Lenswood, South Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids LenswoodSouth Australia |
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Lenswood and surrounding orchards
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Established | 1917 | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 5240 | ||||||||||||||
Elevation | 307 m (1,007 ft) | ||||||||||||||
Location | 29 km (18 mi) from Adelaide | ||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Adelaide Hills Council | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Morialta | ||||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Mayo | ||||||||||||||
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Lenswood is a small village in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. It's located east of the city of Adelaide. The main things grown here are apples, pears, cherries, and grapes for wine.
Contents
Lenswood's Story: How It Began
Lenswood is one of the newer towns in the Adelaide Hills. Before it became its own town, it was part of a place called Forest Range.
A New Name for a New Town
In 1917, near the end of the First World War, a new town was officially created. It was located between Forest Range and Lobethal. The town was named Lenswood after a battle that happened near the town of Lens in France.
From Timber to Fruit: Early Days
At first, the main job in Lenswood was cutting down stringybark trees for timber. As these trees were cleared, people started planting orchards. Growing fruit is still the biggest industry in the area today. Lenswood mainly sends apples, pears, and cherries to markets in Australia and even overseas. More recently, some vineyards have also been planted.
Keeping Fruit Fresh: The Coldstore
Because Lenswood is right in the middle of many orchards, a large cold storage building was built there in 1933. This building is called the Lenswood Coldstore Cooperative. It can store a huge amount of fruit, about 400,000 bushels (a bushel is a unit for measuring fruit). Most of the fruit stored here are apples, pears, and cherries.
Exploring Lenswood: Where It Is
Lenswood is spread out along a narrow river valley. This valley is part of the Onkaparinga River system. Because of this, the town's center isn't in just one spot.
The Lay of the Land
Businesses, including the cold storage facility, are found along the main roads. They are often set back from the Adelaide – Lobethal Road. The narrow valleys mean that buildings are stretched out along this main road.
Parks and Play Areas
Lenswood has its own sports oval called Lenswood Memorial Park on Swamp Road. There's also another oval at the local school and a Recreation Park on Lobethal Road. For bigger services like major shops or hospitals, people in Lenswood usually go to nearby towns like Lobethal, Woodside, Balhannah, or Summertown.
Lenswood's Weather: What to Expect
Lenswood has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. This means it has mild to warm, somewhat dry summers. The winters are chilly and very wet.
Climate data for Lenswood | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 41.3 (106.3) |
39.6 (103.3) |
39.3 (102.7) |
33.9 (93.0) |
30.5 (86.9) |
20.6 (69.1) |
22.2 (72.0) |
23.9 (75.0) |
29.9 (85.8) |
33.9 (93.0) |
38.4 (101.1) |
37.7 (99.9) |
41.3 (106.3) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.3 (77.5) |
25.9 (78.6) |
22.8 (73.0) |
18.9 (66.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
12.1 (53.8) |
11.4 (52.5) |
12.5 (54.5) |
14.6 (58.3) |
17.8 (64.0) |
20.6 (69.1) |
23.3 (73.9) |
18.4 (65.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 12.9 (55.2) |
13.5 (56.3) |
12.3 (54.1) |
10.6 (51.1) |
8.6 (47.5) |
6.7 (44.1) |
6.1 (43.0) |
6.3 (43.3) |
7.1 (44.8) |
8.5 (47.3) |
10.0 (50.0) |
11.6 (52.9) |
9.5 (49.1) |
Record low °C (°F) | 4.2 (39.6) |
5.8 (42.4) |
4.4 (39.9) |
2.3 (36.1) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
0.7 (33.3) |
2.4 (36.3) |
5.1 (41.2) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 32.4 (1.28) |
28.5 (1.12) |
38.2 (1.50) |
69.4 (2.73) |
111.9 (4.41) |
139.1 (5.48) |
159.4 (6.28) |
144.5 (5.69) |
112.3 (4.42) |
76.3 (3.00) |
47.4 (1.87) |
43.3 (1.70) |
998.2 (39.30) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 3.8 | 3.0 | 4.6 | 7.2 | 10.5 | 12.1 | 13.2 | 13.8 | 10.9 | 8.4 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 98.6 |
Source: Lenswood (1967–present) |
Places in Lenswood: What's There?
Lenswood has several important places for its community:
- The Lenswood Primary School, where kids go to learn.
- The Lenswood Uniting Church, a place of worship.
- The Lenswood Church of Christ, another place of worship.
- The Lenswood General Store & Post Office, for everyday needs and mail.
- Lenswood/Forest Range CFS, a local fire service.
- Lenswood Ranges Cricket Club, for sports fans.
- HILLS ARCHERS, a club for target archery.