Warrawong Sanctuary

Mylor
Home to the famous Warrawong Sanctuary
Located only 27 km from the centre of Adelaide (take the Longwood Road through Stirling and keep heading south), Mylor was surveyed in 1885. The plan was to break the area up into 20 acre blocks to be farmed under a bizarre scheme by a South Australian politician, G. W. Cotton. The plan was to provide the land to white collar workers who had settled on the orchards in the area. The idea was that they would work these 'waste lands' on their weekends. It was a kind of early version of the phenomenon of city people working small holdings.

The township was proclaimed in 1891 by the Acting Governor of South Australia, Sir James Bocaut, who named the village after his birthplace in Cornwall.

Today the village (located just north of the Onkaparinka River around Strathalbyn Road) is a pleasant mountain retreat inhabited mainly by commuters.

Things to see:  

A black swan on the lake at Warrawong Sanctuary

Warrawong Sanctuary
The main reason for visiting Mylor is the fascinating Warrawong Sanctuary which is run by the passionate environmentalist, Dr John Walmsley. Walmsley's position is simple: 'Of all mammals to become extinct in the last 200 years, half have been Australian. The last 150 years has seen the known extinction of 32 mammal species from South Australia. Twenty species of Australian mammal now live in numbers considered by world wildlife standards, too low to survive.'

Walmsley believes that the primary reasons for this decimation are:

(i) that the original settlers and naturalists did not realise that most Australian mammals are nocturnal. Therefore there was a great ignorance about the small mammals which sleep during the day and forage during the night.

(ii) that the greatest danger to small mammals is feral animals. He has a particular and passionate hatred of the domestic cat who he believes becomes a highly efficient killing machine when freed from domesticity.

With this in mind Walmsley has waged a campaign against the feral cat. This has manifested itself in his wearing a 'Davy Crockett' style hat made out of cat skins and, for those who visit the sanctuary, a huge wall mat (about 3 metres by 4 metres) made out of the skins of feral cats.

Bush tucker growing beside the lake at Warrawong Sanctuary

It also manifested itself, in 1969, in Walmsley purchasing Warrawong Sanctuary, building a fence that no cat could climb or get under, replanting the native vegetation, and developing a 15 hectare sanctuary for the protection of such delightful Australian nocturnal mammals as the bettong, potteroo, bandicoot, pademelon, quoll and hydromys. Also in the Sanctuary are kangaroos and wallabies (which can often be seen during the daylight hours) and there are a number of platypus (although they are commonly hard to sight) in the Black Water Lake.

It is an extraordinary experience to participate in the dawn or evening conducted walks around the Sanctuary. The bush areas are full of small animals all busily going about the business of foraging for food. It is necessary to contact the Sanctuary to find out when the dawn and dusk walks take place (they vary according to the season). The best way to do the walks is to stay at the Warrawong Sanctuary Tents overnight. There is no doubt this is one of the most worthwhile and exciting fauna experiences available in Australia. For more details contact (08) 8370 9422.

Mylor Village Walks
There is a small brochure titled 'Two Walks In And Around Mylor' which is available from Tourist Information Offices in the Adelaide Hills. In this publication historian Tom Dyster outlines 16 places of interest (some are of buildings which no longer exist) around the village of Mylor including Goyder Reserve, Hack Bridge, the Old Bootmakers Shop and the Mylor Institute.

	Cottages & Cabins
	Warrawong Sanctuary Cabins Cnr Stock & Williams Rd Mylor SA 5153 Telephone: (08) 8370 9422 Facsimile: (08) 8370 8332
	Lodges & Chalets
	Blue Wren Lodge Stock Rd Mylor SA 5153 Telephone: (08) 8388 5472
	Restaurants
	Warrawong Sanctuary Cnr Stock & Williams Rd Mylor SA 5153 Telephone: (08) 8370 9422 Facsimile: (08) 8370 8332