The town entrance sign at Lochiel, depicting the seasonal pink colouration of Lake Bumbunga, the nearby hills, and horses pulling a salt scrape; the low wall in front depicts the "Loch Eel"
The Government Town of Lochiel was surveyed in 1869, closely following the proclamation of the cadastral Hundred of Cameron.[4] The District Councils Act 1887 declared the township and the rest of the Hundred of Cameron a part of the District Council of Port Wakefield. The following year, lobbying by residents resulted in the Hundred of Cameron being moved from the control of Wakefield council into the jurisdiction of the District Council of Snowtown, cementing a close relationship between Lochiel and Snowtown rather than the more distant Port Wakefield.
In 1868, the potential of Lake Bumbunga's shallow waters for natural salt mining was recognised. Salt has been harvested from the lake bed in summer months since 1881, providing employment and other economic benefits for many years. After 1913, when the Australian Salt Company was incorporated, the company and its successors, latterly trading as Cheetham Salt, have held the lake leases continuously.[7] Profitability was improved after a 9 km[8] branch line was built[note 3] from the nearby broad-gauge railway line, enabling transport directly to Port Adelaide.[9] Lochiel itself is said to have "developed slowly with the industry, its survival in the 20th century being almost totally dependent on the salt harvesting".[10][9]
In 2011, about 270 million tonnes of lignite (brown coal) were estimated to be in a deposit north of Lochiel in seven seams from 70 to 110 metres underground. The seams' thickness varied from 0.3 to 3.0 metres, for a total of 9.4 metres. The site was considered to be favourable because it lies only 6 km (4 mi) from the railway line to Adelaide, Darwin and Perth. The deposit was not subsequently developed.[11]
The "Loch Eel" sculpture in the shallows of Lake Bumbunga
Attraction
In 1972 a local man, Gary Taylor, and his friends created a sculpture of rubber tyres and plastic in the shallows of Lake Bumbunga 2.4 km north of the town (33°54′09″S138°10′05″E / 33.9026°S 138.1680°E / -33.9026; 138.1680), to be visible from the main highway. They named it "Loch Eel" – a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the supposed appearance of the Loch Ness Monster.
There is speculation that by early-mid 2022 Lochiel will have another tourist drawcard added to the list of things to appreciate, and to help break up long drives on highway one.
Notes
^Related names in Clan Cameron lands in the Scottish Highlands are those of Loch Eil [sic], a branch of the sea loch of Loch Linnhe; and the Frìth Loch Iall (or Locheil Forest).
^Narungga (Map). Electoral District Boundaries Commission. 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
^Stewart of Ardvorlich, John (2015). The Camerons: a history of Clan Cameron (5th ed.). Spean Bridge, Invernesshire: Clan Cameron's Charitable Trust. ISBN9780956093394.
Nicholls, Beryl F. (1969?). By the waterhole: a general history of Lochiel and district. Lochiel Progress Association. Lochiel, South Australia. ISBN095994270X.