Mount Torrens South Australia | |||||||||||||||
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Main street of Mount Torrens | |||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 34°52′30″S138°57′26″E / 34.87509°S 138.95722°E [1] | ||||||||||||||
Population | 324 (UCL 2021) [2] | ||||||||||||||
Established | 1840s | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 5244 | ||||||||||||||
Location | 46 km (29 mi) from Adelaide | ||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | |||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Morialta | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Mayo | ||||||||||||||
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Mount Torrens is a town in the eastern Adelaide Hills region of South Australia, 46 kilometres (29 miles) east-north-east of the state capital, Adelaide and 8 kilometres (5 miles) east of Lobethal. It is on Onkaparinga Valley Road (B34) between the towns of Charleston and Birdwood. Currently it is the eastern end of the Amy Gillett Bikeway, which follows the former railway alignment from Oakbank. It is served by the LinkSA coach route, which runs from Mount Pleasant to Tea Tree Plaza. It is located in the jurisdiction of the Adelaide Hills Council and the Mid Murray Council.
The Indigenous name for the mount is unknown. The first Europeans to ascend it, on 25 January 1838, were the exploration party of Dr George Imlay and John Hill, but they did not name it. [3] The mount and nearby town were named later after Robert Torrens, one of South Australia's founding fathers as chairman of the South Australian Colonisation Commission.
The town was developed by the Dunn family in the early 1840s. Then known as Barton Springs, it incorporated a farmhouse, smithy, stables and the Cornish Arms inn. The town proper was laid out in 1853 to serve the River Murray trade at Mannum and a nearby copper mine. A small gold deposit was discovered in 1870, [4] but by World War I the town's importance had diminished, and the town that stands today is virtually unchanged since that time. [5]
Mount Torrens has a sporting ground, hotel, farm supply store and general store. There are two schools – the state government Mount Torrens Primary School and the co-educational, interdenominational Mount Torrens Christian school – and Anglican, Lutheran and Uniting churches. In 2019, Mount Torrens became part of the Adelaide Hills Sculpture Trail. [6] The former site of the fire station was made into a small park which houses the sculpture. Several historic buildings are in the town. [7]
Mount Torrens was served by the Mount Pleasant railway line, which was totally removed following closure in 1963.
Mount Torrens and the surrounding areas were damaged during the 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfire.
Tailem Bend is a rural town in South Australia, 85 kilometres south-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is located on the lower reaches of the River Murray, near where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina. It is linear in layout since it is constrained by river cliffs on its western side and the Adelaide–Melbourne railway line is dominant on its eastern side. The town grew and consolidated through being a large railway centre between the 1890s and 1990s; now it continues to service regional rural communities. In the 2021 census, Tailem Bend and the surrounding area had a population of 1,705.
Mount Barker is a city in South Australia. Located approximately 33 kilometres from the Adelaide city centre, it is home to 21,554 residents (2021). It is the seat of the District Council of Mount Barker, the largest town in the Adelaide Hills, Part of Greater Adelaide, as well as one of the fastest-growing areas in the state.
Murray Bridge is a city in the Australian state of South Australia, located 78 kilometres (48 mi) east-southeast of the state's capital city, Adelaide, and 77 kilometres (48 mi) north of the town of Meningie.
The Mid Murray Council is a local government area in South Australia in the Murray and Mallee region of South Australia. The council spans the area from the Riverland through the Murraylands to the eastern slopes of the Mount Lofty Ranges. It includes 220 km of the Murray River. The council seat is at Mannum; it also maintains secondary offices at Cambrai and Morgan.
Birdwood, originally named Blumberg, is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia, around 44 km (27 mi) from Adelaide city centre. It is located in the local government areas of the Adelaide Hills Council and the Mid Murray Council.
Osborne is a suburb in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Lefevre Peninsula in the west of Adelaide about 21 kilometres north-west of the Adelaide city centre.
Morgan is a town in South Australia on the right bank of the Murray River, just downstream of where it turns from flowing roughly westwards to roughly southwards. It is about 161 kilometres (100 mi) north east of Adelaide, and about 315 kilometres (196 mi) upstream of the Murray Mouth.
Cudlee Creek is a small town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area.
The Onkaparinga River, known as Ngangkiparri or Ngangkiparingga in the Kaurna language, is a river located in the Southern Adelaide region in the Australian state of South Australia. Rising in the Mount Lofty Ranges, the river's estuary extends from Old Noarlunga to the river's mouth between the suburbs of Port Noarlunga and Port Noarlunga South.
Houghton is a small town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills, in the City of Tea Tree Gully and the Adelaide Hills Council local government areas between Tea Tree Gully and Inglewood on the North East Road.
Inglewood is a small town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, and is adjacent to Houghton, Paracombe and the rural districts of Upper Hermitage and Chain of Ponds. At the 2006 census, Inglewood had a population of 264.
Chain of Ponds is a locality and former town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area.
Paracombe is a small town near Adelaide, South Australia. At the 2011 census, Paracombe had a population of 343.
Gumeracha is a town in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area on the south bank of the upper River Torrens. The region relies heavily on grazing, dairying, grape growing, orchards, and market gardening. Its most prominent attraction is the Big Rocking Horse.
Forreston is a locality near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area 3 km northeast of Gumeracha.
Mount Pleasant is a town situated in the Barossa Council, just north of the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia, 55 kilometres east-north-east of the state capital, Adelaide. It is located in the Barossa Council and Mid Murray Council local government areas, and is at an altitude of 440 metres above sea level. Rainfall in the area averages 687 mm per annum.
Palmer is a town just east of the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia along the Adelaide-Mannum Road, 70 kilometres east-north-east of the state capital, Adelaide and 15 km west-north-west of Mannum. It is located in the Mid Murray Council local government area.
Woodside is a town in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. The town is between Balhannah and Lobethal, 37 kilometres (23 mi) from the state capital, Adelaide. Mount Barker is also nearby.
Mannum is a historic town on the west bank of the Murray River in South Australia, 84 kilometres (52 mi) east of Adelaide. Mannum is the seat of the Mid Murray Council, and is situated in the state electoral district of Hammond and the federal Division of Barker.
The Hundred of Talunga is a cadastral hundred of the County of Adelaide, South Australia, spanning the Torrens Valley in the Adelaide Hills. It was proclaimed by Governor Frederick Robe in 1846 and named for an indigenous term thought to mean 'waterhole'.