Cadastral map of the County of Fergusson, South Australia, in two sheets.

Before the late 1860s Yorke Peninsula, especially the southern half, was largely taken up with pastoral leases. Then in 1869 in response to an act to further amend the Waste Lands Act (no. 14 of 1868-69) and a call from farmers for the opening up of lands for farming, surveys began on the Peninsula. The third schedule of the Act established the survey of the peninsula to begin in Area no. 5 -Troubridge. In 1869 the Hundred of Melville was surveyed, pastoral leases were resumed and the land marked up into blocks. The locations for towns were surveyed, the guiding principal being a town every 10 miles but also depending on a number of conditions, such as availability of water. Once suitable locations were decided upon a town plan was sent from the Surveyor-General in Adelaide, and applied to the local conditions. The plans were always of the traditional grid pattern, with a surrounding belt of parkland as had been used by Colonel William Light when he designed Adelaide.

County Fergusson is the southern end of Yorke Peninsula and is approximately 4828 square kilometres. It was named after Governor Sir James Fergusson. The foot of the misshapen leg of the Peninsula contains many salt lagoons, which are clearly depicted on this map. The layout of the newly surveyed towns is also evident: Edithburgh, Wool Bay, Stansbury and Minlaton on the southern sheet, and Maitland, Port Victoria, Koolywurtie and Curramulka on the northern sheet all show the typical grid pattern with parkland belt, adapted to the local terrain.

The toe of the peninsula had not been sub-divided at the time this map was produced.

Carmichael, Ern The ill-shaped leg : a story of the development of Yorke Peninsula [Fullarton, S. Aust.]: E.J. Carmichael, 1973

Yorke Peninsula heritage [Maitland?, S. Aust.: s.n., 1986]

Souvenir of Yorke Peninsula : embodying Maitland, Ardrossan, Kilkerran, Port Victoria, Minlaton, Curramulka, Port Vincent, Stansbury, Yorketown, Edithburgh and their environs : the land of the golden grain, described and illustrated Adelaide: O. Ziegler, 1921

Normandale, Harold To and about Yorke Peninsula [Stirling, S. Aust.]: H. Normandale, c1983

Porter, J. R. The priceless gift - an ordered land: a brief history of the early surveying of South Australia [Adelaide?: Institution of Surveyors?, 1986?]