Mount Osmond (34°57′S 138°39′E) is a small suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside located in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills, south east of the city centre. The suburb is high on the hill of the same name, which is the last hill on the right when approaching Adelaide down the South Eastern Freeway before the road levels out onto the Adelaide Plains. The last overpass before meeting the Glen Osmond Road interchange takes visitors directly to Mount Osmond. It can also be accessed through Beaumont and Glen Osmond by car. Local Government Area (abbreviated LGA) is a term used in Australia (and especially by the Australian Bureau of Statistics) to refer to areas controlled by each individual Local Government. ... Burnside is one of the more cultural cities in South Australia with a popluation of more than 3 million. ... Postcodes are used by Australia Post to identify postal districts in Australia. ... Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a population of more than 1. ... Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ... This is a list of suburbs in and surrounding the city of Adelaide, South Australia, and postcode sorted by local government area. ... St. ... Beaumont is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside. ... Burnside is a small suburb that is part of the City of Burnside in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide. ... Glen Osmond is a small suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside located in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills. ... Waterfall Gully (34°57′S 138°40′E) is a small suburb of 2,285 people in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. ... Italic textItalic textItalic textLink titlelink title ... Waterfall Gully (34°57′S 138°40′E) is a small suburb of 2,285 people in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. ... Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a population of more than 1. ... Burnside is one of the more cultural cities in South Australia with a popluation of more than 3 million. ... The Adelaide Hills is part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. ... South Eastern Freeway is a freeway linking Adelaide to Princes Highway near Swanport, South Australia. ... The Adelaide Plains (34°30′ S 138°30′ E) is the area in South Australia between the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and the Gulf Saint Vincent on the west. ...

The actual peak of Mount Osmond is in the golf course of the same name, which is right on top of the hill and taking up a large portion of the suburb's land area. Other than the golf course and residential housing, the Cleland Conservation Park is a sizeable portion of the land area, taking up the space between the valley of the freeway and Waterfall Gully. The Old Bullock track, which winds past Mount Osmond, connects to Waterfall Gully, Eagle on the Hill and Cleland Wildlife Park. The now-closed Eagle on the Hill Hotel Eagle on the Hill is a suburb of Adelaide in the Adelaide Foothills. ...

History

When Adelaide was first planned and mapped out by Col. William Light, Mount Osmond recieved the three alottments 1070, 1277 and 1278. While much of Adelaide was relatively quickly bought (but not necessarily settled) Mount Osmond did not enjoy any early prospective buyers. The first reported activity in the area was after the mining rush of Glen Osmond due to the Wheal Watkins and Wheal Gawler mines. Initially vain attempts to search Mount Osmond for the same bounty were underway since the discovery of the Glen Osmond mines and prospective miners were rewarded in 1887. Lot 1277 yielded a mine in Slaughterhouse Gully but its use was brief. Subsequent finds of bluestone provided fruitful and the mineral was extracted until 1900, when mining ended and the last of the mines were either filled in or cordoned off. Some entrances to these former mines can still be found today. Colonel William Light Colonel William Light (1786 - 1839) was born in Kuala Kedah, Malaya in 1786, an illegitimate son of Captain Francis Light, the Governor of Penang, and Martina Rozells, the so-called Princess of Kedah of mixed Siamese-Portuguese descent. ...

The Mount Barker tollhouse in 1900. Mount Osmond can be seen to the left.

Developers eventually bought the lots that composed Mount Osmond but once again interest in the suburb was minor. Attempts to bring in settlers culminated in the construction of Mount Osmond Road in 1882. It wound around the hills from where it began as an offshoot of Mount Barker Road in the South. Developers broke down the three large lots into roughly two hundred one-acre ones in the hope of sales - one of the more adventurous real-estate attempts in early Adelaide history. A few lots were sold to quarrymen and gardeners around Mount Barker Road, but the vast remainder was leased to stockowners as pasture for their livestock. Much of Mount Osmond, along was a large portion of the surrounding area, was bought in 1907 by Ernest C. Sanders. His family readily developed the suburb, with his sons building houses on the vast property while raising sheep and growing hay. Considerable time was spent by the Sanders family in naming and mapping the area as they built fences and filled in several remaining mine shafts. Image File history File links 1900_tollhouse_mount_osmond_on_left. ... Image File history File links 1900_tollhouse_mount_osmond_on_left. ...

A horse and rider on Mount Osmond, 1930

The Sanders family eventually decided to sell much of their portion of Mount Osmond, and around 1922-23 it was put on the market. Like earlier attempts at sales on Mount Osmond, little interest was recieved and none was sold until 1927. The land was developed into a gold course and Country Club with the assistance of the Burnside Council and it's engineers. Credit to the novel idea went to H.E.S. Melbourne, Burnside's cheif engineer at the time - who found support among numerous Burnside Councillors. The golf course and country club were developed on the highest part of the mount, on eighty-five acres of former Sanders estate. The remaining land was sold by the country club to buyers with strict rules on the development and maintenance of the properties - specific rules applying to aesthetic features, particularly gardens, are of note. Even ith a golf course and country club in the vicinity, as well as electricity and a water supply from Waterfall Gully's first creek the eighteen marketed lots once again sold poorly.^[1] Image File history File links Mountosmond_1930. ... Image File history File links Mountosmond_1930. ...

