Wasleys, South Australia

Wasleys, South Australia

Wasleys is a hamlet located north west of Gawler, South Australia. It is home to around 300 people, with 850 people living in postcode 5400 area. Roseworthy College is located around 6 km south of the town.

85% of all residents were born in Australia, 10% in the UK, and the remaining 5% in other countries.

On April 12, 1970 a bus collided with a passenger train [92] near Wasleys killing 17 people and injuring 45.

The town of Wasleys was established in an area known as the Mudla Wirra Forest. The name Mudla Wirra is aboriginal, Mudla meaning "implement" and Wirra meaning "forest". The town of Wasleys is now situated on an area first known as "Ridleyton" which was named after John Ridley, who laid out the village of Ridley in 1873. In 1869, the railway line was extended through the region and a railway station was erected on the land purchased by Joseph Wasley, one of the first settlers to the area.

The township was advertised to attract people seeking good agricultural land as "Ridly Township - Wasleys Station". In time two townships were announced and called Ridleyton and Wasley. As the towns grew the name Ridleyton was discarded and the town became known as Wasleys.

Early settlers soon made their mark on the history of the region. In 1843, John Ridley revolutionised the agricultural industry with the first "stripper machine". This machine stripped crops quickly and cheaply with the minimum of labour.

In the 1860's, a local farmer named Charles Mullen created a method of ploughing which was known as "Mullenising". Mullen invented an implement, used throughout Australia, which was the precursor of the stump-jump plough.

During 1866-1877, pioneer farmer Richard Marshall succeeded in solving the "red dust" problem in wheat by crossbreeding various wheat varieties and improved soil conditions using bone meal on the land. After good crop returns, a student at Roseworthy College named Charles Deland, led a campaign in favour of fertilizer.

Wasleys became a thriving centre and once operated three chaff mills. Although the chaff mills have ceased operating, the town is still a focal point for agriculutre and farming livestock, and as reported in The Bunyip on 27th September 1873, "There can be no questions that this is an excellent locality for a township".


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nuriootpa, South Australia — Nuriootpa South Australia Memorial hall …   Wikipedia

  • List of cities and towns in South Australia — This is a list of town and locality names in South Australia outside of the metropolitan postal area of Adelaide.:For a list of suburbs in metropolitan areas of Adelaide, see lists inside following individual city council articles: City of… …   Wikipedia

  • List of postcodes in South Australia/numeric sort — Postcodes are used by Australia Post to identify postal districts in Australia. This list is sorted numerically to facilitate seeing which towns/suburbs share a postcode.5000s inner suburbs* 5000 Adelaide * 5001 GPO Boxes * 5005 University of… …   Wikipedia

  • Adelaide Plains Football League — General Information Founded 1904 at Grace Plains First Played 1908 Previous name Adelaide Plains Football Association (1904–1963) Current clubs Balaklava Hummocks Watchman Eagles …   Wikipedia

  • Light Council — Regional Council of Light Lage des Light Council in South Australia Gliederung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Stump-jump plough — Plan of the original single furrow plough The stump jump plough is a kind of plough invented in South Australia in the late nineteenth century by Richard Bowyer Smith to solve the particular problem of preparing mallee lands for cultivation.… …   Wikipedia

  • Lists of Country Fire Service groups and brigades — Below is a list of Country Fire Service brigades and groups. Country Fire Service is a volunteer based fire service in the state of South Australia in Australia.Headquarters*CFS State HeadquartersRegion one*Region 1 Headquarters *Mount Lofty Fire …   Wikipedia

  • Light Regional Council — Infobox Australian Place | type = lga name = Light Regional Council state = sa caption = Location of Light Regional Council in blue pop = [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@census.nsf/4079a1bbd2a04b80ca256b9d00208f92/c2694854f21d09ebca256bc000145… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”