District Council of Franklin Harbour

Franklin Harbour district is one of the older established areas on Eyre Peninsula. This area was first seen by Captain Matthew Flinders in the “Investigator” in 1802, when he reported a large lagoon (Franklin Harbour) visible from the mast-head, and gave the name Elbow Hill to a point in the coastal range. In 1840, Governor Gawler visited the area from Port Lincoln, and named Franklin Harbour after a midshipman on Flinders’ vessel – John (later Sir John) Franklin. The name of Cowell was applied to the township in 1880 by Governor Jervois, after Sir John Cowell, a brilliant English Army Engineer.