Yankalilla

Yankalilla is an agriculturally based town situated on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, located 72 km south of the state's capital of Adelaide.

Yankalilla is an agriculturally based town situated on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, located 72 km south of the state's capital of Adelaide. The town is nestled in the Bungala River valley, overlooked by the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and acts as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural district.

In the early stages of the colonisation of the state, Yankalilla was a highly important location, but its close proximity to Adelaide and the advent of fast transport has greatly diminished this position.

The Yankalilla area was originally inhabited by the Kaurna, an Aboriginal Australian people, who occupied an area of land stretching from Cape Jervis, up the western side of the Fleurieu Peninsula, to the top of Gulf St Vincent. The Kaurna occasionally met with the Ramindjeri people from the Encounter Bay and Fleurieu Peninsula for trade and exchange.Aboriginal mythology credits the formation of the land forms of the Fleurieu Peninsula to the travels of Tjilbruke, the Kaurna ancestor creator as he grieved carrying the body of his nephew from the Sturt River to Cape Jervis.

The Yankalilla district has European history dating back to the first settlement in South Australia, with coastal areas colonised in the late 1830s. In 1838 over 5,400 acres (22 km2) of land around Yankalilla was surveyed for sheep and dairy activities, but the current location of the town came into being four years later.

The actual town of Yankalilla was established in 1839 when The Reverend Father Henry Kemmis, came to live on land allocated to him be his cousin Governor George Grey. His wife died shortly after they landed in Adelaide, his children were left with servants, who built their home, the Reverend remarried and later travelled throughout Australia, establishing schools. Shortly afterward in 1842 Septimane Herbert and George Worthington took up land and built houses in the town. The farmers planted wheat and barley in the land they had cleared, paving the way for future agricultural developments.

The town grew rapidly between 1850 and 1870 and during this time Yankalilla became one of the five major towns in the colony of South Australia. A jetty was constructed on the coast to export the wheat grown in the district. The district council was officially proclaimed in 1854 and by the late 1860s the Yankalilla and Normanville had three flour mills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmiths, three hotels and five churches.The town's Anglican church, 'Christ Church', has a marble font which has its origins in the Middle Ages, once gracing Salisbury Cathedral in England. It was given to a former Christ Church rector during a visit to England.The former owners subsequently regretted their generosity and requested its return, but this was denied.Another point of interest is the Shrine of Our Lady of Yankalilla in the Anglican church.In August 1994 an image was thought to have become visible on a wall behind the altar of the 137-year-old stone church. It was interpreted as an image of the Virgin Mary, depicting her face and body and appearing to be holding the crucified Christ in the manner of a pietà. Two years after the image appeared on the wall the local press covered the story in the Adelaide Advertiser, bringing international tourists to the town.A number of buildings in the town are heritage listed, including the Anglican church, Manor Farm and The Olives.A number of previously listed buildings are no longer standing.