Mount Torrens, South Australia

Mount Torrens is a small 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. It is the eastern end of the Amy Gillett Bikeway, which follows the former railway alignment from Oakbank. Mount Torrens is within the jurisdiction of the Adelaide Hills Council and the Mid Murray Council.

Mount Torrens South Australia
Main street of Mount Torrens
Mount Torrens
Coordinates	34°52′30″S 138°57′26″E[1]
Population	324 (UCL 2021)[2]
Established	1840s
Postcode(s)	5244
Location	46 km (29 mi) from Adelaide
LGA(s)	Adelaide Hills Council[1] Mid Murray Council[1]
State electorate(s)	Morialta
Federal division(s)	Mayo
Localities around Mount Torrens: Gumeracha Birdwood Tungkillo Kenton Valley Mount Torrens Tungkillo Lobethal Charleston Harrogate

Etymology

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.

History

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]

Facilities

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 and the surrounding areas were damaged during the 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfire.

Transport

Mount Torrens is on the LinkSA coach route that runs from Mount Pleasant to Tea Tree Plaza. Between 1918 and 1963 the town had a station on the Mount Pleasant railway line; subsequently the line was dismantled.^[8]

References

1. "Search results for 'Mount Torrens, LOCB' with the following datasets selected – 'Suburbs and localities', 'Counties', 'Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. South Australian Government. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mount Torrens (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021. 
3. Register, 30 June 1838, p. 3.
4. Place Names of South Australia, State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2006.
5. Adelaide Hills Council – Historical Town Information Archived 25 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 July 2006.
6. "The key to the heart of Mt Torrens and Birdhouse". hillssculpturetrail.com.au. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
7. White Pages Online. Retrieved 9 July 2006.
8. Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John R. (2000). Australian railway routes 1854–2000. Redfern, New South Wales: Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division. p. 54. ISBN 0909650497.