Heyward Road winding up to Mount Osmond with Adelaide city in the distance. The Golf Courses' Fence can be seen to the left.

One of the last large land purchases was that of Ross Thiem in the 1940's. A club member, C.W. Lloyd, sold 200 acres around the golf course, which was again used as pasture by Thiem, who ran sheep on the property - and was the last to do so. The Highways Department also aquired land in 1951, buying two hundred acres of land above Beaumont for future transport planning. Thiem's land was eventually sold in the 1950's, to the Rossdale Property Co. Their subsequent attempts at selling the land were just as fruitless as those before, and once again the property changed hands to the Mount Osmond Heights Pty Ltd. The land was newly subdivided, and it was in the late 1960's the finally much of Mount Osmond were sold to residential buyers. Fifty-two out of the 116 new sites had been sold by 12 October 1968 at an average of $3500, according to the Adelaide daily The Advertiser. Since the brilliant land sales of that era, Mount Osmond has developed slowly because of the scarcity of land and the housing and development restrictions of the Hills Face Zone.^[2] It is home to large, extravagant, tree-filled houses and properties. With the upgrade of Mount Barker Road to the Adelaide-Crafers Highway (part of the South Eastern Freeway) in 1997, Mount Osmond recived it's own freeway interchange as part of the development. Image File history File linksMetadata Heywardrd. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Heywardrd. ... The Advertiser is the only local daily newspaper published in Adelaide, South Australia. ... South Eastern Freeway is a freeway linking Adelaide to Princes Highway near Swanport, South Australia. ...

Geography

The Long Ridge Track leading towards Mount Osmond

Mount Osmond is composed of the Mount itself and a ridge (Long Ridge) stretching out to the south-east between the valley of the South Eastern Freeway and that of Waterfall Gully. Much of the suburb is above 350 metres above sea level, with the Mount Osmond peak itself (located in the Golf Course grounds near the club house) reaching over 400. Between the North-East and North-West are slopes leading down to the suburbs of Beaumont, Glen Osmond and Waterfall Gully, most of which is owned as public land by various government departments - either as parks, tracks or vacant land for possible future use. A somewhat 'ring' of reserves exist on the slopes anti-clockwise from the Old Bullock Track to Mount Osmond Road near the freeway interchange. Cleland Conservation Park is responsible for maintaining the Mount Osmond Reserve, which is adjacent to the track that winds past the golf course on the east as the Pioneer Womens Heritage Trail and then becomes the Old Bullock/Long Ridge track as it continues along Long Ridge towards Eagle on the Hill. Much of the housing and residential properties are on the North-West side of the Mount, as to enable views over Adelaide. ^[3] Image File history File linksMetadata Longridge. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Longridge. ...

While the suburb still contain a notable amount of native vegetation, and has not been exposed to invasive introduced species like other areas have - much of it was originally cleared for grazing and has yet to grow back to the same extent. Before European Settlement Grey Box, SA Blue Gum, Sheoak, Manna Gum and River Red Gum trees were native to and grew in the area, particularly on the slopes leading down to the Adelaide Plains. ^[4] The Adelaide Plains (34°30′ S 138°30′ E) is the area in South Australia between the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and the Gulf Saint Vincent on the west. ...

Transport

The Mount Osmond Interchange on the South Eastern Freeway. Mount Osmond Road can be seen winding up the hill on the right

Due to the suburb's relative isolation, it contains very few roads and does not conform to Adelaide's typical grid pattern - despite the suburb's age. The earliest road to be built was Mount Osmond Road, and done so by early developers in 1882 to make the suburb more attractive to prospective buyers. Mount Osmond Road remains one of two sealed roads which can today access Mount Osmond and is located to the South of the suburb. It begins as the first interchange on the South Eastern Freeway (formerly Mount Barker Road) and then winds around the Mount to the top of the mount and around the golf course. In the 19th century when a toll was in place for use of Mount Barker Road, drivers made use of Mount Osmond Road to avoid both the toll booth and the toll. The other sealed road that provides access to Mount Osmond is Heyward Road, which starts in Glen Osmond and then winds around the hills to meet the rest of the suburb's road network. ^[5] Image File history File linksMetadata Mountosmondinterechange_sefreeway. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Mountosmondinterechange_sefreeway. ... South Eastern Freeway is a freeway linking Adelaide to Princes Highway near Swanport, South Australia. ... Glen Osmond is a small suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside located in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills. ...

Numerous fire and walking tracks, among them the Old Bullock Track and the Pioneer Womens Heritage Trail also access Mount Osmond from Waterfall Gully, Eagle on the Hill, Beaumont and Glen Osmond. Public Transport is provided by the Adelaide Metro, but no buses run through Mount Osmond itself. Stops can be found in neighbouring suburbs. The bikeway adjacent to the South Eastern Freeway winds past at the foot of Mount Osmond and can be accessed through the interchange. ^[6] Waterfall Gully (34°57′S 138°40′E) is a small suburb of 2,285 people in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. ... The now-closed Eagle on the Hill Hotel Eagle on the Hill is a suburb of Adelaide in the Adelaide Foothills. ... Beaumont is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Burnside. ... Adelaide Metro is the marketing name for the public transport system of Adelaide, Australia. ...

