Delamere

The Kaurna name for a small tributary creek which runs through Delamere is Yala-walangga. The meaning is uncertain.
After the first survey of the land in the area land was soon taken up. The earliest selection near Delamere being in 1840. By the early 1850s settlers were farming the land. They called the place “Stockyards” because the stockyards of Henry and Frederick Jones were located here. The name was changed to “Glenburn” in the 1860s, but this name caused confusion with Glenburnie in the South East, and so the name was changed again around 1875, when it became known as “Delamere”.
In 1856 the District Council of Rapid Bay was formed and a council Chamber at nearby Bullaparinga was built in 1878. Churches were built (a Wesleyan church in 1858 and an Anglican Church in 1871) and a school established in 1867. In the 1870s, however, there was a period of decline. When the Talisker mine ceased operating in 1871 there was a decreased demand for coach services and the day coach from Normanville ceased to run. As elsewhere the wheat crops were failing, to be replaced for a time with the wattle bark industry, but people gradually moved away from the district to find a better living. The farmers that remained turned to sheep farming, and this became the saviour of the area. The Delamere General Store continues to serve the local farmers and the growing number of owners of small properties, seeking a change of life-style.