Jamestown in SA like most newly established towns, churches and hotels were often the first buildings to be completed.
The Town was named after Sir James Fergusson,
the Governor of South Australia when the town was surveyed in 1871. Its streets are all named for towns in his native Scotland.
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The first two hotels to be completed in 1873 were the Belalie Hotel, known then as the Globe Hotel, built by Robert Hall, (the name was changed to the Belalie Hotel in 1958) and the
Jamestown Hotel by Albert Trilling. The Commercial Hotel was built in 1874 by William Savage. This was followed by the Railway Hotel in 1878. During the first years most horse and cattle sales were conducted in the yards from the hotels until 1883 when they were moved to proper stock yards. It was also from rooms at the Commercial Hotel that Dr Robert Riddell operated his medical practice.
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In 1881
Jamestown had a
population of nearly one thousand. The town also had a
post office, a
police station and Court House, an Institute, street lighting, schools, a railway station, two banks, the National since 1876 and the Bank of South Australia since 1879, a flour mill, a butcher and baker
shop, several churches and general stores, a newspaper, the
Jamestown Review, a brewery, a Football Club, Cricket Club, a hospital, a blacksmith, a Coach building factory, a Boot factory, a District Council and five hotels.
Jamestown is also the birthplace of Australian bush legend, R.M.Williams .
Throughout its history,
Jamestown's prime function has been that of service centre for its agricultural hinterland. Over the past twenty years it has also become a retirement centre, ( Michael J...lol) with an influx of retired people coming from the surrounding farming districts and even some from
Adelaide. The 1981 Census recorded that
Jamestown had a higher proportion (15.76 per cent) of its
population over the age of sixty-five than any other Council area in the Mid and Upper North of South Australia.
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The last fifty years have seen a gradual improvement in community facilities, ensuring that the Town's residents have a very satisfactory quality of life.
In 1954, after the completion of a pipeline from the
Morgan-
Whyalla pipeline at
Spalding, reticulated Murray
water was connected to the Town.
The Institute was rebuilt and dedicated as a
Memorial Hall in 1957. This building housed the administrative office of the Corporation with its staff of Chief Executive Officer and Assistant Chief Executive Officer.
In 1962 a caravan
park was constructed by the
Jamestown Progress Association; and in the same year the first grain silos in
Jamestown were erected. Subsequent additions gave a storage of 35,000 tonnes in 1984. The construction in 1979 of a fertiliser depot in the same area, using the same railway spur line and weighbridge, has complemented this facility.
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