Hilltown, South Australia Explained

Type:town
Hilltown
State:sa
Image Alt:a red brick building with gum trees behind
Established:1866
Postcode:5455
Elevation:348
Lga:Clare and Gilbert Valley Council
Stategov:Frome
Fedgov:Grey
Near-N:Andrews
Near-Ne:Leighton
Near-E:Gum Creek
Near-Se:Hill River
Near-S:Barinia
Near-Sw:Bungaree
Near-W:Anama
Near-Nw:Euromina
Coordinates:-33.6865°N 138.6364°W

Hilltown is a locality in the District Council of Clare and Gilbert Valleys of South Australia. The former town centre is located on Hilltown Road, which runs north-south between Andrews and Hill River, while the unsealed Harvey Highway connects the former town centre to RM Williams Way.[1] It is about 4 km east of RM Williams Way, on the former Spalding railway line.

History

It was created in the 1860s when closer settlement came to the Mid-North, allowing grain farming by self-employed farmers. The government town of Hilltown was surveyed in September 1865.[2] The first lots at Hilltown were sold by public auction in March 1866. Street names of the surveyed township honored pioneering pastoralists of the region such as John Harris Browne and Charles Brown Fisher.

It was proposed to rename it Yakkalo in 1916 and Milne in 1926, but neither took effect. Subsequent public infrastructure, since closed, included a railway siding and primary school. The Riverton-Spalding railway line passed the town in 1922, the station was named for the Hundred of Milne which is the cadastral division in which the town was established. It was named in 1860 after Sir William Milne, MP.[3] The town was recorded as diminished in 1929. The local railway station had been opened under the name of Milne, but was altered to Hilltown in 1939.[4] The railway closed in 1984. Hilltown Post Office opened on 2 January 1914 and closed on 4 April 1985.[5]

A private subdivision named Dudley formerly existed on the border of Hilltown and Barinia; it has now been subsumed into the two localities.[6]

Features

The Clare Valley Aerodrome is located in the south-west corner of the locality, on the corner of RM Williams Way and Cornwell Road.[7] The Hilltown Soldiers' Memorial Hall is still available for community use.[8] [9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hilltown, 5455 . Government of South Australia . Location SA Map Viewer . 16 February 2016.
  2. Web site: Hilltown . SA0042842 . Government of South Australia . Property Location Viewer . 16 February 2016 . 12 October 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161012010923/http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/ . dead .
  3. Web site: Placename Details: Hundred of Milne . Property Location Browser . SA0007587 . 29 January 2009 . . 18 February 2016 . 7 December 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151207082745/http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/ . dead .
  4. News: New Road from Clare to Blyth. . . Clare, SA . 14 April 1939 . 19 February 2016 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
  5. Web site: Hilltown . Premier Postal . Post Office Reference . 16 February 2016.
  6. Web site: Dudley . Government of South Australia . Property Location Viewer . 16 February 2016 . 12 October 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161012010923/http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/ . dead .
  7. Web site: Hilltown SA 5455 . Google Maps . 16 February 2016.
  8. Web site: Halls . Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council . 16 February 2016.
  9. Web site: Hilltown Soldiers' Memorial Hall . Monument Australia . 16 February 2016.