Mount Pleasant

History

Today's Mount Pleasant comprises three townships, Totness, Talunga and Hendryton. Mount Pleasant township was developed by Henry Glover, and surveyed in 1856. It comprised the land from Railway Terrace to Saleyard Road. The name was taken from that used by James Phillis, who had come from an area near Eastry in Kent. The land had reminded him of his homeland. His sister was named Pleasant, who may also have inspired the name. Totness was surveyed in 1858, with Henry Giles Sr. as the developer; this was the section from Saleyard Road to Pentelows Road. It was named after the birthplace of Henry's wife, Mary Ann. Henry also developed North Totness, which is the land from Pentelows Road to the Walkers Flat Road, surveyed in 1869. John Hendry, a blacksmith living in Totness, developed the land to the west of Mount Pleasant, comprising that from the Cricks Mill Road (to Williamstown) to Railway Terrace, and this was surveyed in 1865. The first European explorers through the Mount Pleasant district were Dr George Imlay and John Hill in January 1838. Settlers moved into the area in the late 1830s with flocks of sheep and with bags of grain. One of the early settlers, James Phillis, had arrived in Adelaide in 1839 and literally rode a horse into the Adelaide Hills looking for suitable land to farm. He settled at Mount Pleasant in 1843, planted wheat, harvested the crop, and then had to take it to Adelaide to sell. From the profits he sailed to England where he bought a flock of Romney Marsh sheep which he shipped back to the area. Over the years he became one of the district's most prosperous and successful farmers. This is an extract from an article written by Nancy Mavis Pike (née Phillis). Several of Mt Pleasant's pioneer families were to lose sons in the Great War, like…

Geography

Mount Pleasant is located 10 km north-east of Birdwood heading towards Springton, Eden Valley and Angaston. At the ABS 2001 census, Mount Pleasant had a population of 529 people living in 240 dwellings.

Most-observed species

• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  853
• Crimson Rosella

  Platycercus elegans (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  770
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  662
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  628
• Gray Shrikethrush

  Colluricincla harmonica (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  503
• Striated Pardalote

  Pardalotus striatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  500
• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  496
• Little Raven

  Corvus mellori Mathews, 1912 · Aves
  483

Most recent

• M 3 — 2022-03-29
  3 km ESE of Macclesfield, Australia
• M 4 — 2022-03-05
  3 km SW of Mount Barker, Australia
• M 3.2 — 2018-08-08
  11 km WNW of Mannum, Australia
• M 3.9 — 2017-02-01
  9 km NW of Murray Bridge, Australia
• M 3.3 — 2011-10-18
  3 km ESE of Hawthorndene, Australia
• M 3.8 — 2010-04-16
  2 km N of Macclesfield, Australia