Eagle on the Hill, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Eagle On The Hill is an unbounded locality of Adelaide
in the Adelaide Foothills
. It borders Mount Osmond
and Waterfall Gully
.
The village is located on Mount Barker Road, which was the only connection from Adelaide to the South Eastern Freeway
. Once the Adelaide-Crafers Highway
through the Heysen Tunnels
was opened in 2000, Eagle on the Hill went into a precipitous decline. It is now a relic of its former self; its restaurant, hotel, bottle shop and service stations have all closed, leaving behind a quiet suburb with a small resident population.
The Eagle on the Hill Hotel was first opened in 1853 by William Anderson, who named it Anderson Hotel. The hotel went through further name changes in 1855 to The Eagle on the Hill, then to Eagle's Nest in 1859 and back to Eagle on the Hill in 1860.
The hotel has twice been ravaged by bushfires. First in 1899; a fire destroyed all of the old hotel with the exception of two rooms. Again on Ash Wednesday
(February 16, 1983) the hotel suffered, with it being completely destroyed. It was rebuilt and operated with much success until its closure after the construction of the new freeway route.
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in the Adelaide Foothills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
. It borders Mount Osmond
Mount Osmond, South Australia
Mount Osmond is a small suburb of 2,497 people in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is part of the City of Burnside Local Government Area and located in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills, five kilometres south east of the city centre...
and Waterfall Gully
Waterfall Gully, South Australia
Waterfall Gully is an outer suburb of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is located in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges around east-south-east of Adelaide's central business district . For the most part, the suburb encompasses one long gully with First Creek at its centre and...
.
The village is located on Mount Barker Road, which was the only connection from Adelaide to the South Eastern Freeway
South Eastern Freeway
The South Eastern Freeway is a 66 kilometre four-lane divided carriageway road in South Australia linking the Adelaide-Crafers Highway to the Princes Highway at the Swanport Bridge, a one kilometre long bridge over the River Murray, near Murray Bridge...
. Once the Adelaide-Crafers Highway
Adelaide-Crafers Highway
The Adelaide-Crafers Highway is a 10 kilometre controlled-access highway linking Adelaide city centre to Crafers in the Adelaide hills, and continuing from Crafers as the South Eastern Freeway. The highway is ten kilometres long, including 500 metre long twin-tube tunnels , the first of their kind...
through the Heysen Tunnels
Heysen Tunnels
The Heysen Tunnels are twin tube road tunnels which carry the Adelaide-Crafers Highway under Eagle On The Hill in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia. The tunnels were excavated using a tunnelling machine normally used in heavy-duty mining operations which tunnelled through 500 metres of rock...
was opened in 2000, Eagle on the Hill went into a precipitous decline. It is now a relic of its former self; its restaurant, hotel, bottle shop and service stations have all closed, leaving behind a quiet suburb with a small resident population.
Hotel
The hotel has twice been ravaged by bushfires. First in 1899; a fire destroyed all of the old hotel with the exception of two rooms. Again on Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday fires
The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km per hour caused widespread destruction across the states...
(February 16, 1983) the hotel suffered, with it being completely destroyed. It was rebuilt and operated with much success until its closure after the construction of the new freeway route.