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| The National
Australia Bank |
Jamestown
Interesting service centre on the banks of
the Belalie River.
Jamestown is located 209 km north of Adelaide,
and 456 metres above sea level, in the heart of
some of South Australia's most productive
agricultural land. The traveller's first site of
Jamestown are the grain bulk handling facilities
at the railhead which stand out against the
nearby low lying hills. The town itself is
characterised by wide tree-lined streets with
the main street being so wide that it seems like
a town square. It has parking in the centre of
the street. On either side of the street are a
number of prominent buildings including the
National Australia Bank (1885), the Belalie
Hotel (1877) and the Commercial Hotel (1877).
It is likely that the Ngadjuri Aborigines
lived in the district before European settlement
which began to occur with the granting of the
first pastoral lease in 1841 to a man named John
Bristow Hughes who named his property 'Bundaleer'.
Jamestown, as a town, came into existence around
the beautiful Belalie Creek in 1870 as a service
centre for the surrounding wheat properties. In
spite of the attractive Belalie used by the
local Aborigines it was named Jamestown after
the first name of Governor James Fergusson, who
was the Governor of South Australia at the time.
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| The Memorial
of Sir John Cockburn, the local doctor
who became the local Mayor and ended up
the Premier of South Australia
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By 1878 it was incorporated as a town and in
that year Dr John Cockburn became the town's
first mayor. He was to go on and become Premier
of South Australia, be active in the Federation
of the states, and eventually become
Agent-General for South Australia in London. He
stayed on in England where he died in 1929.
The collapse of wheat in the late 19th
century had little effect on the town. It has
continued to prosper and is now the major
service centre for an area which relies on wool,
a range of cereal crops and the timber from
Bundaleer Forest for its prosperity.
Things to see:
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Jamestown Railway Station Museum
Located on the northern side of town (over the
Belalie Creek and next to the grain silo) the
Museum is in the old Railway Station (1878). It
is part of the National Trust and contains local
memorabilia and lots of agricultural equipment
including an old Furphy water carrier. There is
also a railway carriage, a crop stripper and
memorabilia from a local emu factory (now long
gone). It is located on Mannanarie Road, Open
Monday to Saturday 10.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.;
Sundays 2.00 p.m to 4.00 p.m. Contact (08) 8665
2036 for additional information.
Bundaleer Forest Reserve
Bundaleer Forest Reserve is located 9 km south
of Jamestown. It was the state's first pinus
radiata plantation. It dates back to 1875 when
the state declared 9000 hectares a forest
reserve. The reserve as a pleasant picnic
location and a number of attractive and
interesting walks including:
(i) the 'Maple Walk' (1.5 km) through groves
of deciduous trees including English elm, ash,
poplars, maples, and sycamores. This walk passes
through country inhabited by echidnas, possums,
kangaroos and euros although it is the lucky
walker who sees them.
(ii) the 'Scenic Walk' (4.6 km) which offers
views across the countryside from Campbells
Hill. This walk takes about 1.5 hours and passes
through stands of red river gum and forest red
gum. This walk passes through country inhabited
by echidnas, possums, kangaroos and euros
although it is the lucky walker who sees them.
(iii) Conservator's Walk (4.6 km) which takes
about 1.5 hours. On this section of the trail
'Curnow's Hut', an old timber cutters hut, has
been restored for weary walkers.
There is a useful brochure available.
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| War Memorial,
gun and Balalie Hotel
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Town Walk
There is a brochure available titled 'A Tour of
Jamestown' which includes 27 things in the town
including the caravan park, the swimming pool
and the council offices. It is particularly
interesting and informative about Sir John
Cockburn, the local doctor who became the local
Mayor and ended up the Premier of South
Australia. It was Cockburn who planted the trees
in the town's main street. He also laid the
foundation stone for the local Anglican Church
(1880) and his house (1876) is still well
preserved on the corner of Cockburn and Clifton
Streets. It is no longer a doctor's surgery.
There is also a statue to the good doctor in the
town's main street.
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| The view up
the main street |
Magnetic Hill
Now here's a novelty. At the museum in Jamestown
get a copy of the brochure titled 'Take A Drive
to Magnetic Hill'. It is a 50 km round trip and
Magnetic Hill is off the main road from
Jamestown to Orroroo. The locals claim that
Magnetic Hill has some strange energy force and
that if you park your car at the bottom of the
hill, turn off the engine and place the gears in
neutral, you will feel the car being pulled up
the hill. If nothing else, it's a very pleasant
drive.