Residents

In the 2001 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing, the population of the Mount Osmond census area was 2,285 people, in an area of 6.08 square kilometres. Females outnumbered males 54.2% to 45.8%. Some 21.4% of the population was born overseas.The eight strongest religious affiliations in the area were (in descending order): Anglican, Catholic, Uniting, Lutheran, Orthodox Christian, Presbyterian, Baptist, Church of Christ, Buddhist and Islam. The three most common forms of dwelling were (in decreasing order): a separate house, a semi-detached house, and a flat or apartment. Mount Osmond residents are more affluent than the Adelaide average, with a high occurrence of incomes over AU$1000 per week, which is also the second highest in the City of Burnside. A majority of workers are employed in professional or white collar fields. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the Australian government agency that collects and publishes statistical information about Australia. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Logo of the UCA The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was formed on June 22, 1977 when the Methodist Church of Australasia, Presbyterian Church of Australia and Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union document. ... Lutheranism is a Christian tradition committed to the main theological insights of Martin Luther. ... The term Orthodox Christian refers to two Christian traditions: Oriental Orthodoxy, which separated from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in the 5th century; Eastern Orthodoxy, which the Roman Catholic church separated from in 1054 was the church that was started by the apostles. ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... A Baptist is a member of a Baptist church. ... The Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations. ... The term Buddha is a word in ancient Indian languages including Pāli and Sanskrit which means one who has awakened. It is derived from the verbal root budh, meaning to awaken or to be enlightened, and to comprehend. It is written in Devanagari script as Hindi: and pronounced as... Islām is described as a dīn, meaning way of life and/or guidance. Six articles of belief There are six basic beliefs shared by all Muslims: 1. ... The Australian dollar, AUD or A$, is the official currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including the Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. ... White-collar workers perform tasks which are less laborious yet often more highly paid than blue-collar workers, who do manual work. ...

The average age in Mount Osmond is increasing, though at a lesser rate than in Australia as a whole. Mount Osmond has the second highest proportion of under-18s in the City of Burnside and the second lowest number of couples without children. Family numbers are also stable (2.6) with only a 0.01% drop between the 1996 and 2001 censuses. Also of note is the high occurrence of religious affiliation (73%) in Mount Osmond in comparison to the Adelaide (and national) average. Christian belief (70%) is most prominent, with little growth in other religions. ^[7] The origins of the word religion have been debated for centuries. ...

Attractions

Politics

Mount Osmond could be categorised as a fairly socially conservative and economically liberal suburb. Many of its residents, being high-income earners, have benefited from the Coalition government's economic policies. The residents are primarily of British descent and show higher-than-average religious devotion. This fits in well with the demographic of a stereotypical Liberal Party voter. Consequently the Liberal Party polls very well in the area with over two-thirds of the vote in the last two elections. Progressive parties, such as the Labor Party and the Democrats recieve the majority of the remaining votes. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian liberal conservative political party. ... The Australian Democrats (in regular parlance, just the Democrats), is an Australian social liberal party formed in 1977 from the earlier Australia Party by Don Chipp, who left the Liberal Party of Australia to do so. ... The Family First Party is a political party in Australia. ... SA First is a now-defunct South Australian political party formed by dissident Labor MP Terry Cameron in 1999. ... The Australian Greens, commonly ‘The Greens’, is the national Greens party in Australia. ... Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... The liberal theory of economics is the theory of economics described by classical liberal authors such as Adam Smith or the French Physiocrats. ... The Coalition in Australian politics refers to the grouping of two political parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922, with only brief breaks (e. ... Anglo-Celtic is a racial or cultural category, used to describe the majority of white Australians. ... The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian liberal conservative political party. ... Progressivism is a political philosophy whose adherents promote public policies that they believe would lead to positive social change. ... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... The Australian Democrats (in regular parlance, just the Democrats), is an Australian social liberal party formed in 1977 from the earlier Australia Party by Don Chipp, who left the Liberal Party of Australia to do so. ...

Mount Osmond is part of the state electoral district of Bragg, which has been held since 2002 by Liberal MP Vickie Chapman. In federal politics, the suburb is part of the division of Sturt, and has been represented by Christopher Pyne since 1993.^[10] The results shown are from the closest polling station to Mount Osmond — which is located outside of the suburb — at St Saviour's Church Hall on Pridmore Road in Glen Osmond. The state electoral district of Bragg, encompasses a large part of the City of Burnside and stretches from the east parklands of Adelaide to the foothills of the Adelaide Hills. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Vickie Chapman Vickie Chapman (b. ... The Division of Sturt is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. ... Hon Christopher Pyne Christopher Maurice Pyne (born 13 August 1967), Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Notes and References