The Glimpses of Gawler books are down-memory-lane publications comprising old photographs of scenes, people and events of bygone days in Gawler and the surrounding district.
154 p. : chiefly ill., ports. ; 15 x 21 cm. #250422
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler.[3] It is about 40–44 km (25–27 mi) north of the centre of the state capital, Adelaide, and is close to the major wine producing district of the Barossa Valley. Topographically, Gawler lies at the confluence of two tributaries of the Gawler River, the North and South Para rivers, where they emerge from a range of low hills.
Historically a semi-rural area, Gawler has been swept up in Adelaide’s growth in recent years, and is now considered by some as an outer northern suburb of Adelaide. It is counted as a suburb in the Outer Metro region of the Greater Adelaide Planning Region.[4] Gawler is just over forty kilometres north of Adelaide city centre along Main North Road. Main North Road was the historic road to the Mid North region of South Australia. North of Gawler, the road is now known as the Horrocks Highway. The Sturt Highway runs northeast from the north side of Gawler, leading to Nuriootpa, the Riverland, Mildura and Sydney. The Barossa Valley Way runs east from the centre of Gawler into the Barossa Valley, and was the original route of the Sturt Highway. The Thiele Highway leads north between the Horrocks and Sturt Highways to Freeling, Kapunda and Morgan. The Northern Expressway is a new highway to the southwest providing a bypass of Gawler as part of the North–South Corridor, Adelaide which will eventually provide a non-stop road from south of Adelaide to Nuriootpa.
Gawler railway station was the terminus of the railway from Adelaide from 1857. The railway was extended to Kapunda in 1860. Gawler became a junction station when a branch was constructed into the Barossa Valley in 1911. This is the line that provides the Gawler Oval and Gawler Central (originally named North Gawler) railway stations in Gawler. Gawler Central is now the terminus of the metropolitan rail services from Adelaide.
Horse Tram crossing the bridge in Gawler
Gawler’s horse-drawn tram service opened in 1879. It operated for both goods and passengers from the railway station along what is now Nineteenth Street (then known as part of Murray Street) and Murray Street (the town’s main street) to a terminus near where the Gawler Central station is now. It passed the James Martin & Co engineering factory, providing a convenient way to deliver heavy equipment such as locomotives manufactured there. Broad gauge locomotives were taken directly on the tramway, narrow gauge were transported on specially-built flat-bed trucks.[9] There were also sidings at May Brothers and Company, Roedigers, and Dowson’s Mill.[10] The tram closed in 1931 replaced by a bus, and the tracks lifted soon after.[11][12]
The tram route is now part of Adelaide Metro bus route number 491.[13]