Ashton, South Australia

Uraidla (, yoo-RAYD-lə) is a small town in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, Australia. At the 2016 census, Uraidla had a population of 575. However it also sits at the centre of a larger population catchment of rural townships which include Summertown, Piccadilly, Ashton, Basket Range, Carey Gully, Norton Summit and Cherryville. The name is derived from the Kaurna name Yuridla, which means "two ears" and originally referred to the two nearby peaks of Mt Lofty and Mt Bonython, and also relates to the Dreaming story of Ngarnu, a giant from the east.

Giles Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) east of the state capital of Adelaide. It was declared in 2007 and has an area of 109 ha (270 acres). Previously, the land was the eastern portion of the Horsnell Gully Conservation Park. It was named after the family of Charles Giles who is reported as being a pioneer in the fields of horticulture and floriculture in South Australia.The conservation park features remnant native vegetation and native animals such as Western grey kangaroos and koalas. It features one walking trail that is part of the Mount Lofty to Norton Summit portion of the Heysen and Yurrebilla trails. The official brochure suggests that the conservation park offers ‘excellent opportunities for bushwalking, birdwatching, photography, painting and nature study."The conservation park is classified as an IUCN Category III protected area.

Summertown is a town in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. It adjoins Uraidla. At the 2016 census, Summertown had a population of 676.Although technically ending along Greenhill Road directly at the Police House, further on is Summertown's Elderly Home, giving further confusion to the actual placement of the town's borders.

Marble Hill was the Vice-Regal summer residence for the Governor of South Australia for seventy-five years, from 1880 to 1955. It is also the name of a ward of the Adelaide Hills Council, and a suburb, both named after the residence and in which the residence is located. It is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Adelaide between the towns of Ashton and Cherryville, and has expansive views of the Adelaide Hills to the North and East, and the Adelaide Plains to the West.The residence was destroyed during the Black Sunday bushfire of 1955. Subsequently, the site was managed by the National Trust of South Australia from 1967 to 1992, and the Department for Environment and Heritage from 1992 to 2009. A volunteer Friends of Parks group, Friends of Marble Hill, ran open days and maintained the site from 1994 to 2008. To date, the main building has never been fully restored, but the National Trust undertook restoration of the tower and the nearby stables in the 1970s. Successive State Governments have not been prepared to restore the building (despite it having been a residence of the vice-regal representative), as the expense involved would not be considered responsible use of public funds. In 2009, Marble Hill was sold to a local family, who plan to reconstruct and re-use the building.

Basket Range is a small town in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It is located on an approximately north–south ridge that runs from Deep Creek in the north to Greenhill Road in the south. The area is completely encircled by hills, giving the town the appearance of nestling within a large basket, hence "Basket Range". It has been suggested that the name may derive from the practice of German farmers who, travelling from Lobethal to Adelaide along the old Bullock Track which passed through the area, would carry their produce in large wicker baskets. It has also been suggested that a Mr Basket was in charge of issuing timber-cutting licences in the very early days; however, there is no evidence of any Mr Basket having lived there or been in charge of licences.The town's main industries include apple and cherry orchards, and there are numerous cottages available for bed and breakfast accommodation. Basket Range Primary School was established in 1885, and the Basket Range CFS was founded in 1969.Basket Range Post Office opened on 1 April 1892.Basket Range is also home to one of the oldest cricket clubs in the region. Basket Range Cricket Club was formed in 1892 and their oval overlooks the wide sweeping hills views of the area.

Norton Summit (formerly Norton's Summit) is a town in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, located approximately 12 km east of the city of Adelaide. The town is named after Robert Norton, who arrived in South Australia shortly after its proclamation, and made the first recorded climb in the area in 1836.It is well known for the popular Scenic Hotel, founded in the 1870s, often considered one of the best pubs in Adelaide. Another landmark is St. John's Church, founded with the assistance of the Baker family at around the same time.The Morialta Protestant Children's Home was established in 1924 on nearby land, part of John Baker's estate, closed in 1972. The Playford family have long been residents of the area. The Rev. Thomas Playford, a Waterloo veteran turned preacher, settled in the area in 1840s. His son (Thomas Playford II) and great-grandson (Thomas Playford IV) both became Premier of South Australia. Thomas Playford IV is the longest serving Premier in South Australia's history, from 1938 to 1965. His statue stands in the centre of the township.Norton Summit is one of the most popular cycling climbs in Australia.

Horsnell Gully Conservation Park (formerly Horsnell Gully National Park) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia in the locality of Horsnell Gully located about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) southwest of Norton Summit.It contains several small gorges feeding the Adelaide Plains, a small seasonal waterfall and a number of walking trails including one that is part of the Heysen Trail. It adjoins the Giles Conservation Park which was formerly the conservation park's upper eastern section.The conservation park consists of land in sections 609 and 618 in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Adelaide.Land within the conservation park having an area of 1.14 square kilometres (282 acres) first gained protected status as a national pleasure resort during 1947 and prior to 6 August 1947. On 7 March 1963, section 609 was dedicated as part of a wildlife reserve proclaimed under the Crown Lands Act 1929. On 9 November 1967, all of the land was proclaimed under the National Parks Act 1966 as the Horsnell National Park. The national park was re-proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 as Horsnell Conservation Park on 27 April 1972. On 28 November 1985, land in sections 1118 and 1119 of the Hundred of Adelaide was added to the conservation park. On 30 August 2007, the land added in 1985 was separately constituted as the Giles Conservation Park. As of 2018, it covered an area of 1.37 square kilometres (0.53 sq mi).The entirety of the conservation park is now leased from the government on a monthly basis for industrial purposes by the neighbouring White Rock Quarry, owned by the German based multinational company, Heidelberg Cement Group. 10 acres of conservation park land have been cleared and used for stockpiling and dumping of old machinery and vehicles. The water from Horsnell Conservation Park Dam is also used by the company for the manufacturing of concrete. There is a community group, Residents Against White Rock Quarry who are campaigning for the termination of this lease. In 1980, the park was described as follows: Covering the western slopes of the Mount Lofty ranges due east of Adelaide, Horsnell Gully Conservation Park encompasses an area of rugged terrain. It forms part of the watershed of Third Creek, one of the five main tributaries of the River Torrens. Plant communities are represented by stringybark associations with Sclerophyllous understories and the smoothbark (Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E viminalis and E leucoxylon) associations on more fertile soils at lower elevations. A Savannah understorey of alien pasture plants with some shrubs is a feature of this area. It is classified as an IUCN Category III protected area. In 1980, the conservation park was listed on the former Register of the National Estate.

