Belair National Park Holiday Park

Belair National Park is a protected area in Belair, South Australia, 13 kilometres south of Adelaide city centre; it covers an area of 835 hectares. It was proclaimed in 1891 and was the first national park in South Australia, second in Australia and the tenth in the world. The national park lies within the Adelaide Hills and Mitcham council area, and forms part of a chain of protected areas located along the Adelaide Hills Face Zone. The national park is administered by the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.

History

Belair was originally inhabited by the Kaurna Aboriginal people. The area was called Pradli, which means “baldness”, because the appearance of the area when looking south from the Adelaide Plains was “bald like the moon.” The first Europeans to set foot in the area were crewmen from the Coromandel in 1837. The first European to settle in the area was a squatter, E. Nicholas Foott, who in 1839 dug a well and built a stone cottage, spending £500 despite not holding a title to the land.[8] In 1840, South Australian governor George Gawler set the land aside for a government farm, forcing Foott to leave the land, though he was paid £300 for his improvements to the land (he later became a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly).

Governor Grey arrived in May 1841, with a remit to cut Government expenditure and raise revenue, and announced in the Gazette of 15 July of the intended sale by auction of the land. This, however, did not take place, and in the depression of 1841–1842 a dozen or so unemployed men and their families were allowed to settle there temporarily. In June 1844, four sections at the western end (874, 875, 878 and 882) totalling about 400 acres (160 ha) were sold. In 1848 a cottage, long since demolished, was erected alongside the creek as a residence for the farm manager, and for occasional use by the Governor. In 1858 a residence, complete with swimming pool, was built as a "summer house" for the Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell (served 1855–1862), and used by his successors Sir Anthony Musgrave (1873–1877), and presumably Sir William Jervois (1877–1883), at least until the more imposing edifice at Marble Hill was completed.

From 1874 to 1884 the Government Farm was managed by William Cook (1815–1897), father of Edith Agnes Cook. His eldest daughter Katherine wrote an article on that period of the farm's history[9] for the South Australian Archives.[10] His predecessor was Ebenezer Jarvis (c. 1829–1897), who left to take a post as manager of Government House, Adelaide. Two great bushfires occurred during their time; in 1866/1867 and 1877, when many old trees were destroyed.[11] Proposals in 1881 to sell off parts of small portions of the land were opposed by Walter Gooch, James Page and the Australian Natives Association, which led in 1883 to an Act of Parliament prohibiting its sale. In 1888 further agitation by Gooch, Arthur Falconer Robin (1867–1906) and Samuel Dixon of the Royal Society of South Australia led to a parliamentary decision that the Government Farm be established as a public park, and after some delays the National Park Act received the Governor's assent in January 1892. Another person given partial credit was William Henry Selway of the Field Naturalists' Section of the Royal Society.

In 1985, the Belair National Park was declared as a state heritage area under the South Australian Heritage Act 1978-1980. In 1987, the nearby National Park railway station was closed.

Address: 101 Upper Sturt Rd, Belair SA 5052, Australia
Area: 8.35 km²
Hours: Closed ⋅ Opens 9AM