Parent range Belvidere Range | Elevation 518 m | |
 | ||
Location South Australia, Australia Similar Spring Gully Conserva, Martindale Hall, Riesling Trail, Annie's Lane, Mount Lofty Ranges | ||
Peters Hill, (518m), formerly Peter's Hill (the possessive apostrophe being officially deleted in December 1940) is the highest peak in the Belvidere Range of hills of South Australia, which is a northern extension of the Mount Lofty Ranges.
Contents
Map of Peters Hill, Riverton SA 5412, Australia
Description
Peters Hill sits atop a north-south ridge about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the surveyed town of Hamilton and around 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) nearly due east of the town of Riverton. The surrounding country supports grazing on the higher peaks and dry grain farming on the slopes and plains.
Naming
Peters Hill has been named as such since as early as 1842. Without doubt, the hill is named after William Peter, a Scottish grazier who in 1841 pioneered European settlement in this district. His sheep runs extended all round this hill, one of his head stations being nearby." 'Peter's Hill', as well as the neighbouring 'Mr Peter's Head Station', are both marked and named on a survey plan drawn up in 1842 for the Secondary Towns Association.
Despite that evidence, some history sources have caused confusion by citing alternative origins which are obviously incorrect. Among these are the Manning Index. This identifies three sources for the hill's name. One is William Spence Peter, as already mentioned. Another asserts it was named after “Peter Inkster (c.1829-1917), an early settler.”, However, Inkster did not migrate to South Australia until 1852, by which time the name had been in use for at least ten years. Lastly, it was supposedly named 'Petatz Hill' after Martin Petatz, a Germanic settler who owned a nearby property. However, Petatz’s name is not recorded in official records as a landholder. More likely, Petatz is simply a translated form of the name Peter.
History
In the early 1850s a small copper mine, the Belvidere, was worked at the north end of this hill. Around that time the first European farming settlers arrived, including a significant community of Wends, displacing the earlier pastoralists. By 1856 these pioneers had erected a school, church, and cemetery. Some of their descendants are still farming there today.