Kersbrook (formerly Maidstone) is a town near

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It is located in the

Adelaide Hills Council Adelaide Hills Council is a local government area in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. It is in the hills east of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Aust ...

local government area. At the 2006 census, Kersbrook had a population of 367.

History

The first settlers established farms in the Kersbrook area in the early 1831s due to its relatively gentle slopes. John Bowden, manager of the South Australian Company's dairy farm at Hackney, bought the section 6146, Hundred of Para Wirra, and named it ''Kersbrook'' after the Cornish farm where he was born. By 1844, Bowden was recorded as having "800 sheep, 62 cattle, one horse, 13 pigs, of wheat, eight acres of barley, plots of oats, maize and potatoes, and a fruit garden". The settlement itself was created by William Carman, a blacksmith working at a copper mine near Williamstown, who took advantage of the area's location on the busy road to the

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major list of wine-producing regions, wine-producin ...

. In 1851 Carman built the Wheatsheaf Inn on a subdivision of section 5519 of the Hundred of Para Wirra. By 1858, some settlers had arrived and Carman gave some of his land to build a town called Maidstone after

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

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. In 1917 the town was officially renamed to Kersbrook as this was the name used by local residents and referred to the original 'Kersbrook' farm of John Bowden immediately south west of the town. It became a notable agricultural area, especially for fruit. In the 1990s, John Bunting and his friends murdered a number of people; one victim was murdered and dumped in Kersbrook. Kersbrook is a fairly quiet rural town, where most of the old buildings still stand. In January 2015, twelve houses in the town were destroyed as a result of the

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Geography

Kersbrook is located between Chain of Ponds and Williamstown along the Little Para Road, and southeast of One Tree Hill along a separate road. At the ABS 2001 census, Kersbrook had a population of 314 people living in 120 dwellings.

Facilities

The primary school opened in 1868; and there is a general store and other small stores in the town. Nearby Humbug Scrub and Mount Gawler are used for

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

and

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

in quite steep terrain. About north of Kersbrook is the Warren Conservation Park, a rugged nature reserve with views over the Warren Gorge which was dedicated in 1966 and protects a range of rare fauna. There is also a pine plantation nearby, which is now part of the Mount Crawford Forest.Placenames SA
last accessed 16 June 2006 Kersbrook also have a very successful

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

team, who wear double blue and are nicknamed the 'Brookers'. They have produced three AFL players of which brothers Brett (

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...

) and Roger James (

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

) have both won AFL premierships; and many SANFL league players.

References

External links

Kersbrook Football Club
{{authority control Towns in South Australia