewery was a family business founded by Joseph Jacka in 1877 in Melrose. Several months prior, Joseph and his brother William had leased the land the brewery still resides upon from Joseph’s father-in-law. At the time, the Jacka family also owned the North Star Hotel in Melrose, and were already experienced brewers as they had previously owned a brewery in Auburn.[27]

In 1887 Joseph continued brewing in Melrose while his brother William relocated to Burra. Jacka’s brewery was a great success and popular amongst the locals. Within the next decade or so, Joseph was able to buy more surrounding land and extend the breweries premises. At this point, Jacka’s brewery was distributing beer to Port Pirie and Port Augusta using custom made wagons, wooden casks and teams of eight horses to traverse the Flinders Ranges. William returned to Jacka’s Brewery in 1901 after his brother died, to assist his nephew William J.S. Jacka with running the business. The brewery ceased production in 1934 after World War I and the Great Depression rendered it economically inviable. [28]

The brewery was formerly known as T.B. Marshall’s Flour Mill.

Melrose Cemetery was established in the 1860’s. According to the Virtual War Memorial for Australia, the opening of the cemetery is referenced by local newspapers. This includes the South Australian Register’s account of a whooping cough epidemic creating several new graves mere months after the cemeteries opening in 1863. Almost a decade later, the South Australian Register again referred to Melrose Cemetery as being ‘new’, as well as a ‘regular resort for pigs to go about rooting in,’, suggesting that the council take better care of the grounds.[29]

Paradise Square was the first cemetery in Melrose, situated by the Melrose Heritage Centre. According to the Virtual War Memorial for Australia, almost 128 burials took place in Paradise Square until its closure in the 1850’s and prior to the establishment of Melrose Cemetery. Several Paradise Square burials were eventually relocated to the new Melrose Cemetery.

In 1890 on Arbor Day, 70 trees were planted on the grounds previously occupied by Paradise Square. The trees were replaced by tennis courts in 1925, which were later removed. Today, gardens provide a tribute to the remaining residents of Paradise Square.[31]

Bartagunyah Estate and Winery is located approximately 5km from Melrose. It’s close proximity to the town means the winery is considered one of Melrose’s tourist attractions. The land the estate sits upon was originally named by the Nukunu people, an Indigenous Australian community native to the Melrose region. The name translates to ‘home of the Bardy Grubs’. The property itself was originally used for livestock in the 1930’s, but in 1997 it was converted to a vineyard and winery. Tourists can participate in wine tasting and several ecotourism activities, including but not limited to mountain biking across ridge top trials, camping with a view of the Willochra Plain, and 4WD tours. [32]

Located at the top of main street, North Star Hotel was one of the first licensed hotels in Melrose. It’s license dates back to 1857. As of 2012, Nadine and Joe Garrard have been running the hotel. The couple has had prior experience with hotels, as they also own the Austral Inn Hotel.

Travel reviews from The Advertiser have referred to a ‘quirky motel’ on the property, which is in fact two farm trucks behind the hotel. Both have been converted into sleeping quarters with additional living facilities and reverse-cycle air conditioning.[33]

Most places to eat in Melrose fall into the pub and bar categories.

• North Star Inn Restaurant
• Store 54
• Mount Remarkable Hotel Restaurant
• Wozza's Vault Cafe
• Blesing's Garden
• Beautiful Valley Cafe
• Old Pier Hotel

Old Emu Foot has been identified by arborists at the National Register of Big Trees as the largest tree in South Australia, more so for its width than its height. It has also been identified as the largest River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in Australia. Its size was compared with several contenders throughout NSW, Victoria and Western Australia using the American Forests formula.[34]

The tree was nominated as the largest River Red Gum in Australia and largest tree in South Australia by the director of Arbortech, Kym Knight. Knight has estimated the tree’s age to be around 400 years. [35] [36]

Old Emu Foot is not considered a tourist attraction as it resides on private property and isn’t easily accessible for the general public. It sits roughly 1.2 km from the Melrose Showgrounds in a sheep paddock owned by farmer David McCallum.[37]

It is 35 metres tall, its circumference is 14.82 metres, and its crown is 29 metres. These dimensions afford Old Emu Foot a score of 722 points according to the American Forests formula.[38]