Waterfall Gully, South Australia
Waterfall Gully (34°57′S 138°40′E / 34.950°S 138.667°E) is a small suburb of Adelaide in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills in South Australia around 5km East of the Adelaide CBD. For the most part, the suburb encompasses one long gully with First Creek at the base and Waterfall Gully Road adjacent to it. At the end of the gully is the waterfall for which the suburb is named.
Part of the City of Burnside, it is bounded on the north by the suburb of Burnside, on the north-east by Greenhill, on the south-east by Cleland, on the south-west by Leawood Gardens and on the north-west by Mount Osmond, it forms the shape of a rough arrow pointed south-east.
History
Before the colonisation of South Australia, Aboriginal history of Waterfall Gully and the surrounding Mount Lofty area was notable in the dreamtime story of Yurrebilla. He was the ancestor creator of the Kaurna people (Aboriginal tribes that inhabited the Adelaide area before European Settlement) and his "body" is supposed to be the Mount Lofty ranges and his "ears" the twin hills of Mt Bynthon and Mt Lofty.
An early settler of the neighbouring suburb of Beaumont, James Milne Young; described the local Kaurnas: "At every creek and gully you would see their wurlies and their fires at night.. ...often as many as 500 to 600 would be camped in various places ... some behind the Botanic Gardens on the banks of the river; some toward the Ranges; some on the Waterfall Gully."
Unfortunately for the Aborigines, who's main presence was on the River Torrens and the Creeks that flowed into it (which included Waterfall Gully's First Creek), these were also the most prized areas for the new European settlers. Forced out abrubtly and then hit by European diseases that they had no natural immunity for, the Aboriginal population steadily declined.
Waterfall Gully was discovered by Europeans soon after the establishment of Adelaide in 1837 and soon became a popular picnic-spot for Adelaide's wealthy. First Creek, which runs down Waterfall Gully and enters the River Torrens near the modern-day Botanic Gardens, was part of Adelaide's early water supply in the late nineteenth century, and it's weir was bult in this period. A number of silver mines were also dug around this time, but mining had stopped before the turn of the century.
Some parts of Waterfall Gully were only transferred from the District Council of Crafers to the City of Burnside in 1876, when the current suburb boundaries were established. In the early twentieth century, the area was mainly known for farming but by the middle of the century, a number of homes had begun to dot the gully.
In 1939 Waterfall Gully was badly hit by a number of bushfires that threatened the area. Futher bushfires in the early 1940's damaged the area considerably due to the lack of personnel and supplies for the Country Fire Service, as most supplies were being directed to the war effort.
The waterfall area has been protected as a recreation reserve since 1912. In the 1970's this area was combined with a number of other reserves to become part of Cleland Conservation Park, which extends eastwards up the gully to the summit of Mount Lofty and northwards to Greenhill Road.
Today, the suburb is still expanding (albeit slightly, and at a lower rate than the Adelaide and City of Burnside average) and new houses are being built at a regular pace. Residents continue to be drawn to Waterfall Gully by it's picturesque scenery, seculusion and close location to the Adelaide CBD.
Geography
Waterfall Gully is at an average elevation of 234 metres above sea level (skewed due to the height of the surrounding hills), in an area of 6.08 km². It's most notable geographical features are it's gully and waterfall.
Three hundred metres from the start of Waterfall Gully Road is Langman Reserve, a large local park that was converted from a quarry in the late sixties and is dedicated to a former mayor of the City of Burnside, which encompasses Waterfall Gully.
Much of the north-eastern side of the gully is part of Cleland; many walking trails lead off into the park. The majority of land on the south-western side (other than the properties running along the creek) is owned by the Burnside Council, and various fire and walking trails also run through it.
Since European Settlement the natural plant life has suffered considerably, and a large portion of the gully's vegetation is that of introduced plant species. The Burnside Council has undertaken programs to re-establish and protect native vegetation but little progress has been made removing foreign species such as olive trees, bamboo and blackberry bushes.
Adjoining Waterfull Gully 2km up the road is Chambers Gully, which used to be a local rubbish tip but in the past decade has been reclaimed as a park by volunteer work. It contains a number of old ruins, walking trails, springs and is an excellent place to spot local wildlife such as koalas.
Attractions
By far the most notable attraction of Waterfall Gully is the Waterfall. It is at the south-eastern end of the road (four kilometers from it's start), in land owned by Cleland.
The weir at the bottom of the waterfall was constructed in the late 1800s, the restaurant and kiosk in the early 1900s and further development in the area began in 1995.
