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

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, 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 Barrier Highway is a highway in South Australia and New South Wales, and is designated part of route A32. The name of the highway is derived from the Barrier Ranges, an area of moderately high ground in the far west of New South Wales, through ...

and the Hanson-Farrell Flat Road in the

Regional Council of Goyder The Regional Council of Goyder is a local government area located in the Mid North region of South Australia. The council area is reliant on agriculture as a mainstay of its economy, with manufacturing and tourism also becoming prominent. The co ...

. It is also adjacent to the former

Peterborough railway line Peterborough ( ) is a cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. As of the 2021 census, Peterborough had a population of 192,178, whi ...

as the next station towards

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 ...

from Burra which was the terminus for some time.

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, 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 place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, a hall, a school, a shop, a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

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