Aldgate, South Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Aldgate
state = sa

---

caption = Aldgate Railway Station (Closed)
lga = Adelaide Hills Council
postcode = 5154
pop = 3,343 (2006 census) Census 2006 AUS
id=SSC41031
name=Aldgate (State Suburb)
accessdate=2007-10-25
quick=on]

est = 1882
elevation= 304
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
region = Adelaide Hills
stategov = Heysen
fedgov = Mayo
dist1 = 21
dir1 = south east
location1= Adelaide via
near-nw = Upper Sturt
near-n = Stirling
near-ne = Stirling
near-w = Heathfield
near-e = Bridgewater
near-sw = Heathfield
near-s = Mylor
near-se = Mylor

Aldgate is a South Australian town located 21 kilometres south-east of Adelaide, in the Adelaide Hills.

History

The town of Aldgate was supposedly named in 1882 after the local hotel the "Aldgate Pump", which was established in 1867 by Richard D. Hawkins, who had additionally opened the Crafers Inn. The hotel was named after the pump he had installed outside, and Aldgate in London, England, which is an Old English derivation of "old gate".

As the pump became popular to water the horses and bullock teams which passed through the area on their way south to the Echunga goldfields, a small settlement established by 1870 and many small businesses were set-up, with many buildings which remain to this day.

The Hills Land and Investment Company subdivided land in the area for settlement in 1882. For a few months in 1883 it was the end of the railway line from Adelaide. In November of that year, the extension of the railway was put through to Nairne.

Aldgate is the site of Stangate House and Garden, a property given in 1975 to the National Trust of Australia. The house was built in 1940 and is known for its gardens.

Today

In the last decade, Aldgate's drainage system has suffered substantial problems and has been the result of drastic flooding through the main street. One of the worst cases of this occurred at around 8:00 AM 8 November 2005, which left most of the businesses in the main street flooded with significant damage. A recent ongoing project around Aldgate has been upgrading the drainage system.

Aldgate's fire service is Aldgate Country Fire Service which is to have a new station built on the current site.

Aldgate is in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, the federal Division of Mayo and the state electoral district of Heysen.

References

External links

* [http://kudnarto.tripod.com/ch22.htm#H "Hawkins" in the "Kudnarto" appendix]
* [http://www.placenames.sa.gov.au/pno/pnores.phtml?recno=SA0000654 Placenames Online]
* [http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/pn/a/a4.htm#aldgate The Manning Index of South Australian History]
* [http://www.cfs.org.au/default.asp?pgleft=leftFrame.htm&pgRightFrame=http://www.cfs.org.au/media/article.asp?pArticleID=563 Floods Hit Hills and Suburbs]