The area was in the general vicinity of
Nauo and
Barngarla land. The town takes its name from the
explorer John Charles Darke, who was injured in a
spear attack by
Indigenous people while he was climbing nearby Waddikee Rock on 24 October 1844. Waddikee Rock is a sacred site of the
Barngarla people. He died the next day and was buried at the foot of the Rock.
Governor Grey expressed a wish that some landform in the region of the
grave should be named to honour him. In 1865
surveyor Thomas Evans who was performing a
trigonometrical survey of the
Gawler Ranges and named the high mount, 'Darke's Peak'. In 1909, another surveyor, W.G. Evans, reported that he had found bones in a grave and was satisfied they were the remains of
Darke. Darke's grave and monument are located on the western side of the range, still standing as a memorial to the first
European who explored this area. The memorial was erected by the
SA Government in 1910. Darke Peak includes Darke Range, Caralue Bluff,
Carappee Hill Conservation Park and Carappee Hill in the surrounding area, with Carappee Hill known for being the highest exposed
granite rock mass on
Eyre Peninsula. ==Economy==