Sandy Creek, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Sandy Creek is a town in South Australia
. The town is situated approximately 6 kilometres east of Gawler
and is the last town passed through before you enter the historic Barossa Valley
at Lyndoch
. The Sandy Creek conservation park is nearby.
The surrounding fields are often populated by wild kangaroo
s and a significant brown snake
population. Nearby Cockatoo Valley is named for the huge flocks of destructive and noisy corella
s, a native parrot
, which denude the pine trees and feed on the grain crops. Daytime temperatures can reach as high as 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees f) and often exceed 40 degrees.
The Sandy Creek Hotel, which has been open over 120 years, is a famous watering hole. The hotel is best known for the prodigious amounts of alcohol served to the US soldiers during World War II
, who had a camp in close proximity. Several of these soldiers have returned in later years and have placed a plaque within the hotel in memory of the good times they experienced there and of fallen comrades. It is believed this pub still holds the South Australian record for the greatest amount of beer served in a single week. This was set, unsurprisingly at the end of World War II.
The Sandy Creek Cricket
Club recorded its first ever Para Districts Cricket Club Grade 1 premiership in the 2006/2007 season and boasts former Australian cricketer Darren Lehmann
as a junior player. It has several senior and junior teams and has more members than the actual population of the town, drawing its players mainly from Williamstown
and Gawler. The Sandy Creek Golf club is a well regarded and challenging course and the club has a deep fresh water dam opposite Curdnatta Oval.
Sandy Creek Primary School has for several years maintained a cultural exchange with the Japan
ese community of Minami Aiki. There are biannual and reciprocal visits. Sandy Creek Primary and nearby Rosedale Primary until it closed in 2006 sent students to Japan every even year for about 10 days.This Cultural Exchange Programme has seen a Japanese class visit the community every year since 1998 where they have been billeted with local families. In 2008 Sandy Creek sent its largest contingent of 21 students to Japan in its sixth visit to Japan and they were also billeted with local Minami Aiki families.
Sandy Creek is also the nearest town to Rosedale and Turretfield - the home of Matilda, Australia's first cloned
sheep. Sandy Creek is also the name of the small local spring which flows into the North Para River
. Sandy Creek originates on "The Glen", a historical property on MacCullum Rd, which is still owned by the family of former Federal Senator
and Australian Democrat
, the late David Vigor
. McLeod's Daughters
, an Australian soap opera
, is filmed locally and much of the filming is done on location using the local farms and dirt roads as background. The locals are often recruited as extras or to supply livestock or for riding lessons.
The Sandy Creek Store, now closed, was the scene of a notorious murder in the 1980's. Much of the building was destroyed by fire not long after and only the Post Office boxes remain.
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...
. The town is situated approximately 6 kilometres east of Gawler
Gawler, South Australia
Gawler is the first country town in the state of South Australia, and is named after the second Governor of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is located north of the centre of the state capital, Adelaide, and is close to the major wine producing district of the Barossa Valley...
and is the last town passed through before you enter the historic 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...
at Lyndoch
Lyndoch, South Australia
Lyndoch is a town in Barossa Valley, located on the Barossa Valley Highway between Gawler and Tanunda, 58 km northeast of Adelaide. The town has an elevation of 175m and an average rainfall of 560.5mm. It is one of the oldest towns in South Australia....
. The Sandy Creek conservation park is nearby.
The surrounding fields are often populated by wild kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s and a significant brown snake
Brown snake
Brown snake is the common name given to a number of very different species of snakes:*The genus Pseudonaja, Australian brown snakes*The genus Storeria, North American brown snakes...
population. Nearby Cockatoo Valley is named for the huge flocks of destructive and noisy corella
Corella
Corella may refer to:Ornithology* Corella , a member of a group of cockatoos from the subgenus Licmetis*Corella , the journal of the Australian Bird Study Association, formerly called Australian Bird Bander...
s, a native parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
, which denude the pine trees and feed on the grain crops. Daytime temperatures can reach as high as 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees f) and often exceed 40 degrees.
The Sandy Creek Hotel, which has been open over 120 years, is a famous watering hole. The hotel is best known for the prodigious amounts of alcohol served to the US soldiers during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, who had a camp in close proximity. Several of these soldiers have returned in later years and have placed a plaque within the hotel in memory of the good times they experienced there and of fallen comrades. It is believed this pub still holds the South Australian record for the greatest amount of beer served in a single week. This was set, unsurprisingly at the end of World War II.
The Sandy Creek Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
Club recorded its first ever Para Districts Cricket Club Grade 1 premiership in the 2006/2007 season and boasts former Australian cricketer Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann
Darren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...
as a junior player. It has several senior and junior teams and has more members than the actual population of the town, drawing its players mainly from Williamstown
Williamstown, South Australia
Williamstown is a small South Australian town on the fringe of the Barossa Valley wine-growing region and the Adelaide Hills. It is 51km north east of Adelaide, with an elevation of 310m and an average rainfall of 682.7mm. Williamstown was originally known as Victoria Creek...
and Gawler. The Sandy Creek Golf club is a well regarded and challenging course and the club has a deep fresh water dam opposite Curdnatta Oval.
Sandy Creek Primary School has for several years maintained a cultural exchange with the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese community of Minami Aiki. There are biannual and reciprocal visits. Sandy Creek Primary and nearby Rosedale Primary until it closed in 2006 sent students to Japan every even year for about 10 days.This Cultural Exchange Programme has seen a Japanese class visit the community every year since 1998 where they have been billeted with local families. In 2008 Sandy Creek sent its largest contingent of 21 students to Japan in its sixth visit to Japan and they were also billeted with local Minami Aiki families.
Sandy Creek is also the nearest town to Rosedale and Turretfield - the home of Matilda, Australia's first cloned
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
sheep. Sandy Creek is also the name of the small local spring which flows into the North Para River
North Para River
The North Para River rises from the Barossa Ranges near Eden Valley and flows southwest through thhe Barossa Valley, passing through the towns of Nuriootpa, Tanunda, before merging with the South Para River in Gawler forming the Gawler River....
. Sandy Creek originates on "The Glen", a historical property on MacCullum Rd, which is still owned by the family of former Federal Senator
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
and Australian Democrat
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
, the late David Vigor
David Vigor
David Bernard Vigor was a member of the Australian Senate, representing the Australian Democrats and the Unite Australia Party....
. McLeod's Daughters
McLeod's Daughters
McLeod's Daughters is a Logie award-winning Australian drama series that aired on the Nine Network from 2001 to 2009. It tells the story of two sisters, Claire and Tess McLeod, who are reunited after they inherit the family farm...
, an Australian soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, is filmed locally and much of the filming is done on location using the local farms and dirt roads as background. The locals are often recruited as extras or to supply livestock or for riding lessons.
The Sandy Creek Store, now closed, was the scene of a notorious murder in the 1980's. Much of the building was destroyed by fire not long after and only the Post Office boxes remain.