Hanson (formerly Davies South Australian Names
) is a town in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a 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 of Australia's states and territories ...

, located north-east of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

and south-west of Burra at the intersection of the Barrier Highway and the Hanson-Farrell Flat Road in the Regional Council of Goyder. It is also adjacent to the former

Peterborough railway line The Peterborough railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. It extended from a junction at Roseworthy on the Morgan railway line through Hamley Bridge, Riverton, initially to Tarlee, then extended in stages to P ...

as the next station towards

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 ...

from Burra which was the terminus for some time. The

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as – an incre ...

which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Hanson had a population of 19 people.

History

The town was surveyed in 1865 and originally known as Daviestown, Davieston, or Davies Town, named after Sir Richard Davies Hanson (1805–76), a Chief Justice of South Australia and acting Governor of the then colony from 1872 to 1873.''Towns and other places in the District'', www.burrahistory.info
Retrieved on 8 November 2014 The first lots were offered for sale first on 30 November 1865. A decision was made around 1890 to rename the town Hanson, although the name was not officially changed until 19 September 1940. The change brought the town's name into line with that of the nearby Hanson railway station. On the same date, the nearby town known as Hanson officially became

Farrell Flat Farrell Flat (formerly Hanson) is a town in South Australia. The town is located east of Clare and southwest of Burra on the former Peterborough railway line, in the Regional Council of Goyder. At the 2006 census, Farrell Flat and the surrou ...

, also aligning that town's name with that of its railway station. Over the years Hanson has comprised a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, a hall, a school, a shop, a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and a few houses. File:Methodist Church at Hanson.jpg, Former Hanson Methodist Church (2013) File:School House at Hanson.jpg, Former Hanson Primary School building (2013)

References

Towns in South Australia {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub