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Oakbank is a town in the Adelaide Hills, east of
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 ...
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 ...
. It is in the
Adelaide Hills Council Adelaide Hills Council is a local government area in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. It is in the hills east of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and extends from the South Para Reservoir in the north to the Mount Bold Reservoir ...
area. At the
2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
, Oakbank had a population of 473.


History

The town was founded in about 1840 by Scottish brothers James and Andrew Johnston. The Johnstons had come out to South Australia on the East Indiaman Buckinghamshire in 1839, and by the following year were opening up the country in the
Onkaparinga Valley The Onkaparinga River, known as Ngangkiparri or Ngangkiparingga ("place of the women’s river") in the Kaurna language, is a river located in the Southern Adelaide region in the Australian state of South Australia. Rising in the Mount Lofty Ran ...
near the present site of the township. The Johnston family hailed from Oakbank, Scotland district, and hence decided to name the new township Oakbank. A large oak tree that still stands in the main street of the town was reportedly grown from an acorn carried to Australia by one of the brothers James and Andrew Johnston founded the J. & A.G. Johnston brewery in 1845, tapping an underground spring fed by the
Onkaparinga River The Onkaparinga River, known as Ngangkiparri or Ngangkiparingga ("place of the women’s river") in the Kaurna language, is a river located in the Southern Adelaide region in the Australian state of South Australia. Rising in the Mount Lofty Ran ...
. A second brewery was built by Henry Pike in 1889, which he named the Dorset Brewery. Both breweries were forced to shut down in 1938 due to a virus in the yeast, and therefore both turned to making soft drinks and cordials instead. Johnston's Cordial is still a popular soft drink brand, and one of South Australia's oldest family-owned businesses. The Dorset brewery site now produces hand-woven textiles. Oakbank is well known for the Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival. Held over two days during the Easter weekend, thousands of visitors come to see the premiere event, the Great Eastern Steeplechase."The Oakbank Race Trains" Callaghan, W.H. ''Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin'', August, 1995 pp. 211–221. It is also on the
Onkaparinga Valley Road Onkaparinga Valley Road is a South Australian secondary road, connecting the towns of Birdwood, Woodside, Balhannah and Verdun within the Adelaide Hills. It is designated part of route B34. Major intersections Onkaparinga Valley Road is enti ...
, SA route B34.


Railway

Oakbank was served by Oakbank station, part 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.
from 1918 to 1953.


References

Towns in South Australia {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub