{"id":60,"date":"2009-02-12T08:11:46","date_gmt":"2009-02-12T08:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mtloftyhistorycentre.wordpress.com\/?page_id=60"},"modified":"2025-09-19T15:37:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T06:07:44","slug":"our-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=60","title":{"rendered":"Our History"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Copy<\/a><\/p>\n

How better to introduce the nature and the history of our district than to quote these edited selections from Robert Martin\u2019s comprehensive history of the Stirling district, “Under Mount Lofty”, originally published in 1987 and updated in 1996.<\/p>\n

…..From the city of Adelaide in South Australia a few kilometres of tree laden suburbs rise gently east to the foothills, which in their turn soon give way to the peaks of a range of moderately high hills of which the tallest is Mount Lofty, carrying on its summit a shining white obelisk, a tower for firespotting and three gigantic television masts reaching heavenward.<\/em>
\nHappily the beauty of the hills is still largely undiminished by the mistakes of the last 160 (now nearly 180) years. The Ranges offer a promise of peace and beauty and recreation at a conveniently short distance from the noise of the city, tempting city dwellers to a day or an hour of escape. There are many who contrive to live and work in the Hills or to combine the pleasures of a home life in the countryside with work in Adelaide.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Mount Lofty Districts Historical Society was established at a public meeting in Stirling on 15\/2\/1978, with the aim to “uncover, preserve and publish the history of the Mount Lofty districts”.<\/p>\n

The Society <\/em>counts amongst its area of interest only a small region of the Adelaide Hills – about 11,000 hectares formerly covered by the Stirling district council (now part of the Adelaide Hills Council).<\/em>
\nThis area has the distinction, or the misfortune, to be a hilly region close to a city on a plain. Factors of geology, topography, soils, climate, water supply and vegetation have made the Stirling district particularly attractive to the city, which has sent timber cutters, gardeners, quarrymen, house builders and dam builders to wreak changes in the Hills. Road builders and railway builders provided transport corridors through and beyond for trade with the east.<\/em>
\nHouses, from very old to very new, some quite large in size, dot the upper slopes and to the keen sighted it is evident that some have been devastated by fire. The South Eastern Freeway goes over the top, crossing the ridge running northward to the Mount Lofty Summit, then sloping into a valley lined with beautiful trees, many of them exotic. Hills town centres share many of the characteristics of other suburban centres but what makes them unusual are the undulating sites and the density of the vegetation.<\/em>
\nOur history includes that of transport and communications, commuting, urban and rural living, agriculture, quarrying and mining, timbergetting, bushfires, conservation, recreation, art and fine old buildings, beginning in a time when there were no roads at all. Now ancient cottages sit cheek by jowl with hexadomes, remnants of orchards with crowded suburban buildings, tracts of native bushland with elaborate Victorian gardens<\/em>……<\/p>\n

\u2022 New Copies of Under Mount Lofty<\/em> are unfortunately no longer available, but searches of second-hand bookshops and online sites like ebay can be fruitful . Publications<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read the early newsletters of the Society here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How better to introduce the nature and the history of our district than to quote these edited selections from Robert Martin\u2019s comprehensive history of the Stirling district, “Under Mount Lofty”, originally published in 1987 and updated in 1996. …..From the city of Adelaide in South Australia a few kilometres of tree laden suburbs rise gently … Continue reading “Our History”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":64,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PaNLq6-Y","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3673,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3673","url_meta":{"origin":60,"position":0},"title":"Beyond Mount Lofty","date":"June 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A new chapter in our history.......... One of our most useful and frequently used resources, which also occupies an important place on the bookshelves of many locals, is the book titled \"Under Mount Lofty\" This comprehensive hardcover history of the Stirling district by respected historian and academic Robert Martin, was\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/introduction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=64","url_meta":{"origin":60,"position":1},"title":"About","date":"February 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Our Aim:\u00a0 \u201cUncover,\u00a0preserve and publish the history of the Mount Lofty Districts.\u201d The Mount Lofty\u00a0Districts Historical Society takes its name from Mount Lofty, one of South Australia\u2019s best known landmarks, overlooking the city of Adelaide. The MLDHS was established in 1978 at the suggestion of a former chairman of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3769,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3769","url_meta":{"origin":60,"position":2},"title":"Here are links to a\u2026","date":"July 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are links to a wide variety of \"Glimpses\" from the upcoming print publication of \"Beyond Mount Lofty\". The Society looks forward to bringing you ongoing and dynamic on-line stories from our history as \"The Book that Never Ends\".... Four Councils Amalgamate Mt Lofty Summit Redeveloped MayorAnita Aspinall TheBoundary Wars\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/glimp-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2347,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=2347","url_meta":{"origin":60,"position":3},"title":"Mount Lofty (Crafers Summit) Railway Station","date":"October 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Text : Chris Chardon Images: MLDHS and as described THE MOUNT LOFTY RAILWAY STATION The Mount Lofty Railway Station was originally named the Crafers Summit Railway Station. The Act of Parliament, to provide a line of railway from Adelaide to Nairne, was assented to on 30th November 1878. Below is\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/crafers-summit.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":697,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/","url_meta":{"origin":60,"position":4},"title":"Home","date":"March 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Check out our new \"Glimpses\" articles Welcome to the Mount Lofty Districts Historical Society Inc. Our History Centre and Archive in the Coventry Library, Stirling, are open at the times shown below. If you are unable to visit our History Centre, you can contact us at mldhs@mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au or via our\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Glimpses.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2666,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=2666","url_meta":{"origin":60,"position":5},"title":"Other Adelaide Hills Local History Groups","date":"June 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Rod Kemp Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens History is widely respected within the Adelaide Hills and many districts and towns have their own groups of enthusiastic historians and in some cases, buildings housing museums and archives. Some groups have their own websites or other forms of on-line presence. Such groups\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mt-Lofty-Botanic-Gardens.1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3918,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60\/revisions\/3918"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}