Strathalbyn is a town in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
, in the
Alexandrina Council. As of 2016, the town had a population of approximately 6,500.
Location
Strathalbyn is 60 km southeast of
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
on the banks of the
River Angas
The River Angas, part of the River Murray catchment, is a river that is located in the Adelaide Hills region in the Australian state of South Australia.
Course and features
The River Angas arises on the eastern side of the Mount Lofty Ranges. ...
, at the southeastern edge of the Adelaide Hills and beginning of the
Fleurieu Peninsula.
The Children's Bridge is a pedestrian bridge over the river in the park.
Climate
Strathalbyn has a
warm-summer mediterranean climate (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
: Csb).
History
left, Strathalbyn circa 1869
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...
people are indigenous to the area in which Strathalbyn is now located. Among them were tribes which are now commonly described as the
Ngarrindjeri
The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "be ...
people, a generic
ethnonym
An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and us ...
popularised by English missionary
George Taplin for the various, distinct groups of people who occupied much of the Fleurieu Peninsula, lower
Murray River and
Coorong regions prior to and after
colonisation.
The town itself was founded in 1839, the first landholders being
Dr. Rankine, followed by
Donald McLean.
In 1846 the cadastral division, the
Hundred of Strathalbyn
The Hundred of Strathalbyn is a cadastral division of the County of Hindmarsh in South Australia. It lies west of the Adelaide Hills and east of Lake Alexandrina and includes at its southwestern extremity the town of Strathalbyn. Its name is ...
, was proclaimed including the township of Strathalbyn at the south-western corner of the division.
Strathalbyn was once a major stop on the route from Adelaide to Melbourne.
The streets were laid out in a broad and liberal manner, with a large area reserved on either side of the
River Angas
The River Angas, part of the River Murray catchment, is a river that is located in the Adelaide Hills region in the Australian state of South Australia.
Course and features
The River Angas arises on the eastern side of the Mount Lofty Ranges. ...
for recreation purposes, plus a site for a Presbyterian Church and cemetery. The community was soon the centre for a large pastoral and farming population, many of Scottish origin. Mining later became important in the area.
The
District Council of Strathalbyn
The District Council of Strathalbyn was a local government area in South Australia centred on the town of Strathalbyn from 1854 until 1997. From 1868 the township itself was locally governed by the Corporation of Strathalbyn but that entity wa ...
was established in 1854. In 1868 a municipal council, the
Corporation of Strathalbyn, was formed by secession of section 2600 of the Hundred of Strathalbyn from the district council. The town and district councils later re-amalgamated in 1976.
Strathalbyn was connected by
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union ( C ...
horse tram to
Goolwa and
Victor Harbor from 1869. The
Victor Harbor railway line was extended to
Mount Barker and
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
and upgraded for steam engines from 1884. It was isolated again in 1995 when the
Adelaide-Melbourne railway line was converted to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...
. The
SteamRanger historic tourist train runs on the isolated broad gauge line, including stops at Strathalbyn.
Heritage List
The
Strathalbyn Post Office was entered in the Commonwealth Heritage List in 2004. The Strathalbyn Post Office, constructed in 1911-1912, is historically important for its association with the development of the township of Strathalbyn. It is an example of an Edwardian Baroque and Arts and Crafts hybrid applied to a public building in the ‘Commonwealth’ style.
Industry
Mining
Small lead, zinc, gold and copper mines operated in the area in the later part of the 19th century, but these have all been long closed, and did not have a significant effect on the development of the town.
In 2008, mining company
Terramin Australia Ltd established an underground zinc mine with the decline portal and much of the above-ground operation situated in a quarry east of the town, injecting an estimated $29 million into the local economy and creating around 100 jobs. The mine was expected to yield zinc and lead, with small quantities of silver, gold and copper, and operate for seven years. This proposal was opposed by "The Residents For A Future Strathalbyn Inc." who were concerned about ecologically unsustainable development within their district.
The mine stopped operating in October 2013 due to low metal prices and the economic ore reserve running out. The closure resulted in over 100 jobs being lost to the town. It is possible that the zinc mine will reopen to extract more ore if the sale price increases. A 5MW/10MWh
Compressed air energy storage demonstration project is scheduled for the mine.
Culture
Strathalbyn has four pubs on the centre of town, ''The Victoria'', ''The Robin Hood'', ''The Terminus'', and the ''Commercial''. It is also host to an annual collectors, hobbies and antique fair, held the third weekend of August every year. Other popular events are the Strathalbyn Rotary Club's renowned Duck Race, the Strathalbyn Show, and the collaborative Street Parade and Carols by Candlelight. There is also a Sunday market, once per month, at the railway station.
In 1975, street scenes from the film ''
Picnic at Hanging Rock'' were filmed in the town.
Antiques
Strathalbyn is recognized internationally for its main street full of antique shops with ''London House'' being one of the most historic. Andrew Douglas Ambrose Murrell, b. 22 July 1945 was a prominent
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
n
art and
antiques dealer operating out of the well-known ''London House'' in the 1980s who later went on to become an
oil painter.
References
{{authority control
Towns in South Australia