Macclesfield is a small town on the upper reaches of the

River Angas The River Angas, part of the River Murray catchment, is a river that is located in the Adelaide Hills region in the Australian state of South Australia. Course and features The River Angas arises on the eastern side of the Mount Lofty Ranges. ...

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 ...

region of

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 ...

. In the , Macclesfield had a population of 832 while the 2016 Census showed an increase to 958. Macclesfield is in the

District Council of Mount Barker The Mount Barker District Council is a local government area, centred on the Adelaide hills town of Mount Barker, just outside the Adelaide metropolitan area in South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and t ...

local government area's South Ward. , the elected representative members in the South Ward were Roger Irvine and Greg Morrison. The town is also in the state electorate of Heysen and 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 th ...

History

George Davenport was an English banker who was a director 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 So ...

in England and together with partners Frederick Luck (quarter share) and Roger Cunliffe (1/8 share) paid £4416 for a special survey of 4416 acres (1619 ha) in

. He sent his eldest son (George) Francis to select the land, arriving in

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 ...

in February 1840. After initially considering land near

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...

, Francis selected land on the upper reaches of the

, including what is now the town of Macclesfield. This was the last of the special surveys in the area. The town of Macclesfield was named after the

Earl of Macclesfield Earl of Macclesfield is a title that has been created twice. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1679 in favour of the soldier and politician Charles Gerard, 1st Baron Gerard. He had already been created Baron Gerard, of Bran ...

, to whom George Davenport was a steward in England. Francis Davenport returned to England in 1841, leaving Henry Giles to manage his affairs. Francis Davenport and his wife Sarah returned in February 1843 along with Samuel Davenport, his wife Margaret (married 1 June 1842) and their other brother Robert Davenport. Francis died on 8 April 1843 (probably of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

); later Samuel and Margaret moved to Beaumont and Robert lived at Battunga near Macclesfield and managed the survey. The first hotel, The ''Goat's Head Inn'', was established in 1841. It was later known as the ''Macclesfield Arms'', ''Davenport Arms'', and now ''Three Brothers' Arms'' after the three Davenport brothers. The brewery next door to the hotel was opened by 1851, but converted to a butter and cheese factory around 1903 and abandoned in favour of a new factory in 1937.''Macclesfield Reflections along the Angas'', page 183 Macclesfield has been served by a primary school since 1876. In 2010, the Macclesfield Primary School celebrated 150 years of education in the town and surrounding districts. The ceremony was attended by many, including Alexander Downer MP, who lived in Macclesfield in the 1980s with his wife and children. The town is also home to the Macclesfield Football Club and Macclesfield Basketball Club.

Infrastructure

Macclesfield is 14 km south of Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills. On Sunday 13 October 2013 the community held an opening event for Crystal Lake Park to celebrate the return of community access to the park and the unveiling of the Yoshin Ogata sculpture. Crystal Lake Park, site of the historic swimming pool, is now a community multipurpose arts and recreation park and part of the Hills Sculpture Trail. Macclesfield is serviced by a volunteer

Country Fire Service The South Australian Country Fire Service (SACFS, commonly abbreviated as CFS) is a volunteer based fire service in the Australian state of South Australia. The CFS has responsibility as the Control Agency for firefighting, rescues and Hazar ...

who assisted in warding off the

Ash Wednesday Bushfires The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a Bushfires in Australia, series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia in 1983 on 16 February. Within twelve hours, more than 180 bushfires, fires f ...

in February 1983.

History

Infrastructure

References

Further reading