Copley, South Australia

Copley is a town in the Australian state of South Australia.

Copley South Australia
Copley
Coordinates	30°32′S 138°26′E
Population	83 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established	1891[2]
Postcode(s)	5732[3]
Elevation	237 m (778 ft)
Time zone	ACST (UTC+9:30)
• Summer (DST)	ACST (UTC+10:30)
Location	5 km (3 mi) northeast of Leigh Creek 265 km (165 mi) north of Port Augusta 540 km (336 mi) north of Adelaide
LGA(s)	Pastoral Unincorporated Area
Region	Far North[4]
State electorate(s)	Stuart[5]
Federal division(s)	Grey[6]
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 26.3 °C 79 °F 12.8 °C 55 °F 230.1 mm 9.1 in
Localities around Copley: Myrtle Springs Leigh Creek Station Leigh Creek Station Myrtle Springs Copley Leigh Creek Station Leigh Creek Leigh Creek North Moolooloo North Moolooloo
Footnotes	Climate[7] Adjoining localities[8]

The township adjacent to Leigh Creek Railway Station was officially dedicated as the Town of Copley by a proclamation published on 27 August 1891.^[2] The name honours William Copley, who at the time the town was proclaimed was a member of the Legislative Council for the Northern District.^[9]

According to Rodney Cockburn (in his Nomenclature of South Australia) the name Leigh Creek for the railway station and post office "was officially abandoned in 1916 on the advice of the Nomenclature Committee, who acted upon the suggestion of Lachlan McTaggart of Wooltana Station The Committee pointed out that it was most undesirable to have a town of one designation and a railway station and post office of another. The name Leigh Creek had no legal status by way of dedication, while the town of Copley was proclaimed under the Crown Lands Act and there were many sound reasons why the latter appellative should be adopted for all Government purposes. It seemed absurd to have a name wholly foreign to the title deeds used for the post office and railway station. At a public meeting the residents protested vigorously against the change.^[10]

Copley is located within the federal division of Grey, the state electoral district of Stuart and the Pastoral Unincorporated Area of South Australia.^[6][5][8] As of 2016, the community within Copley received municipal services from a South Australian government agency, the Outback Communities Authority.^[11]

Notes and references

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Copley (SA) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. Bray, J.C. (27 August 1891). "Proclamation ("Town of Copley, out of Hundreds")" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia: 488–489. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
3. "Postcode for Copley, South Australia". Retrieved 27 May 2017.
4. "Far North SA government region" (PDF). The Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
5. "District of Stuart Background Profile". Electoral Commission SA. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
6. "Federal electoral division of Grey, boundary gazetted 16 December 2011" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
7. "Summary (climate) Summary statistics LEIGH CREEK AIRPORT (nearest weather station)". Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
8. "Search result for "Copley (LOCB)" (Record no SA0016021) with the following layers selected – "Suburbs and Localities" and "Place names (gazetter)"". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
9. "Placename Details: Copley". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. 6 May 2013. SA0016021. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
10. "Country News". Chronicle. 5 May 1917. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
11. "Copley". Outback Communities Authority. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.

Sources

Extract entitled "Copley, A Potted History" Commemorating Copley's Centenary 1891–1991. On one side is a map, Portion D.BP.10, Roads Book