Brown Hill Creek
Encyclopedia
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...
, 34°59′S 138°39′E, is one of several creeks (or stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s) running in a generally west-north-west direction, draining the western watershed 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 area around the mouth of Brown Hill Creek, where the suburb of Mitcham
Mitcham, South Australia
Mitcham is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Mitcham.Created as a village separate from Adelaide , it was ancillary to a sheep station at Brown Hill Creek belonging to the South Australia Company. Prior to European settlement the area was inhabited by the Kaurna aboriginal people...
now exists, was known to the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains as Wirraparinga, meaning "creek and scrub place". After the proclamation 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...
on 28 December 1836, one of the earliest outlying communities to spring up was that of Mitcham, in 1840.
The dominating hill behind Mitcham is called Brown Hill, along with two other significant hills in the Adelaide hills face, Greenhill and Black Hill. It was grazed early on in the history of Adelaide's white settlement, and has since retained a cover of grass, with few trees or shrubs, thus appearing brown in summer, and green in winter. Perhaps this is where the name originates.
The creek valley behind the hill has contained some form of park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
for many years; a stone plaque declaring a "pleasure resort" from the early part of the 20th century still stands at the entrance to the valley. Today, there is a popular caravan park in the mouth of the valley, and a recreation reserve extending several kilometres up the main creek valley behind it. The upper reaches of the creek are utilised especially for market gardening
Market gardening
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
, and also some pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
. In the 1870s, some of the upper gullies of the creek were considered as a possible location for a reservoir, to supply Adelaide's growing population with water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
. Thorndon Park reservoir was eventually built instead.
There is an old and very large hollow river red gum (Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
camaldulensis), known as the Monarch of the Glen, that survives today in the centre of the caravan park; its interior was partly burnt by adventurous Scouts
Scouts Australia
Scouts Australia is an organisation for children and young adults from 6 to 26 years of age. Scouts Australia is part of the global Scouting movement and has been a national member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement since 1953...
many years ago, and it is now surrounded by a fence.