Mount Osmond, South Australia

It is bounded to the north by the suburb of Beaumont, to the north-east by Burnside, to the east by Waterfall Gully, to the south by Leawood Gardens/Eagle On The Hill, to the south-west by Urrbrae, to the west by Glen Osmond and to the north-west by St Georges.

The suburb is at a high elevation in the Mount Lofty Ranges, and provides views over Adelaide as well as containing a renowned golf course and country club.

Mining operations in the 19th century gave the area notoriety, but it has since developed slowly into a small, quiet and secluded suburb.

[4] While much of Adelaide was relatively quickly bought (but not necessarily settled) Mount Osmond did not enjoy any early buyers.

[6] A few lots were sold to quarrymen and gardeners around Mount Barker Road, but the vast remainder was leased to stockowners as pasture for their livestock.

His family made great use of the land, with his sons building houses on the vast property while raising sheep and growing hay.

[7] The golf course and country club were developed on the highest part of the mount, on 85 acres (34 ha) of former Sanders estate.

Even with a golf course and country club in the vicinity, as well as electricity and a water supply from Waterfall Gully's first creek the eighteen marketed lots once again sold poorly.

A somewhat "ring" of reserves exist on the slopes anti-clockwise from the Old Bullock Track to Mount Osmond Road near the freeway interchange.

A few small settlements and paddocks with livestock (sheep, goats and deer) are still present on the slopes between the South Eastern Freeway and the Long Ridge Track.

While the suburb still contains a notable amount of native vegetation, and has not been exposed to invasive introduced species like other areas have, much of it was originally cleared for grazing and has yet to grow back to the same extent.

The bikeway adjacent to the South Eastern Freeway winds past at the foot of Mount Osmond and can be accessed through the interchange.

The eight strongest religious affiliations in the area (based on the 2006 census figures) were (in descending order): Anglican, Catholic, Uniting, Lutheran, Orthodox Christian, Buddhist, Presbyterian, Church of Christ and Baptist (a combination of other Christian faiths came in somewhere between Presbyterians and the Church of Christ, with 31 adherents).

The English-Manor style clubrooms provides meals, coffee and function and events facilities[18] to members and public visitors.

Walking the Long Ridge track, between the valley of the South Eastern Freeway and Waterfall Gully provides views of Adelaide.

Mount Osmond is part of the state electoral district of Bragg, which has been held since 2002 by Liberal MP Vickie Chapman.

[22] The results shown are from the closest polling station to Mount Osmond—which is located outside of the suburb—at St Saviour's Church Hall on Pridmore Road in Glen Osmond.

Mount Barker Road, 1900
A horse and rider on Mount Osmond, 1930
One of Mount Osmond's walking trails – this land is owned by the South Australian Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure and was going to be used for a possible alternative route to the South Eastern Freeway in the 1960s. Mount Osmond Golf Course can be seen to the left.
Panoramic view of the Adelaide plain from Mount Osmond
Location of Mount Osmond in the Adelaide Metropolitan Area
Goats in a Mount Osmond paddock
The Mount Osmond Interchange on the South Eastern Freeway. Mount Osmond Road can be seen winding up the hill on the right
Percentages of the fifth of the population born abroad
Hayward Drive winding up into Mount Osmond over Adelaide