The viewing area, restaurant, kiosk and carpark near the waterfall all close at 6pm on weekdays; the restaurant keeps the area open later some nights. It is here that visitors can admire the natural beauty of the waterfall, or find a walking track to various locations including Mount Lofty and Eagle on the Hill.
Many of the silver mines that once existed around the area in the 19th century still exist and are (to some extent) still accessible. They were never successful compared to the much more rich copper mines at Wheal Watkins in nearby Glen Osmond but are still of interest.
Several fire tracks and walking trails wind around the hills that surround Waterfall Gully. They offer brilliant views of the city of Adelaide, as well as the gully itself. One of these is notable as connecting to the the twelve hundred kilometre long Heysen Trail Many hikers can be seen walking these trails daily.
Transport
Due to the small size of the suburb, and it's single road - transport is usually by car. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 90% of residents are a driver or passenger in a car for their commute to work. Waterfall Gully is connected to the major Adelaide thuroughfare Greenhill Road by Waterfall Terrace and Glynburn Road. The CBD can typically be reached by car in 15 minutes.
An extremely small proportion (1.2%) walked to work and none bicycled. These figures are lower than both the Adelaide Metropolitan Area and the City of Burnside's.
Only 4% of residents travel by bus. The closest bus route for Waterfall Gully is the 142 bus, provided by the Government-owned Adelaide Metro. This bus travels from North Terrace in the CBD to Glynburn Road, which is a few hundred metres from the start of Waterfall Gully Road. The trip usually takes around 20 minutes in normal traffic and half an hour at peak times.
Residents
In the 2001 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing, the population of the Waterfall Gully postcode area was 2,497 people, in an area of 6.08 square kilometres. The population was 54.2% females, 45.8% males. 21.4% of the population was born overseas (see chart for a breakdown). The eight strongest religious affiliations in the area were in descending order: Anglican, Catholic, Uniting, Lutheran, Orthodox, Presbytarian, Baptist, Church of Christ, Buddhism and Islam. The three most common forms of dwelling were in decreasing order: a seperate house, a semi-detached house and a Flat.
Waterfall Gully residents are more affluent than the Adelaide average, with a high occurrence of incomes over AUD$1000 per week. A large proportion of workers are employed in professional fields (over 50%).
Also of note in the high occurrence of religous affiliation in Waterfall Gully in comparison to the Adelaide (and national) average. There is no notable decline in Christian adherence, and little growth in other religions.
Politics
Waterfall Gully could be categorised as a fairly socially conservative and economically liberal suburb. Many of the residents, being high-income earners - have benefited greatly from the Coalition government's economic policies. The residents are primarily of British Decent and show higher-than-average religious devotion and therefore could be characterised as socially conservative. This fits in well with the demographic of the "average" Liberal voter, however the Australian Democrats also had a higher-than-average showing in recent elections.
Waterfall Gully is a part of the State Electoral District of Bragg, which encompasses a large part of the City of Burnside (which also includes the districts of Adelaide, Morialta, Hartley, Heysen and Norwood in it's boundaries) and stretches from the parklands of the CBD to the Adelaide foothills. Similar to other Eastern suburbs (with the exception of Norwood), Bragg is a safe Liberal Party (LP) District. In the 2002 State Election, the Liberals took around 60% of the vote with the Australian Democrats and Labor (ALP) each gaining around 20%.
Held by:
- Hon Dr David Tonkin (LP) 1970-1983
- Hon Graham Ingerson (LP) 1983-2002
- Vickie Chapman MP (LP) 2002-present
Waterfall Gully is also part of the Federal Division of Sturt which is located roughly on the boundaries of the City of Burnside. It has been a fairly safe Liberal seat for over thirty years, even through pronounced demographic changes to the area (less pronounced in Waterfall Gully). In the 2004 Federal Election on two-party preffered basis, the Liberal Party gained 56.8% of the vote and the Labor Party 43.2%
Held by:
- Keith Wilson (LP) 1949-1954
- Hon Norman Makin (ALP) 1954-1955
- Sir Keith Wilson (LP) 1955-1966
- Ian Wilson (LP) 1966-69
- Norman Foster (ALP) 1969-1972
- Hon Ian Wilson (LP) 1972-1993
- Christopher Pyne (LP) 1993-present
See also
References
- History of the City of Burnside
- City of Burnside Community Profile, statistics taken from the ABS
- Cleland National Park
- The Greater Mount Lofty Parklands (Yurrebilla)
- Adelaide Metro
- Christopher Pyne MP
- City of Burnside Electoral Area's
External Links