Mannanarie, South Australia

Mannanarie South Australia
Mannanarie
Coordinates	33°03′S 138°37′E
Population	52 (SAL 2021)[1]
Postcode(s)	5422[2]
LGA(s)	Northern Areas Council
State electorate(s)	Stuart[2]
Federal division(s)	Grey[2]
Localities around Mannanarie: Tarcowie Yatina Sunnybrae Hornsdale Mannanarie Sunnybrae Yongala Jamestown Jamestown Belalie North
Footnotes	Coordinates[3]

Mannanarie is a rural locality in the Mid North region of South Australia, situated in the Northern Areas Council.^[2] It was established in April 2001, when boundaries were formalised for the "long established local name". It comprises most of the cadastral Hundred of Mannanarie, apart from a northern section which lies in Tarcowie and Yatina.^[3] The name stems from an Aboriginal word, "manangari", meaning "good string or cord", stemming from a local native plant useful for string making.^[4]

The area was originally the territory of the Ngadjuri people. It was taken up as a pastoral run (the Mannanarie Run) by European settlers in the 1850s, until it was subdivided when opened for selection in 1871.^[5] The Hundred of Mannanarie was gazetted on 20 July 1871.^[6] In 1872, the township site was described as being "innocent of houses", with one commentator stating "naturally at present the work of settlement is very incomplete and unfinished" although "signs of agricultural activity are multiplying all over the place". The dwellings at that stage were "for the most part only temporary, consisting of a few sheets of iron, a tarpaulin, a deserted hut, or some similar simple shelter".^[7] In the 1870s, much of the district focused on wheat production, shifting away from previous attempts at grazing.^[5]

A post office opened at Mannanarie in March 1874, and a Primitive Methodist church opened later the same year, with a store and private school also opening by 1875. A township was surveyed as a private subdivision in 1877.^[8] The Mannanarie Hotel was granted a license in 1879.^[9] An Anglican church and a new Primitive Methodist church were built in 1880, and a blacksmith, more stores and a school in 1882, and a racing club in 1891. The Anglican church closed in 1896 and was demolished, but the Mannanarie Institute (later Mannanarie Public Hall) was built on the site in 1912. The hotel's license was not renewed in 1917.^[10] In 1918, the township consisted of a "hall, school, post-office, three residences, store [and] blacksmith". It was severely affected by the Black Sunday bushfires in 1955. Regular Methodist services ceased at Mannanarie in 1966, with the church disposing of the building in 1983. The school closed in 1970. The 1970 realignment of the Crystal Brook-Broken Hill railway line saw the new line routed through Mannanarie.^{[8][11][4][12]}

In 2012, Mannanarie was described as "one of those tiny old towns where there's little more left than an ageing hall, an empty stone church, a long closed school and a couple of houses." The Mannanarie Public Hall was renovated for its centenary in that year, having become "increasingly decrepit" in past decades.^[13]

It was part of the District Council of Yongala from 1888 to 1935, the District Council of Jamestown from 1935 to 1997, and has been part of the Northern Areas Council since 1997.^[14][15]

See also

• Mannanarie Hills

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mannanarie (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. "Search result(s) for Mannanarie, 5422". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
3. "Search result(s) for Mannanarie, 5422". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
4. "Place Names of South Australia – M". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
5. "History". Mannanarie Town Hall Association. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
6. "Search result(s) for Hundred of Mannanarie". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
7. "THE NORTHERN AGRICULTURAL AREAS". South Australian Register. Vol. XXXVII, no. 8103. South Australia. 5 November 1872. p. 6. Retrieved 26 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "Mannanarie". South Australian History. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
9. "NORTHERN LICENSING BENCH". The Northern Argus. Vol. XI, no. 788. South Australia. 7 March 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 26 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "MORE HOTEL LICENCES OPPOSED". Observer. Vol. LXXIV, no. 5, 634. South Australia. 24 February 1917. p. 32. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "Timeline". Mannanarie Public Hall Committee. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
12. "MANNANARIE". Petersburg Times. South Australia. 2 August 1912. p. 2. Retrieved 26 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "Centennial celebrations for a mid north landmark". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
14. Marsden, Susan (2012). "A History of South Australian Councils to 1936" (PDF). Local Government Association of South Australia. p. 41.
15. "Jamestown". Northern Areas Council. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.