Innes National Park - History

History

The Narungga people occupied the Yorke Peninsula for thousands of years. They consisted of four clans, the Kurnara of the north, the Windera of the east, the Wari of the West and the Dilpa of the south. European colonisation of the area began in 1846 with sheep grazing near Cape Spencer. Crops were grown on a small scale in the 19th and early 20th century. Innes National Park was named after William Innes, who discovered commercial quantities of gypsum in the early 1900s and founded the mining town of Inneston in 1913, which had a population of around 500 at its peak. Gypsum was mined until 1930 when the Great Depression made it uneconomical, and in 1970 the town and surrounding land was sold to the South Australian government, creating Innes National Park. Some gypsum mining still continues at nearby Marion Bay.

Some of the buildings at Inneston have been restored and are available as basic hire accommodation. A number of gypsum lakes are with the area of the park, but excluded so they can still be mined for gypsum if required. The park also contains a spectacular rugged coastline which contains the sites of several historic shipwrecks and two lighthouses. The sailing barque Ethel, which ran aground on 2 January 1904, was well preserved on the beach for many years but little now remains.

Innes National Park was first proclaimed in 1970 when the first Ranger in Charge, Mr Bruce Macreth was assigned to manage the park. Since that time a number of rangers have served the area well including Mr Peter Tomlin (1973-77), Mr Pearce Dougherty (1977-89), Ms Katherine Stephens, Mr Ross Allen, Mr Colin Waters, Mr Bryn Troath, Ms Caroline Paterson and more recently Mr Aaron Smith, also Justin Holmes.

The park headquarters are located in Stenhouse Bay and visitors can obtain information on the park and obtain entry and camping permits at this location.