Paskeville, South Australia

History

Paskeville is within the traditional lands of the indigenous Narungga people. The first European explorers to traverse Northern Yorke Peninsula were John Hill and Thomas Burr, on horseback. On 28 April 1840 they camped overnight near present Paskeville and later reported they had discovered extensive fertile land there. The Paskeville district was soon occupied by sheep graziers, who held occupation licences until closer settlement came two decades later.

The Hundred of Kulpara was proclaimed on 12 June 1862. Surveys soon followed, including the surveyed township of Kulpara. Pioneer farmers cleared the land for cropping, but there was no town at Paskeville until 1878, when a station was established on the new Port Wakefield to Kadina railway. Up until that time the name Green's Plains had applied to this district. The surveyed town which surrounded this station was on 4 March 1880 named after General Edward Hanson Paske, brother-in-law of the incumbent Governor, Sir William Jervois.

The railway yards at Paskeville were soon busily thronged by local farmers with transhipments of bagged wheat and barley, as well as wool. Goods sheds were built in 1887, while silos were built later for bulk grain handling. These products were generally exported through the port of Wallaroo.

The township of Paskeville soon provided commercial and community support services, including churches, a school, grocer and baker, and a hotel (originally named the Railway Hotel). Gaslight came to Paskeville in 1903, a new post office in 1925, and a 32-volt power supply until 1953. The township thrived for a time, but the closure of the railway, plus better roads and shopping options, eventually stalled its growth.

Geography

The original geography of Northern Yorke Peninsula was of scrub-covered undulating plains, almost devoid of watercourses. Since European settlement the scrub has mostly been cleared, with the exception of roadside remnants, leaving a dominant landscape of undulating grain fields. Paskeville is sited upon a plateau which, although low-lying, affords clear and distant views in certain directions across the surrounding region. The geology, which is dominated by limestone overlaid by ancient sand dunes, was quickly exhausted by pioneer cropping, but modern farming methods and fertilisers make this a highly productive food bowl.

Yorke Peninsula Field Days

Paskeville biennially hosts the Yorke Peninsula Field Days (YPFD), a three-day field day with a major focus on agriculture, and the future, the event features extensive displays of the latest agricultural machinery and equipment, technology, information and services. The event also offers a variety of displays designed to be of interest to both rural and urban families. The event, which since 1975 has been held on a permanent site approximately 3 km west of the township, attracts an Australia wide attendance.

Bikie Shooting

In February 2008 a Kadina man was lured to Paskeville where he was ambushed by four men and shot at least 15 times at close range, before staggering into the Paskeville Hotel. The offenders fled, leaving the man in a critical but stable condition. Remarkably, he survived. The victim was linked to the shooting death of a bikie gang member at Wallaroo in May 2004, for which he had been tried and acquitted.