Truro (postcode 5356, altitude 311m) is a town in South Australia, 80 km northeast of Adelaide. It is situated in an agricultural and pastoral district on the Sturt Highway, east of the Barossa Valley, where the highway crosses somewhat lofty and rugged parts of the Mount Lofty Ranges. At the 2011 census, Truro had a population of 395.
Truro is in the Mid Murray Council local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly electoral district of Schubert and the Australian House of Representatives Divisions of Barker and Wakefield.
History
The town was established on Truro Creek (White Hut Creek) in 1848 by John Howard Angas, the son of George Fife Angas who had bought the land in 1842. The survey was conducted by Thomas Burr, assisted by his (eventual) son in law Frederick Sinnett, during a period when both were freed from their usual commitments in order to pursue private contracts.
It is named after the city of Truro in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is somewhat uncertain whether the name Truro was given by Angas, or the first settlers in the town, but with the Wheal Barton mine nearby, many of those settlers were Cornish miners, so it is quite likely that if they were not the namers of the town, they were certainly the inspiration thereof.
Industry
The first industry that European settlers introduced to Truro district, from the early 1840s, was pastoralism, primarily the grazing of sheep flocks, watched over by shepherds, on unfenced occupation licenses. Many of the picturesque dry stone walls so prevalent in the district date from this era.
Copper was discovered in 1846 and was mined at the Wheal Barton mine 2 km east of Truro from 1849 to 1889 and again between 1956 and 1972. These copper mines are what led to the survey and establishment of the town.
Truro was the terminus of the Truro railway line from its opening in 1917 until it ceased operating in the 1970s and was permanently closed in the 1980s.
Rainfall in Truro is lower than in the neighbouring Barossa Valley region. For this reason dry grain crop farming, mainly of wheat and barley, is more prevalent than viticulture.
There are two hotels in Truro. The town is also notable for its service facilities, particularly its bakeries, which provide refreshment for tourists and travellers along the Sturt Highway. The breads and pastries are remarkable, not only for their large range but also for unifying traditional English and Cornish cuisine with German from the nearby Barossa Valley.