McLaren Vale is a town and locality in the Australian state of

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 about south of the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ade ...

and about south of the municipal seat at

Noarlunga Centre Noarlunga Centre is a suburb in the City of Onkaparinga in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The suburb is mostly commercial, being dominated by the Centro Colonnades shopping centre and the small 'Inspire Noarlunga' estate t ...

History

The township was formed in 1923 from a merging of the two original villages of Gloucester and Bellevue, which were established in the 1840s. Boundaries for the locality were defined on 13 July 1995 for the portion within the former

City of Noarlunga The City of Noarlunga, formerly the District Council of Noarlunga, was a local government area in South Australia from 1856 until 1997. History The District Council of Noarlunga was established on 21 August 1856 following lobbying by residents ...

with the portion in the former

District Council of Willunga The District Council of Willunga, was a local government area in South Australia seated at Willunga from 1853 until 1997. History The District Council of Willunga was established on 18 August 1853 to govern the Hundred of Willunga and the southe ...

being added on 28 January 1999. Land within the former locality of Landcross Farm was added on 16 March 2000. The source of the name has been attributed by several writers to either

David McLaren David McLaren may refer to: * David McLaren (colonial manager) (1785–1850), colonial manager (CEO) of the colony of South Australia (1837–1841) * David McLaren (politician) (1872–1939), mayor of Wellington and member of the New Zealand Parlia ...

of the

South Australian Company The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in London on 9 October 1835, after the '' South Australia (Foundation) Act 1834'' had established the new British Province of South Australia, with the S ...

or John McLaren of the colonial government's Land Office.

Geoff Manning Geoffrey Haydon Manning (1926–2018) was an Australian author and historian, commonly known as Geoff Manning and cited as an author as Geoffrey H. Manning. He is known particularly for his books on South Australian placenames; ''Manning's Place ...

, a South Australian historian, investigated this matter and found that the latter person is the namesake.

Geography and demographics

The town and locality is located within the

McLaren Vale wine region McLaren Vale is a wine region in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Adelaide metropolitan area and centred on the town of McLaren Vale about south of the Adelaide city centre. It is internationally renowned for the wine ...

. Former

Newsboys Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, the band has released 17 studio albums, 6 of which ...

frontman

Peter Furler Peter Andrew Furler (born 8 September 1966) is an Australian musician, songwriter, producer and music executive, record executive, best known as the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the Christian rock band Newsboys. Biography Furler was ...

was born in McLaren Vale. The

Coast to Vines rail trail The Coast to Vines rail trail is a rail trail in the Australian state of South Australia following the course of the disused Willunga railway line in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. It is open to pedestrians and cyclists, and runs for 34 k ...

passes through McLaren Vale. There was a station at McLaren Vale on the former

Willunga railway line The Willunga railway line ran through the southern Adelaide suburbs from Adelaide railway station to Willunga, South Australia, Willunga, over long (longer than the current Gawler railway line, Gawler line, ). The line was opened in Willunga by ...

that it follows. The main road junction into the town, at

Victor Harbor Road Victor Harbor Road (and its southern sections Adelaide Road, Hindmarsh Road and Torrens Street through Victor Harbor) is a major road in South Australia that runs south from Main South Road at Old Noarlunga on the southern fringes of suburban ...

and Main Road, has over the years been notorious for fatal crashes. In 2011, construction started on an overpass, to remove the threat of right hand turns through high speed traffic. The overpass opened in late 2012. There were two supermarkets in the town, a Foodland and a BI-LO (where Browse and Save currently operates), until Foodland was sold, and Bilo moved into the vacancy. In 2006, BI-LO converted to Coles along with the national conversion. In 2011, it was announced that the shopping centre would be undergoing an upgrade, with a Target Country.Lucid Consulting, McLaren Vale Redevelopment
Target Country will occupy the current Coles location, after a new, bigger Coles is built behind its current location. The complete shopping centre is expected to open in early 2013. At the 2016 census, the locality of McLaren Vale had a population of 3,842 and a median age of 52 of which 3,096 lived in its town centre. McLaren Vale is located within the federal

division of Mayo The Division of Mayo is an Australian electoral division located to the east and south of Adelaide, South Australia. Created in the state redistribution of 3 September 1984, the division is named after Helen Mayo, a social activist and the fir ...

, the state

electoral district of Mawson Mawson is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the entirety of Kangaroo Island, and parts of the local government areas of Alexandrina Council, the City of Onkaparinga, and the District Counci ...

and the local government area of the

City of Onkaparinga The City of Onkaparinga () is a local government area (LGA) located on the southern fringe of Adelaide, South Australia. It is named after the Onkaparinga River, whose name comes from ''Ngangkiparinga'', a Kaurna word meaning women's river. It ...

References

External links

Towns in South Australia Suburbs of Adelaide {{Adelaide-geo-stub