Wilpena Pound - Culture and History

The Flinders Ranges, of which Wilpena Pound is the emotional centre, were first sighted by Matthew Flinders in 1802. He lent his name to the low lying range of hills which starts south of Port Augusta and stretches northward for some 500 kilometres.

In 1839 Edward John Eyre traversed the ranges as he travelled north discovering the vast Lake Eyre which lies to the north of the range. By the 1850s, although the land was deemed to be beyond the limits of cultivation, large tracts of the land were being leased. Wilpena Pound was leased in 1851 and, given its natural protection, was first used as a large horse breeding area. The horses were simply led into the 'pound' and left to their own devices.

In 1899 the Hill family who lived at Hawker took out a lease over the whole of the pound. They cleared the land and started wheat farming. If you come across old pieces of farm equipment while walking in the pound it probably is left from these days. By 1904 the Hills were doing sufficiently well from their wheat that they built a small stone house near the entrance to the pound. They lived there until 1914.

A resort was established near the only entrance to Wilpena Pound in 1945. It was administered by the South Australian Tourist Bureau. By 1972 the pound was under the control of the National Parks Commission and it has remained under government control ever since.

In recent times Rawnsley Park Station, which is located to the south of the pound, has established itself as a modestly priced caravan park with good quality apartments (taken from a nearby mining site). It offers a range of activities including scenic flights over the Pound, horse riding and bicycling, as well as interesting and unusual walks to the Pound. See below for more details.