Lock, South Australia
Encyclopedia
also known as the most amazing town in Australia
Lock is a small wheatbelt town located in the centre of the Eyre Peninsula
of South Australia
. It is central Eyre Peninsula's main grain
storage hub, as it is surrounded by a predominantly farming community, with emphasis on cereal crop production. The town has a hotel
, caravan park, motel
, supermarket
, post office
, police station
, sporting complex, golf
and bowling
clubs and area school. At the 2006 census
, Lock had a population of 290.
for very low costs. Land settlement occurred in 1861, with settlements continuing further north over the next decades.
A major change occurred in the area with the arrival of the Port Lincoln railway line in 1913. The area was serviced by a siding known simply as Terre Siding after one of the local properties. This was altered when the town was gazetted in February 1918, and named Lock after Corporal Albert Lock, a member of the South Australian Survey Department who had been killed in Belgium
during World War I
, in 1917.
The potential for wheat cropping was realised with the establishment of the railway, but the low rainfall kept any developments from happening until the pipeline from the Tod Reservoir was connected. Two years later, a huge underground water reservoir was discovered under the town, capable of supplying all of the town's water needs.
The Lock Heritage Museum displays a number of old wartime, farming and household items used in the area many years ago.
, surrounded by mostly flat farming land, with patches of remnant vegetation
.
It is also located close to the Hambridge Conservation Park to the north and the Hinck’s Conservation Park to the south, where the areas original ecosystem
is somewhat preserved.
Census
of Population and Housing, the population of the Lock town census area was 290. Some 95.2% of the population was born in Australia
, with immigrants coming from New Zealand
, United States of America and England
.
, predominantly cereal cropping and to a lesser extent sheep grazing, is still the area's main economic input, with a minor input from tourism
during school holidays.
Mining
potential in the area is promising, with iron ore having been discovered in banded iron formations, only 20 km away from Lock to the southeast at Wilgerup, by Centrex Metals Limited.
Lock is a small wheatbelt town located in the centre of the Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...
of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. It is central Eyre Peninsula's main grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
storage hub, as it is surrounded by a predominantly farming community, with emphasis on cereal crop production. The town has a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, caravan park, motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
, supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, police station
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
, sporting complex, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
clubs and area school. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Lock had a population of 290.
History
Although many nearby coastal towns were settled much earlier, Lock was not colonised until the 1860s due to the low rainfall and marginal conditions. Early settlers grazed sheep on vast tracts of natural vegetationVegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
for very low costs. Land settlement occurred in 1861, with settlements continuing further north over the next decades.
A major change occurred in the area with the arrival of the Port Lincoln railway line in 1913. The area was serviced by a siding known simply as Terre Siding after one of the local properties. This was altered when the town was gazetted in February 1918, and named Lock after Corporal Albert Lock, a member of the South Australian Survey Department who had been killed in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in 1917.
The potential for wheat cropping was realised with the establishment of the railway, but the low rainfall kept any developments from happening until the pipeline from the Tod Reservoir was connected. Two years later, a huge underground water reservoir was discovered under the town, capable of supplying all of the town's water needs.
The Lock Heritage Museum displays a number of old wartime, farming and household items used in the area many years ago.
Geography
The town is located in the geographic centre of the Eyre PeninsulaEyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...
, surrounded by mostly flat farming land, with patches of remnant vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
.
It is also located close to the Hambridge Conservation Park to the north and the Hinck’s Conservation Park to the south, where the areas original ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
is somewhat preserved.
Community
In the 2006 Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of Population and Housing, the population of the Lock town census area was 290. Some 95.2% of the population was born in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, with immigrants coming from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, United States of America and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Economy
AgricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, predominantly cereal cropping and to a lesser extent sheep grazing, is still the area's main economic input, with a minor input from tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
during school holidays.
Mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
potential in the area is promising, with iron ore having been discovered in banded iron formations, only 20 km away from Lock to the southeast at Wilgerup, by Centrex Metals Limited.