Carey Gully is a small town in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. The name of the town is taken from one of the early settlers of the area, Paddy Carey, and was originally called Carey's Gully, (This can be seen at the town's War Memorial on a wrought iron sign). Whilst being named a "gully" the present township actually straddles part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, separating the valley townships of Uraidla to the west and Balhannah to the east. The older settlements in Carey Gully are located down smaller gullies where soil was suitable for agriculture. Recent decades have seen the decline of the Carey Gully township, with the closure of the general store which also sold petrol. Still in operation are the Country Fire Service station, the Carey Gully Quarry and a small scale factory building on Deviation Road, housing a boat-building business and a traditional carpenter among others. Greenhill Road is the main route through the town, upon which the hub of the township is located, but in the past much of the town's major establishments were located on adjacent Deviation Road. The road was an ideal location for the township in the past as it was situated on a largely dry, flat area (compared to the steep hills surrounding) and was also a main thoroughfare to the towns of Forest Range and Lenswood via Boundary Drive. Deviation Road once hosted a Football oval (Australian Rules Football) and tennis courts (now a strawberry field), and a general store which still stands to this day, but is currently a private residence. The decline of the town has seen it become a much more quiet, idyllic location, attracting people from nearby Adelaide. The location of Carey Gully makes it cool in summer and provides brilliant views and cool, isolated valleys to those seeking a weekend getaway or quiet retirement. Agriculture is the main industry with crops of strawberries, apples, cherries and wine grapes being grown. Along with this there are various hobby farms throughout the area running livestock such as goats, sheep, cattle, and deer. Although much of the land is devoted to agriculture, as with many towns in the Adelaide Hills, Carey Gully has retained a large portion of its natural bushland which boasts many species of threatened and endangered flora and fauna, Wotton's Scrub and White's Scrub (part of the Kenneth Stirling Conservation Park) being excellent examples. Carey Gully has been affected many times by bushfire, most notably the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983. Public transport to Carey Gully is provided by the Adelaide Metro. Routes 821 & 822 provide a service to and from the City approximately every 2 hours, with route 822 also providing a link to nearby Stirling. More services to and from the city are provided at peak times.

Cherryville is a small town in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It was named in around 1840 after the native cherry trees that grew in the area, although some historians claim that it was not named until 1892, when horticultural cherry plantings became widespread in the area. Prior to this, land holdings were typically of around 100 acres (40 ha) and used primarily for pastoralism or small-scale vegetable gardens. Cherryville Post Office opened on 2 January 1899 and closed in 1974.The town received national attention in May 2013 when the 2013 Cherryville bushfire burnt out 670 hectares (1,700 acres) of scrub and farmland surrounding the district. The fire was notable in that it occurred outside the fire-ban season, leading to calls to review the State's fire ban policy.

The first Ash Wednesday fires were a series of bushfires that began in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, on Ash Wednesday, 20 February 1980. 51 homes and 25 other buildings were destroyed, including the Anglican Christ Church, Longwood, and 75 farms were affected. 40 people were injured, with 150 left homeless. The fire burnt an area of 3,770 ha (14.6 sq mi), and caused an estimated $34,000,000 damage.In 1983, after the Ash Wednesday fires in February that year, the 1980 fire became known in South Australia as the "first" Ash Wednesday, or Ash Wednesday I.

The Black Sunday bushfires were a series of bushfires that broke out across South Australia on 2 January 1955. Extreme morning temperatures coupled with strong north-westerly winds contributed to the breakout of numerous fires in Adelaide Hills, Jamestown, Waterloo, Kingston and Millicent. Most were caused by sparks from powerlines in the wind.Around 1,000 Emergency Fire Service volunteers from 60 brigades were tasked to the fires, but were overwhelmed. At 10am, the EFS head office requested urgent public assistance. Around 2,500 citizens volunteered. The fires were contained by 9:30pm, thanks largely to a fortuitous change in the weather and widespread public assistance.The fires resulted in two deaths, destroyed 40 homes and numerous other buildings, and caused more than A$4 million worth of property damage, most notably the destruction of the Governor's summer residence at Marble Hill. Governor Robert George, his family and staff were lucky to escape with their lives. The Premier, Sir Thomas Playford, also narrowly escaped death, sheltering with five other men in a patch of hoed earth near Cherryville. The burnt area was estimated at as much as 160,000 hectares (600 sq mi) stretching from One Tree Hill to Strathalbyn; however, other sources put the area at closer to 39,000 hectares (150 sq mi).

The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker is one of Australia's fastest-growing towns. Before British colonisation of South Australia, the area was inhabited by the Peramangk people. The Adelaide Hills wine region comprises areas of the Adelaide Hills above 300 m (980 ft).