The County of Daly is a cadastral county in South Australia, proclaimed in 1862 and named for Governor Dominick Daly. It covers the northern half of Yorke Peninsula, from the Hummock-Barunga Range in the west to just past the Broughton River in the north. Its main towns are Kadina, Wallaroo and Moonta.
Key Facts
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| State | South Australia |
| Region | Yorke Peninsula |
| Proclaimed | 1862 |
| Named after | Governor Dominick Daly |
| Area | 4,294 km² |
| Principal towns | Kadina, Wallaroo, Moonta, Port Broughton, Snowtown |
| Local government areas today | Copper Coast Council, Barunga West, Wakefield Regional Council, Yorke Peninsula Council |
Parishes in Daly County
The county’s surveyed hundreds, listed alphabetically:
- Hundred of Barunga
- Hundred of Cameron
- Hundred of Clinton
- Hundred of Kadina
- Hundred of Kulpara
- Hundred of Mundoora
- Hundred of Ninnes
- Hundred of Redhill
- Hundred of Tickera
- Hundred of Tiparra
- Hundred of Wallaroo
- Hundred of Wiltunga
- Hundred of Wokurna
Towns and Localities Today
Kadina, Wallaroo and Moonta form the “Copper Triangle,” Yorke Peninsula’s largest urban cluster, built on 19th-century copper mining and still the county’s commercial hub. Port Broughton and Snowtown serve the grain-growing hundreds further south, sitting on the Bay to Birdwood road corridor and the rail line to Port Pirie. Arthurton, in the Hundred of Tiparra, is a smaller farming settlement near the Gulf St Vincent coast.
Geography
Daly occupies the top of Yorke Peninsula, bounded by the Hummock-Barunga Range in the west and the Broughton River near its northern edge. Spencer Gulf lies along its western shore and Gulf St Vincent runs down the peninsula’s eastern side. The land is mostly flat to gently undulating, given over to cereal cropping since the copper era wound down in the early 20th century. Fishing and tourism now supplement farming along the county’s Spencer Gulf shoreline near Wallaroo and Moonta Bay.
History
Governor Dominick Daly proclaimed the county in 1862, part of the systematic survey of Yorke Peninsula that followed the discovery of copper at Kadina in 1859 and Wallaroo in 1860. The Cornish miners who worked those lodes gave the Copper Triangle its distinct heritage, still marked each year by the Kernewek Lowender festival. Farming hundreds to the south were surveyed and settled through the 1870s and 1880s as wheat growing expanded across the peninsula. The county covers 4,294 km² in total, making it one of the more compact of South Australia’s 49 cadastral counties.
FAQ
Where is the County of Daly?
It covers the northern Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, running from the Hummock-Barunga Range to the Broughton River.
What towns are in the County of Daly?
Kadina, Wallaroo, Moonta, Port Broughton, Snowtown and Arthurton are its principal towns.
Is the County of Daly still used?
Cadastral counties like Daly remain part of land titles and property descriptions in South Australia, but they have no government function today.