Truro, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Truro is a town
in South Australia
, 80 km northeast of Adelaide
. It is on the Sturt Highway
east of the Barossa Valley
near where the highway crosses the ridge of the Mount Lofty Ranges
. The town was laid out in 1847 and 1848 by John Howard Angas, the son of George Fife Angas
who had bought the land in 1842. At the 2006 census
, Truro had a population of 365.
Truro is in the Mid Murray Council
local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly
electoral district of Schubert
and the Australian House of Representatives
Divisions of Barker
and Wakefield
.
, United Kingdom
. It is somewhat uncertain whether the name Truro was given by Angas, or the first settlers in the town, but as these settlers were Cornish
, it is quite likely that they were the namers of the town.
A primary industry in Truro until recently was copper mining. The nearby Whealbarton mine operated from before 1842 until the 1970s.
Rainfall in Truro is lower than in the neighbouring Barossa Valley
region. For this reason the crop farming is more prevalent than viticulture.
During the 1970s, the town of Truro gained notoriety due to the findings of human remains in bushland. These findings became known as the Truro murders
, one of the first occurrences of serial killing in Australian history.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, 80 km northeast of Adelaide
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...
. It is on the Sturt Highway
Sturt Highway
The Sturt Highway is an Australian highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is part of the Auslink National network and is part of the main highway route between Sydney and Adelaide.-Route:...
east of the Barossa Valley
Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley is a major wine-producing region and tourist destination of South Australia, located 60 km northeast of Adelaide. It is the valley formed by the North Para River, and the Barossa Valley Way is the main road through the valley, connecting the main towns on the valley floor of...
near where the highway crosses the ridge of the Mount Lofty Ranges
Mount Lofty Ranges
The Mount Lofty Ranges are the range of mountains just to the east of Adelaide in South Australia.-Location and description:The Mount Lofty Ranges stretch from the southernmost point of the Fleurieu Peninsula at Cape Jervis northwards for over before petering out north of Peterborough...
. The town was laid out in 1847 and 1848 by John Howard Angas, the son of George Fife Angas
George Fife Angas
George Fife Angas was an English businessman and banker who, from England, played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the Colony of South Australia. He established the South Australian Company and was its founding chairman of the board of directors...
who had bought the land in 1842. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Truro had a population of 365.
Truro is in the Mid Murray Council
Mid Murray Council
Mid Murray Council was formed in 1997 from the amalgamation of the former District Councils of Mannum, Morgan, Ridley-Truro and part of the District Council of Mount Pleasant....
local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
electoral district of Schubert
Electoral district of Schubert
Schubert is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Max Schubert, the winemaker of Grange Hermitage...
and the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
Divisions of Barker
Division of Barker
The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Collet Barker, an early explorer of the region at the mouth of the Murray River...
and Wakefield
Division of Wakefield
The Division of Wakefield is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of South Australia. It is located north of Adelaide, incorporating the outer northern suburbs of Salisbury and Elizabeth, and extending north as far as Clare. It covers the east coast of the Gulf St Vincent north of...
.
History
Truro is named after the city of Truro in CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is somewhat uncertain whether the name Truro was given by Angas, or the first settlers in the town, but as these settlers were Cornish
Cornish Australian
Cornish Australians are citizens of Australia whose ancestry originates in Cornwall, United Kingdom, one of the six Celtic Nations. They form part of the worldwide Cornish diaspora which also includes large numbers of people in the US, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico and many Latin...
, it is quite likely that they were the namers of the town.
A primary industry in Truro until recently was copper mining. The nearby Whealbarton mine operated from before 1842 until the 1970s.
Rainfall in Truro is lower than in the neighbouring Barossa Valley
Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley is a major wine-producing region and tourist destination of South Australia, located 60 km northeast of Adelaide. It is the valley formed by the North Para River, and the Barossa Valley Way is the main road through the valley, connecting the main towns on the valley floor of...
region. For this reason the crop farming is more prevalent than viticulture.
During the 1970s, the town of Truro gained notoriety due to the findings of human remains in bushland. These findings became known as the Truro murders
Truro murders
The Truro murders is the name given to a series of murders uncovered with the discovery in 1978 and 1979 of the remains of two young women in bushland near the town of Truro, South Australia. After police searches, the remains of seven women were discovered in total: five at Truro, one at...
, one of the first occurrences of serial killing in Australian history.