"Local Icons - Park Lands Women seriesSince becoming a city dweller a few years ago, I have spent a lot of time walking in and around the Park Lands, and getting to know something of their personalities and histories. Of the thirty-two named parks and six named squares, fifteen are named after women. (This includes some parks which have been subdivided and have different names for the different sections.) Eight of those fifteen are Aboriginal women.
Iparrityi, in the southwest corner of the city square mile is also known as Whitmore Square. It is named to honour the ‘last woman of the Adelaide tribe’, who is also often acknowledged as the last full Kaurna speaker. Iparrityi, whose name translates as ‘gentle, misty rain’, was born in the 1840s at Port Adelaide and died in 1929. Hurtle Square in the Southeast corner is named for her Mother, Tangkairi.
Iparrityi was also known as Amelia Taylor and Amelia Savage from her two marriages, Princess Amelia and Turku Nganki, ‘mother to many’. She was known for her keen intelligence and sense of humour. The knowledge she passed on about the Kaurna people, language, customs and important sites throughout Adelaide has been invaluable to understanding and preserving them for future generations."