Clarendon is a small town in the

Adelaide Hills The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...

, about south of the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre () is the inner city locality of Adelaide, 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 Adelaide l ...

and now regarded as an outer suburb of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. It lies within 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 ...

council area. The Clarendon Weir is located in the town area, on the Onkaparinga River.

History

The

Kaurna people The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kau ...

were the original inhabitants of the area. On 21 October 1840, Richard Blundell was granted the title to Section 801 of the Hundred of Noarlunga, after the area had been surveyed. In 1846 James Philcox purchased part of the section and subdivided it, selling the allotments and creating the town. In 1848, what remained of Section 801 was sold to Philcox's friend George Morphett, who later surveyed more allotments, and others added blocks adjacent to the town. In December 1846 the Clarendon vineyards were developed on land purchased by English benefactor William Augustine Leigh (1802–1873), one of many parcels of land bought through his agent Sir

John Morphett Sir John Morphett (4 May 1809 – 7 November 1892) was a South Australian pioneer, landowner and politician. His younger brother George Morphett was also an early settler in South Australia. Early life Morphett was born in London, t ...

(including two town acres between

Currie Currie is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. It is situated be ...

and Hindley streets in the

city blocks A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. In a city with a grid system, the block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are th ...

, hence the naming of Leigh Street). A vineyard was created by 1849, probably by John or George Morphett. Edward Peake bought the winery from Leigh, built the first cottage on the site, and sold it to Joseph Gillard, who owned it for 40 years, selling most of the wine to

Penfolds Penfolds is an Australian wine producer that was founded in Adelaide in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife Mary Penfold. It is one of Australia's oldest wineries, and is currently ...

. The winery complex was converted into a conference centre in the 1970s. By 1866 the town was described as a regional centre "in the midst of a fine agricultural district, where wheat, peas, and potatoes are largely grown". The Clarendon area, Coromandel Valley and Kangarilla focused on

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...

s and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

production in the early years, but after revised farming practices were introduced after the 1860s,

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s were planted at Clarendon and other areas, and many

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

began producing and exporting wine. Early trade was built around local vineyards and around proximity to the Onkaparinga River, and from 1894 to 1896 the Clarendon Weir was constructed, enhancing the local economy.

Heritage buildings

Many buildings in Clarendon were put on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

and restored over time, including the Gothic Court House and Police Station, the Bible Christian Methodist Church, the 1875 Methodist Church (now Uniting), the Oddfellows Hall and General Store.

References

Suburbs of Adelaide Towns in South Australia Populated places established in 1840 {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub

History

Heritage buildings

Further reading

References