Kersbrook

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Kersbrook
South Australia
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Kersbrook
Coordinates 34°47′02″S138°51′07″E / 34.784°S 138.852°E / -34.784; 138.852 Coordinates: 34°47′02″S138°51′07″E / 34.784°S 138.852°E / -34.784; 138.852
Population1,116 (SAL 2021) [1]
Established1850s
Postcode(s) 5231
Location36 km (22 mi) from Adelaide
LGA(s) Adelaide Hills Council
State electorate(s) Newland
Federal division(s) Mayo
Suburbs around Kersbrook:
Yattalunga
Humbug Scrub 		Williamstown Mount Crawford
Sampson Flat Kersbrook Forreston
Inglewood
Millbrook 		Chain of Ponds Gumeracha

Kersbrook (formerly Maidstone) is a town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area. At the 2006 census, Kersbrook had a population of 367. [2]

Contents

History

The first settlers established farms in the Kersbrook area in the early 1831s due to its relatively gentle slopes. John Bowden, manager of the South Australian Company's dairy farm at Hackney, bought the 32-hectare (79-acre) section 6146, Hundred of Para Wirra, and named it Kersbrook after the Cornish farm where he was born. [3] By 1844, Bowden was recorded as having "800 sheep, 62 cattle, one horse, 13 pigs, 16 acres (65,000 m2) of wheat, eight acres of barley, plots of oats, maize and potatoes, and a fruit garden".

The settlement itself was created by William Carman, a blacksmith working at a copper mine near Williamstown, who took advantage of the area's location on the busy road to the Barossa Valley. In 1851 Carman built the Wheatsheaf Inn on a subdivision of section 5519 of the Hundred of Para Wirra. By 1858, some settlers had arrived and Carman gave some of his land to build a town called Maidstone after Maidstone, Kent. [4] [3] In 1917 the town was officially renamed to Kersbrook as this was the name used by local residents and referred to the original 'Kersbrook' farm of John Bowden immediately south west of the town. It became a notable agricultural area, especially for fruit.

In the 1990s, John Bunting and his friends murdered a number of people; one victim was murdered and dumped in Kersbrook. [5]

Kersbrook is a fairly quiet rural town, where most of the old buildings still stand. [6] In January 2015, twelve houses in the town were destroyed as a result of the 2015 Sampson Flat bushfires. [7]

Geography

Kersbrook is located between Chain of Ponds and Williamstown along the Little Para Road, and southeast of One Tree Hill along a separate road.

At the ABS 2001 census, Kersbrook had a population of 314 people living in 120 dwellings.

Facilities

The primary school opened in 1868; and there is a general store and other small stores in the town. Nearby Humbug Scrub and Mount Gawler are used for orienteering [8] and mountain biking in quite steep terrain.

About 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Kersbrook is the 353-hectare (870-acre) Warren Conservation Park, a rugged nature reserve with views over the Warren Gorge which was dedicated in 1966 and protects a range of rare fauna. [9] There is also a pine plantation nearby, which is now part of the Mount Crawford Forest. [10]

Kersbrook also have a very successful Australian Rules team, who wear double blue and are nicknamed the 'Brookers'. They have produced three AFL players of which brothers Brett (Adelaide Crows) and Roger James (Port Adelaide) have both won AFL premierships; and many SANFL league players.

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References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Kersbrook (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Kersbrook (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Placename Details: Kersbrook". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. 20 September 2007. SA0018636. Archived from the original on 7 December 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2017. Named By: J Bowden; Derivation of Name: A farm in Cornwall, England; Other Details: Originally a private subdivision of Section 6146. John Bowden, landowner in the area, was born at Kersbrook Farm in Cornwall and arrived here in 1838. Boundaries created in October 2001 for the long established name. Portion of the rural locality of Warren added in August 2005 following residents petition.
  4. ↑ "Placename Details: Maidstone". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. 20 September 2007. SA0018703. Archived from the original on 7 December 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2017. Named By: J Bowden; Derivation of Name: His Native Town in Kent, England; Other Details: Private subdivision of Sections 5519 & 6145. For name alteration vide CLO.283/1917. Now incorporated into the bounded locality of Kersbrook.
  5. ↑ "Life after death: Dark tourism and the future of Snowtown – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)".
  6. ↑ Adelaide Hills Council – Historical Town Information Archived 25 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Adelaide Hills bushfire: Up to 38 houses destroyed, Kersbrook worst hit". Australia: ABC News. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Orienteering map of Mount Gawler accessed 16 June 2005
  9. ↑ Department of Environment and Heritage – Warren
  10. ↑ Placenames SA last accessed 16 June 2006
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