One Tree Hill, South Australia

One Tree Hill (34°43′8″S, 138°44′8″E; postcode 5114) is a town 22 km north of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Playford local government area.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Facilities
4 Transport
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Aboriginal History

Main article: Kaurna

Main article: Peramangk

The Kaurna people (pronounced "Garner" or "Gowna") people were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Adelaide region, numbering approximately 650 in 1842. The Peramangk people lived further inland, and also visited the area now known as One Tree Hill.

They visited the area chiefly in the warmer parts of the year as the area was cooler and better watered than the plains. The hills at this time were well wooded with tree species that had been in the area for around 6000 years. Along the rivers and creeks and wide valleys could be found tall, heavy eucalypts, many of which had wide, hollowed bases large enough for the Aboriginals to use as shelters. There were many such shelter trees in use by the Kaurna and Peramangk as late as the 1840s, and evidence exists that they hunted and gathered in the woodlands and grasslands for many generations prior to European settlement. Unfortunately, the community declined soon after European settlement, and most of what we know about them today comes from the few artifacts and sparse archaeological evidence that they left behind. ^[2]

[edit] Origin of the name

The name comes from a single large tree (burnt down in 1890) that was three kilometres west of the town near the original One Tree Hill inn.

[edit] European settlement

Europeans settled the area in the early 1840s, and the township commenced in 1851 with the building of the One Tree Hill Inn. The settlement was located in a strategic location, being close to several larger towns (such as Gawler and Salisbury) with facilities, and became the meeting place of the surrounding rural community, including Gould Creek and Uleybury. A post office and general store were built in 1858 which featured a large cellar where produce including local wine was sold. In 1906, the Institute, which cost about £600, was built across the road from the post office, and became a town meeting place and recreation centre, which was expanded considerably in 1978.^[2] The town has evolved into a rural residence for people working in Adelaide's metropolitan area, whose main occupations according to the 2001 census are manufacturing, construction, health/community services and retail.

[edit] Geography

One Tree Hill is located to the east of the Elizabeth conurbation, and to the northeast of Golden Grove. At the ABS 2001 census, One Tree Hill had a population of 1,266 people living in 396 dwellings.

[edit] Facilities

One Tree Hill Uniting Church built 1867

The town has a primary school (opened in 1951), a town hall and recreation centre and many historic buildings. The Para Wirra Recreation Park is north-east of the town. ^[3]

[edit] Transport

The area is not serviced by Adelaide public transport; the nearest service is an Adelaide Metro bus route at Craigmore, five kilometres to the west of the town. Until the 1980s a daily bus service ran from the township to Adelaide via Golden Grove and Main North East Road (Route 540E). Before that there was a service to the Smithfield Railway Station. The town centre directly links by road to Elizabeth (Yorktown Road), Golden Grove (One Tree Hill Road), Salisbury (Black Top Road), Kersbrook, Gawler and Williamstown. There is no specific provision for bicycles on any of the local roads. There are footpaths on most roads within the town and along Black Top Road in some sections up three kilometres west of the town using land from the old alignment of the road.