Adelaide, South Australia
Gumeracha
A small township in the heart of the Adelaide Hills in the Mount Lofty Ranges, made famous by the Big Rocking Horse, a huge toy rocking horse which promotes a local toy factory, which is one of Australia's many 'big' attractions. Set in the rolling hills, the town is surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, orchards and farmland. The population of 1018 is a mixture of long-standing residents connected to farming, horticulture or viticulture, and commuters working in the metropolitan area. People of the town are proud of the town's heritage, community spirit and friendly welcoming atmosphere.
Where is it?: Adelaide Hills. 37 km west of Adelaide. Gumeracha is located between Inglewood and Birdwood along the Adelaide-Mannum Road, and north of Lobethal along the Gumeracha-Lobethal Road.
Built features: The Big Rocking Horse and the Toy Factory; Millbrook Reservoir; Kangaroo Creek Reservoir; vineyards and wineries of the Adelaide Hills wine region.
Millbrook Reservoir
A 16,000-megalitre artificial water storage reservoir in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It was built from 1914 to 1918 during World War I to control water flows in the upper River Torrens and provide gravity-fed water to Adelaide's eastern suburbs. It is named after the small town of Millbrook, demolished and removed during construction. During the 1970s, the nearby town of Chain Of Ponds, South Australia was also removed to prevent pollution of the reservoir's water. John Tippett named the town of Millbrook in the late 19th century after Millbrook in his native Cornwall. The settlement was a suburb of Adelaide but was demolished to make way for the Millbrook Reservoir.
Adelaide Hills Wine Region
Wine grapes were first planted in the Adelaide hills in the early 1840s. Situated east of Adelaide, the long and narrow Adelaide Hills region runs through the southern Mt. Lofty ranges. It is one of South Australia's largest wine growing regions, stretching from the edge of the Barossa and Eden Valleys in the north, to the boundaries of McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek in the South. The high altitude combines brilliantly with the favourable climate, to allow grapes to mature at a slower pace than other regions, giving the wines intense elegant flavours and characteristics.One of the earliest wineries and vineyards in the area is mentioned in the Adelaide papers for sale as follows: 1865 - Swithen Farmer - Section 6131 "Chain of Ponds". Winemakers plant complete with several thousand gallons of wine, wine presses, fermenting vats, casks, large boilers. Wine vintages 1863-1865. 16 acres of vineyard.
- More
Chain of Ponds
Chain of Ponds is located between Inglewood and Gumeracha along the Adelaide-Mannum Road, and south of Kersbrook along the Little Para Road. Like the town of Millvrook, Chain of Ponds was demolished in the 1970s to safeguard against water pollution in the reservoir. Little more than a cemetery exists as a reminder of it, though it appears on maps as a navigation point.
A former Ansett Airlines DC3 - VH-ANW - was a a popular local icon during its 17 years at a youth camp at Chain of Ponds. She began life as Constructors Number 13624, having been wheeled off the Oklahoma City production line in mid 1944 as a "Skytrain" for the U.S. Army Air Force. After a short term in the Pacific, she and many others like her joined the stockpile of war surplus aircraft in Manila. After nearly a decade standing idle, she was bought by South Australian based Guinea Airways for service in New Guinea. When the airline was taken over by Ansett, she flew for over 11 years in and around South Australia in Ansett livery. Retired in 1971 after logging up 43,000 flying miles, VH-ANW was donated to a youth camp at Chain of Ponds. In 1985, Steve and Gail Campling, owners of the McDonalds restaurant in Midland, Western Australia, bought the aircraft and had it renovated and shipped to Perth where it was used as part of the restaurant. The aircraft is now in private hands at Myalup in WA.
About Gumeracha
Origin of name: reputedly a corruption of the local Aboriginal word 'umeracha' which indicated a good water hole on the River Torrens. How it came to be chosen by officials of the South Australian Company in London in 1841 for the name of a new town in the Adelaide Hills is a mystery.Brief history: Gumeracha is one of South Australia's oldest settled areas. The first Europeans to explore and traverse through the district were Dr George Imlay and John Hill on 24 January 1838. In 1839, the South Australia Company took up a parcel of land, on which the settlements of Gumeracha, Kenton Valley and Forreston developed. The Company established a district headquarters and opened it up for sheep grazing.
In 1839, William Beavis Randell built his home, Tinmath, at Kenton Park and built a flour mill in the 1840s. The estate housed his large family, his workforce and their families. In 1846, Randell donated land and funds for a church, and the Salem Baptist Church was built - the oldest Baptist church still in use in South Australia. The surrounding area, meanwhile, had become an agricultural centre, and the Gumeracha Farmers' Society held annual shows.
In 1855, Randell allocated land for a township and by 1860 the town was laid out.[6] Commercial businesses sprang up on the main street (Albert Street), and many fine buildings were erected, including the Post Office, Police Station and Court House (1864), Institute Hall, Town Hall (1909), a butter factory (1889), a school, a hospital, a coach-house, hotels, churches and business houses. Most of the buildings in use at this time still stand today. William Beavis Randell's son, William Richard Randell, would build the first River Murray paddlesteamer in Gumeracha in 1852.
