Ashton, South Australia

Ashton South Australia
Ashton Location in South Australia
Coordinates	34°56′23″S 138°44′14″E / 34.93972°S 138.73722°E / -34.93972; 138.73722Coordinates: 34°56′23″S 138°44′14″E / 34.93972°S 138.73722°E / -34.93972; 138.73722
Population	466 (2011 census)[1]
Established	1858
Postcode(s)	5137
LGA(s)	Adelaide Hills Council
State electorate(s)	Heysen
Federal Division(s)	Mayo

Ashton is a town in South Australia. It was named by George Hunt in 1858 after his home Ashton in England. Ashton is from the old English word 'aesctun', which means 'ash tree town'.

General information

The Ashton General Store and Post office was established in 1986 by B & E Robertson and then was run by C. Beauchamp but now it is closed . It closed on 1 January 2009, although the community post office still operates with restricted hours.

The Ashton oval was home to the Eastern Ranges Football Club (Australian rules) until it merged with Uraidla Football Club in the late 1990s. The clubrooms and grounds are still home to Eastern Ranges Cricket Club as well as a venue for Scout meetings and private functions. The venue is now also home to the Rangers Junior Soccer club. Facilities include one football/cricket oval, practice nets, tennis courts, change rooms, toilets, bar, kitchen and club rooms. Ashton

Located in the town's center, the Ashton Hall is available for hire for public and private functions. Facilities include full kitchen, internal and external canteen windows, toilets, car park and stage in addition to the large, wood floored hall.

Produce

Fruit orchards represent a significant part of the land usage and history of Ashton. Yearly crops include cherries, apples, lemons, pears as well as many other fruits and vegetables. In addition, Ashton is home to facilities for the cold storage of produce although today's ease of transport and close proximity to Adelaide has meant they aren't as extensively used as in the past.

Directions

Ashton is located on Lobethal road approximately half an hour from the Adelaide CBD. The simplest route from the City is North Terrace, Magill Road., Old Norton Summit Road, Lobethal Road (all of which are continuations of the same road).

Eastern Ranges Football Club

The Eastern Ranges Football Club was formed when the Lenswood Ranges football club, and Ashton football club merged to form one club. Known as the saints, the Football club competed in the Hills Football League until the club merged with the neighboring Uraidla Football club to form the Uraidla Districts Football club. The Eastern Ranges club tasted A Grade premiership success in just one season in 1987 in the Hills Football League's First Division. After tasting Premiership success the club struggled in the leagues first division and therefore moved to the HFL's second division. The club then made one last shot at glory making the second division's grand final in 1995 but lost the game. After talks with the Uraidla football club the club decided to merge creating the Uraidla Districts football club. The new club recently tasted A grade premiership success in 2005 and were the front runners in the 2006 and 2007 season but lost the grand final to the Mt Lofty football club.

References