Mount Pleasant, South Australia
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| Mount Pleasant |
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| Population: | 593 2006 Census [1] |
| Established: | 1843 |
| Postcode: | 5235 |
| Location: | 56 km (35 mi) East of Adelaide via  |
| LGA: | Barossa Council |
| State District: | Schubert |
| Federal Division: | Mayo |
Mount Pleasant is a town situated at the northern end 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.
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[edit] History
[edit] Origin of the name
No one is exactly sure how the town got its name but there seems to be some consensus that it was probably named after a Mrs Pleasant who was a relative of one of the early settlers.
[edit] European settlement
Settlers moved into the area in the late 1830s with flocks of sheep and with bags of grain. One of the early settlers, James Phillis, had arrived in Adelaide in 1839 and literally rode a horse into the Adelaide Hills looking for suitable land to farm. He settled at Mount Pleasant in 1843, planted wheat, harvested the crop, and then had to take it to Adelaide to sell. From the profits he sailed to England where he bought a flock of Romney Marsh sheep which he shipped back to the area. Over the years he became one of the district's most prosperous and successful farmers.
Gold was found in the district in the 1860s but the deposits were small and the miners soon moved on. The town grew slowly, never being anything more than a small service centre for the surrounding region. The police station, which dates from the 1860s, has been largely replaced by a building with 'ER' on it and the Old Talunga Hotel is quite charming. The main street, Melrose Street, is lined with beautiful plane trees.[2]
[edit] Geography
Mount Pleasant is located 10 km north-east of Birdwood heading towards Springton, Eden Valley and Angaston.
At the ABS 2001 census, Mount Pleasant had a population of 529 people living in 240 dwellings.
[edit] Facilities
Mount Pleasant has a primary school, kindergarten, a district hospital, volunteer ambulance station, butcher, general store,golf club, chemist, two banks, caravan park, RSL and a football club [3]
[edit] Transport
A coach is operated from Tea Tree Plaza Interchange to Gumeracha and Mount Pleasant by Affordable Coachlines. [4] A private coach service also goes from Birdwood to the Barossa Valley via Mount Pleasant.[5]
Mount Pleasant was once the terminus of a railway line which spurred from Balhannah[6]. The railway line operated from 1918 and was closed in 1963, when there was an easier way to get to the town via the Adelaide-Mannum Road. The former rail corridor can still be seen from a few roads.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Mount Pleasant (L) (Urban Centre/Locality). 2006 Census Quickstats. Retrieved on 2008-05-29
- ^ Travel - Mount Pleasant, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 February 2004. Accessed 18 June 2006.
- ^ White Pages Online. Accessed 18 June 2006.
- ^ Timetable, Affordable Coachlines. Accessed 15 June 2006
- ^ Timetable, Barossa Valley Coachlines. Accessed 18 June 2006
- ^ Sallis, Roger (1998). Railways in the Adelaide Hills, 1st edition. Openbook Publishers, Adelaide. ISBN 0-646-35473-6.
[edit] External links
- Mount Pleasant, South Australia is at coordinates Coordinates:
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