Morphett Vale, South Australia Explained

Morphett Vale, South Australia should not be confused with Morphettville, South Australia.

Type:suburb
Morphett Vale
City:Adelaide
State:SA
Lga:City of Onkaparinga
Postcode:5162
Est:1840
Area:12.76
Region:Southern Adelaide[1]
County:Adelaide[2]
Stategov:Hurtle Vale
Stategov2:Reynell
Fedgov:Kingston
Near-Nw:Lonsdale
Near-N:Reynella
Near-Ne:Old Reynella
Near-W:Christie Downs
Near-E:Woodcroft
Near-Sw:Noarlunga Centre
Near-S:Hackham
Near-Se:Onkaparinga Hills

Morphett Vale is a southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Onkaparinga. It is the largest suburb in the state, with a population of more than 23,000 and an area of 12.76 km2, followed by Paralowie with nearly 10,000 fewer residents. There are approximately 1,000 businesses in Morphett Vale.The suburb is bordered by (clockwise from north) Sheriffs/Pimpala Road, Panalatinga Road, Doctors/Beach Road, and the Southern Expressway.

History

Morphett Vale was the first major town south of Adelaide. In October 1840, a town called Dublin was subdivided leading to the development of Morphett Vale. By 1866, the town was said to have 'a large number of neat residences, many of which have fine vineyards attached'.

Morphett Vale was named after John Morphett. The town quickly boasted churches and chapels, a brewery, wind flour mill, court house and police station.

Agriculture consisted of cereal, mixed farms and vineyards. 1852 saw the formation of the Morphett Vale District council which merged with Noarlunga in 1932. During the second world war the district was a major producer of flax.

Extensive land subdivision occurred during the 1960s, transforming the area from a rural region to a metropolitan suburb.

Some notable buildings and businesses include: Doctors House on the corner of Beach and Main South Roads (In the suburb of Hackham, one of the boundary suburbs), The Emu winery which was later demolished to make way for Wirreanda High School and a housing sub-division. The Heritage listed Old Courthouse is visible alongside early churches in William Street.

The Willunga railway line ran through the town until 1969, but has since been replaced by a bicycle/pedestrian path. The old Station Master's Residence is now the Southern Districts Workingman's Club and has been substantially remodelled to its current form. The last tenants of this building (Dopheide) are still residents of the Local Onkaparinga Council area.

On October 2, 1992, twelve-year-old Rhianna Ann Barreau went missing from her home in Morphett Vale [3] Having never been solved, her case has attracted continued media attention.[4] [5] [6]

Country Fire Service

The Morphett Vale Country Fire Service station is located on the corner of Doctors Road and States Road at Hackham. It is an entirely volunteer based brigade which has an active fire-fighter membership of around 50 volunteers. They also have approximately 8 volunteers who assist with Operational Support duties and approximately 9 cadets.The brigade is one of the busiest in the state, responding to between 300 and 400 emergencies each year on average. The suburbs primarily covered by the brigade are Morphett Vale, Hackham, Onkaparinga Hills, Reynella and Woodcroft. These suburbs include approximately 25,000 residents as well as industrial zones and large areas of rural land.

The Morphett Vale fire brigade currently has three appliances. Morphett Vale Pumper and Morphett Vale 34 are supplied by the government, whilst Morphett Vale QRV is a brigade owned appliance and was designed and built by the brigade.

Morphett Vale Pumper – This is the station's primary urban response vehicle, it was delivered to the brigade in December 2011.It is a two-wheel drive pumper built by Fraser Fire and Rescue in New Zealand, it is based on the New Zealand Fire Service Type 1 pumper design on an Iveco Eurocargo cab / chassis.Some of the specifications include 2000 litre water tank, 750GPM pump with separate high pressure stage, 62m high pressure, hose reel, Modular body design, 5.17m 3 usable locker volume, 60 litre A class foam tank with onboard refill pump, Direct injection foam system.

Morphett Vale 34 – The appliance is built on a four-wheel drive Isuzu FTS800 crew-cab chassis and carries 3000 litres of water. The pump is a GAAM MK450 coupled which provides simultaneous high pressure and volume stage operation, it is coupled to a Hatz diesel engine.

Morphett Vale Quick Response Vehicle (QRV) – This appliance is their quick rural response vehicle. The appliance is built on a Holden Rodeo tray top utility to which we have fitted a 350-litre water tank and a Darley Snuffer Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) pump. The CAFS pump is capable of producing a very high quality foam with only minimal use of foam concentrate and water. With the CAFS pump operating it is possible to produce high quality foam for longer than 10 minutes using just the 400 litres of water in the tank, normal pumps would use a lot more water than 400 litres to produce the same result.[7]

Schools

Morphett Vale boasts a number of schools within its boundaries including:

Primary schools

R-12 schools

Secondary schools

Former schools in the area

Sporting clubs and grounds

References

  1. Morphett Vale – European History and Heritage http://www.onkaparingacity.com/history/viewsuburb.asp?content=morphett

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Southern Adelaide SA Government region. The Government of South Australia. 17 April 2017.
  2. Web site: Search result for "County of Adelaide, CNTY" with the following data sets selected – "Counties" and "Local Government Areas" . Property Location SA Map Viewer . Government of South Australia . 24 April 2017.
  3. Web site: Caw Profile – Rhianna Barreau . crimestopperssa.com.au . Crime Stoppers . July 30, 2024.
  4. Web site: Bath . Gemma . Rhianna Barreau disappeared from her Adelaide home in 1992. Police think the answers are close by. . mamamia.com.au . July 30, 2024.
  5. Web site: Brice . Rebecca . Disappearance of Adelaide schoolgirl Rhianna Barreau 'a mystery that may never be solved' . abc.net.au . Australian Broadcasting Association.
  6. Web site: Police reinvestigate Rhianna Barreau cold case . au.news.yahoo.com . Yahoo!News . July 30, 2024.
  7. http://www.mvcfs.asn.au Morphett Vale CFS