Torrens Park is a mainly residential large inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, incorporating some of the foothills[2] and adjacent to the original "Mitcham Village". It was named after Sir Robert Richard Torrens, the instigator of the Torrens title system of land registration and transfer, who built a large home in the area which he named Torrens Park.
The name was formally submitted for approval in 1945. Torrens Park is named after Sir Robert Richard Torrens, the third Premier of South Australia and instigator of the Torrens title land title system. Torrens built a large home which he called "Torrens Park" near Mitcham in 1853–4. In 1865 Torrens sold the house to his partner in the Moonta Mines (later founder of the University of Adelaide), Walter Watson Hughes, who enlarged it and later sold it to businessman and philanthropist Robert Barr Smith.[3][4] It is now part of Scotch College.[4] Although the original gates have recently been removed, the original gatehouse to the Estate is still visible at the corner of Belair Road and Ayr Avenue.[citation needed]
Torrens Park Post Office opened on 24 August 1953 and closed in 1972.[5]
Part of today's suburb was laid out in 1917 from the estate of Tom Elder Barr-Smith;[6] various parts of the suburb were originally known as "Glenburnie", Blytheswoodville, Panchito Park, Blythwood Estate and West Mitcham.[7]
Geography
In comparison with most Adelaide suburbs, Torrens Park is quite large. The north end of the suburb is reasonably flat, but as one travels south (towards the foothills) the terrain rises and becomes hilly. Brown Hill Creek runs through the suburb from the south-east to the north-west. Due to the foothills, the rainfall in the City of Mitcham is 25–50 per cent higher than the rainfall on the Adelaide Plains.
Traditionally, the area has been part of a "blue ribbon Liberal" seat; the state member has been Martin Hamilton-Smith since 1997, and the federal member has been Andrew Southcott since 1996.
Schools
The only school actually located in the suburb is Scotch College.
Public transport to Torrens Park is available through the Belair railway line, to the Mitcham (North-West), Torrens Park[8] (West) and Lynton (South-West) stations.[9] Buses are also available to and from the City along Belair Road.[10]
Route 192 terminates on Kays Road; Routes 194 and 196 pass through the suburb en route to Blackwood Station. Route 171 travels along Princes Road serving the northern side of the suburb and then via Fullarton Road to the city.
1 2 Moore, Peter (14 October 2014). "Sir Robert Richard Torrens". Adelaidia. Retrieved 10 November 2019. This entry was first published in S.A.'s Greats: The men and women of the North Terrace plaques, edited by John Healey (Historical Society of South Australia Inc., 2001).
↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
↑ Tom Elder Barr-Smith, born in 1863, was the son of Robert Barr Smith. In 1920 the Barr-Smith family gave £11,000 for the endowment of the library of the University of Adelaide, and in 1928 Tom gave £30,000 for the Barr Smith Library building.
↑ Local folklore/legend[citation needed] is that the bend in the railway line and the location of the Torrens Park station were planned to minimise the distance between Sir Robert Torrens' house and a railway station.
↑ Prior to the "standardisation" of the Adelaide-Melbourne rail line, the suburb was also served by the now closed Clapham station.
↑ To a lesser degree, buses along Fullarton Road serve the eastern side of the suburb.
Belair is a suburb in the south eastern foothills of Adelaide, South Australia at the base of the Mount Lofty Ranges.
Colonel Light Gardens is a suburb located within the Australian City of Mitcham in the greater Adelaide region, approximately 7 km (4 mi) south of the Adelaide city centre. The area is 1.58 km2 (0.61 sq mi). Planned as a garden suburb, it is known for wide, tree-lined streets, presentable postwar bungalow homes, rounded street corners, and much manicured, well maintained open space.
The City of Mitcham is a local government area in the foothills of southern Adelaide, South Australia. Within its bounds is Flinders University, South Australia's third largest, and the notable, affluent suburb of Springfield which contains some of the city's most expensive properties.
Clapham railway station was located on the Belair line in the inner southern Adelaide suburb of Clapham, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Adelaide railway station.
West Beach is a seaside suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in both the City of Charles Sturt and the City of West Torrens.
Westbourne Park is an inner southern suburb of Adelaide, the State capital of South Australia. The suburb was named after Westbourne, a village in Sussex, England, and was laid out in 1881.
Scotch College is an independent, Uniting Church, co-educational, day and boarding school, located on two adjacent campuses in Torrens Park and Mitcham, inner-southern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia.
Blackwood is a south eastern suburb located in the foothills of Adelaide, South Australia. It is part of the local government area of the City of Mitcham.
Clapham, located approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of the Adelaide city centre, is a primarily residential suburb situated within the City of Mitcham, incorporating some of the foothills. The suburb is named after Clapham in London, England. Neighbouring suburbs are Colonel Light Gardens, Panorama, Lynton, Torrens Park and Lower Mitcham.
Waite is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. Named after Peter Waite, a 19th century entrepreneur and philanthropist, it covers 75.4 km² of suburbs and foothills in Adelaide's inner south-east, taking in the suburbs of Belair, Blackwood, Brown Hill Creek, Coromandel East, Coromandel Valley, Crafers West, Craigburn Farm, Eden Hills, Glenalta, Hawthorndene, Kingswood, Lynton, Mitcham, Netherby, Springfield, Torrens Park, Urrbrae as well as part of Upper Sturt.
Kingswood is a suburb of the Australian city of Adelaide in the City of Mitcham. It is bordered in the west by Belair Road, to the north by Cross Road, to the south by Princes Road and to the east by Smith Dorrien Street.
Hawthorn is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, in the City of Mitcham. It is bounded to the north by Cross Road, to the south by Grange Road, to the west by Sussex Terrace and to the east by Belair Road. The Belair train line runs through the suburb. To the west is Westbourne Park, and to the east is Kingswood.
Springfield is a green and hilly inner-southern suburb of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is located in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges, around 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south-east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is part of the hills-face zone, with sweeping views over the Adelaide plains. Springfield is an affluent area containing many of South Australia's most valuable residential properties.
Mile End is an inner western suburb of Adelaide, located in the City of West Torrens, around 2 kilometres from the Adelaide city centre. It has a census area population of 4,413 people (2011). Much of the suburb is residential, but there are small commercial areas along Henley Beach Road and South Road.
Craigburn Farm is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It is located about 17 km by road south of the city centre.
Glenalta is a suburb located in the south eastern Foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges of Adelaide, South Australia. It is adjacent to Belair National Park.
Richmond is an inner urban suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located on Kaurna land in the City of West Torrens.
Mitcham was an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia from 1938 to 1993. The district was based in the south-eastern suburbs of Adelaide.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
