Gerard (Aboriginal Council)

- 34.376388888889140.47916666667Koordinaten: 34 ° 23 ' S, 140 ° 29' O The Gerard Community Council is a Local Government Area ( LGA) in the Australian state of South Australia and has the special status of an Aboriginal community. The area is almost 86 square kilometers and has about 90 inhabitants.

Location

Gerard is the only one of the self-managed by the Aboriginal communities that is set in the regular LGAs in the southeast of the state. It is located in the southwest of the Berri Barmera Council on the Murray River and is adjacent to Loxton Waikerie. The area around the settlement Gerard is about 12 km northwest of Loxton and 185 km north-east of Adelaide.

History

1925 Aboriginal mission station was established on the Murray River at Swan Reach of the United Aborigines Mission ( UAM ). However, both the location and the local conditions were so difficult that decision was made to move. 1945 upriver a 2,348 -hectare area was about 80 km as the crow flies west of the old site bought and founded the Mission Gerard. It is named after the then President of the UAM in South Australia In addition to the Swan Reach Aborigines there attracted some natives from Ooldea to the outback in the west of the state.

As early as 1946 the residents of the community established a Council ( Board of Directors) and had the opportunity to decide on their own social affairs. In 1961 the mission was handed over to the state and was then under the supervision of a government official. In 1996 with a law of the Aboriginal Lands Trust ( ALT) was launched, which the Gerard reserve was allocated in 1974 and thus passed into the responsibility of the natives. The Gerard Community Council took over the management of the site and in 1994 it was finally referred to the South Australian Local Government Grants Act to one of five Local Government Areas with special status.

Economy

The riverside location allows for irrigation and agricultural use of the land. With vines, later with citrus and stone fruit as well as sheep and cattle they tried in 1946 to secure self-sufficiency. Outside the community found the Aborigines hardly work. Today in Gerard and traditional items from the Aboriginal culture for sale to tourists are produced.