SAFarming
Morphett Vale
A roadside village halfway to Willunga, in a vale of wheat and vines.
1840Township of Dublin laid out
WHAT STARTED IT
The main road from Adelaide to Encounter Bay crossed this fertile vale about midway between Adelaide and Willunga. In 1840 a private township called Dublin was laid out opposite the Emu Hotel to serve passing traffic and the farms around it.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
The district, named after colonist John Morphett, grew wheat and later vines, and the village gained churches, schools, a local court and race meetings where the Wheatsheaf Cup was run. The Willunga railway came through in 1915, but the vale stayed farming country until Adelaide’s suburbs reached it.
TURNING POINTS
1840The new township of Dublin, opposite the Emu Hotel on the Encounter Bay road, is advertised for sale.
1846Catholic settlers near New Dublin reap a neighbour’s crop, and he gives land for a chapel.
1848The district holds its first ploughing match.
1915The Willunga railway is opened through Morphett Vale by the Governor in January.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
One of Adelaide’s largest southern suburbs, with about 24,000 residents in 2021. Its old churches, including one of the state’s earliest Catholic churches, still mark the original village.