Torrens Park, South Australia

Torrens Park is a mainly residential large inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, incorporating some of the foothills[2] and adjacent to the original "Mitcham Village". It was named after Sir Robert Richard Torrens, the instigator of the Torrens title system of land registration and transfer, who built a large home in the area which he named Torrens Park.

Torrens Park
Adelaide, South Australia
Torrens Park is located in South Australia
Torrens Park
Torrens Park
Coordinates34°59′10″S 138°36′58″E
Population2,687 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established1945
Postcode(s)5062
Area2.0 km2 (0.8 sq mi)
Location8 km (5 mi) from Adelaide
LGA(s)City of Mitcham
State electorate(s)Waite
Federal division(s)Boothby
Suburbs around Torrens Park:
Hawthorn Kingswood Netherby
Lower Mitcham Torrens Park Springfield
Clapham
Lynton		 Belair Mitcham
Brown Hill Creek

The suburb is in the City of Mitcham local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly electoral district of Waite and the Australian House of Representatives Division of Boothby.

History

The name was formally submitted for approval in 1945. Torrens Park is named after Sir Robert Richard Torrens, the third Premier of South Australia and instigator of the Torrens title land title system. Torrens built a large home which he called "Torrens Park" near Mitcham in 1853–4. In 1865 Torrens sold the house to his partner in the Moonta Mines (later founder of the University of Adelaide), Walter Watson Hughes, who enlarged it and later sold it to businessman and philanthropist Robert Barr Smith.[3][4] It is now part of Scotch College.[4] Although the original gates have recently been removed, the original gatehouse to the Estate is still visible at the corner of Belair Road and Ayr Avenue.

Torrens Park Post Office opened on 24 August 1953 and closed in 1972.[5]

Part of today's suburb was laid out in 1917 from the estate of Tom Elder Barr-Smith;[6] various parts of the suburb were originally known as "Glenburnie", Blytheswoodville, Panchito Park, Blythwood Estate and West Mitcham.[7]

Geography

In comparison with most Adelaide suburbs, Torrens Park is quite large. The north end of the suburb is reasonably flat, but as one travels south (towards the foothills) the terrain rises and becomes hilly. Brown Hill Creek runs through the suburb from the south-east to the north-west. Due to the foothills, the rainfall in the City of Mitcham is 25–50 per cent higher than the rainfall on the Adelaide Plains.

Torrens Park is also the location of the Mitcham Square Shopping Centre.

Politics

Traditionally, the area has been part of a "blue ribbon Liberal" seat; however, elections in 2022 saw both state and federal seats fall to the opposing Labor Party.

Schools

The only school actually located in the suburb is Scotch College.

Nearby Primary Schools:

  • Clapham
  • Mitcham
  • Colonel Light Gardens

Nearby High Schools:

Public transport

Public transport to Torrens Park is available through the Belair railway line, to the Mitcham (North-West), Torrens Park[8] (West) and Lynton (South-West) stations.[9] Buses are also available to and from the City along Belair Road.[10]

Route 192 terminates on Kays Road; Routes 194 and 196 pass through the suburb en route to Blackwood Station. Route 171 travels along Princes Road serving the northern side of the suburb and then via Fullarton Road to the city.

See also

Notes
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Torrens Park (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. The southern edge of the suburb is zoned Hills Face Zone.
  3. "Torrens Park Residence [B 10643]" (photo and text). State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  4. Moore, Peter (14 October 2014). "Sir Robert Richard Torrens". Adelaidia. Retrieved 10 November 2019. This entry was first published in S.A.'s Greats: The men and women of the North Terrace plaques, edited by John Healey (Historical Society of South Australia Inc., 2001).
  5. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  6. Tom Elder Barr-Smith, born in 1863, was the son of Robert Barr Smith. In 1920 the Barr-Smith family gave £11,000 for the endowment of the library of the University of Adelaide, and in 1928 Tom gave £30,000 for the Barr Smith Library building.
  7. Torrens Park Archived 28 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Local History – Places, City of Mitcham.
  8. Local folklore/legend is that the bend in the railway line and the location of the Torrens Park station were planned to minimise the distance between Sir Robert Torrens' house and a railway station.
  9. Prior to the "standardisation" of the Adelaide-Melbourne rail line, the suburb was also served by the now closed Clapham station.
  10. To a lesser degree, buses along Fullarton Road serve the eastern side of the suburb.
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