Mount Pleasant is a town situated in the

Barossa Council Barossa Council is a local government area in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The council area covers 912 square kilometres and had a population of over 23,000 as at the 2016 Census. History It was proclaimed on 1 July 1996 following t ...

, just north of the Adelaide Hills region 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 ...

, 55 kilometres east-north-east of the state capital,

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 ...

(). It is located in the

and

Mid Murray Council The Mid Murray Council is a local government area in South Australia in the Murray and Mallee region of South Australia. The council spans the area from the Riverland through the Murraylands to the eastern slopes of the Mount Lofty Ranges. It in ...

local government areas, and is at an altitude of 440 metres above sea level. Rainfall in the area averages 687 mm per annum.

History

Origin of the name

Today's Mount Pleasant comprises three townships, Totness, Talunga and Hendryton. Mount Pleasant township was developed by Henry Glover, and surveyed in 1856. It comprised the land from Railway Terrace to Saleyard Road. The name was taken from that used by James Phillis, who had come from an area near Eastry in Kent. The land had reminded him of his homeland. His sister was named Pleasant, who may also have inspired the name. Totness was surveyed in 1858, with Henry Giles Sr. as the developer; this was the section from Saleyard Road to Pentelows Road. It was named after the birthplace of Henry's wife, Mary Ann. Henry also developed North Totness, which is the land from Pentelows Road to the Walkers Flat Road, surveyed in 1869. John Hendry, a blacksmith living in Totness, developed the land to the west of Mount Pleasant, comprising that from the Cricks Mill Road (to Williamstown) to Railway Terrace, and this was surveyed in 1865.

European settlement

The first European explorers through the Mount Pleasant district were Dr George Imlay and

John Hill John Hill may refer to: Business * John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary * John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter * John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...

in January 1838. Settlers moved into the area in the late 1830s with flocks of sheep and with bags of grain. One of the early settlers, James Phillis, had arrived in Adelaide in 1839 and literally rode a horse into the Adelaide Hills looking for suitable land to farm. He settled at Mount Pleasant in 1843, planted wheat, harvested the crop, and then had to take it to Adelaide to sell. From the profits he sailed to England where he bought a flock of

Romney Marsh Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about . The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until the ...

sheep which he shipped back to the area. Over the years he became one of the district's most prosperous and successful farmers. This is an extract from an article written by Nancy Mavis Pike (née Phillis). Several of Mt Pleasant's pioneer families were to lose sons in the Great War, like William Polden who is now buried in The

Lone Pine Cemetery Lone Pine Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery dating from World War I in the former Anzac sector of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey and the location of the Lone Pine Memorial, one of five memorials on the peninsula which c ...

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

A small quantity of gold was found in the district in the 1860s, but not enough to attract significant mining activity. The town remained a small service centre for the region. The original police station, from the 1860s, has been largely replaced by a newer building. The main street, Melrose Street, is lined with plane trees. Mount Pleasant was the centre of its own municipality, the

District Council of Mount Pleasant The District Council of Mount Pleasant was a local government area in South Australia from 1935 to 1997. The council seat was located at Mount Pleasant. It was established on 1 May 1935 following the amalgamation of the District Council of Spri ...

, from 1935 until 1997 when it was divided between the larger

and

. Mount Pleasant township is now part of the Barossa Council.

Heritage listings

Mount Pleasant has a number of significant heritage-listed sites, including: * 'Kent Farm' – 3184 Eden Valley Road: Historic Cottage and Barn (Circa 1840s). * 27 Melrose Street: Mount Pleasant Police Station and Cells * Walker Flat-Mount Pleasant Road: Rosebank Shearing Shed

Geography

Mount Pleasant is located 10 km north-east of Birdwood heading towards Springton, Eden Valley and Angaston. At the ABS 2001 census, Mount Pleasant had a population of 529 people living in 240 dwellings.

Facilities

Mount Pleasant has a primary school, kindergarten, a district hospital, volunteer ambulance station, CFS (country fire service) station, butcher, general store, golf club, chemist, two bakeries, two pubs, hairdresser, showgrounds featuring the annual Mount Pleasant show, a weekly Saturday Farmer's market, caravan park, RSL and a football club.

Transport

A coach is operated from

Tea Tree Plaza Interchange Tea Tree Plaza Interchange (previously known as Modbury Interchange) is a bus interchange operated by Adelaide Metro in Modbury, South Australia as part of the O-Bahn Busway. It is a central public transport hub for the north eastern suburbs o ...

Gumeracha Gumeracha ( ) is a town in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area on the south bank of the upper River Torrens. At the 2006 census, Gumeracha ...

and Mount Pleasant by Affordable Coachlines. A private coach service also goes from Birdwood 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 wine-producing region and tourist destinati ...

via Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant was once the terminus of the

Mount Pleasant railway line The Mount Pleasant railway line is an abandoned South Australian line. It was opened between Balhannah and Mount Pleasant in September 1918 and ran until March 1963 as a freight and passenger service.

which branched from the

to Murray Bridge line at

Balhannah Balhannah is a town in the Adelaide Hills about 30 km southeast of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was established in 1839 as a farming community by James Turnbull Thomson, who built the first hotel. The town soon grew to inco ...

. The line''The Mount Pleasant Line'' Callaghan, W.H.

Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin ''Australian Railway History'' is a monthly magazine covering railway history in Australia, published by the New South Wales Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society on behalf of its state and territory Divisions.Adelaide-Mannum Road. The former rail corridor can still be seen from a few roads, and is gradually being converted, from Balhannah towards Mount Pleasant, into a cycling, walking and horseback riding trail known as the

Amy Gillett Bikeway The Amy Gillett Bikeway or Amy Gillett Rail Trail or Amy Gillett Pathway is a shared path in the Adelaide Hills on part of the alignment of the former Mount Pleasant railway line. It is a sealed path suitable for recreational cycling, walking an ...

. As of 2015, this conversion had reached Mount Torrens.