Tanunda is a town situated in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia. In the 2021 census, Tanunda recorded a population of 4,710 people.[2]
| Tanunda South Australia | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Looking across the vineyards towards Tanunda from Mengler Hill Lookout | |||||||||||||||
  Tanunda | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°31′0″S 138°58′0″E / 34.51667°S 138.96667°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 4,710 (2021 census) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1848 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 5352 | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 69 km (43 mi) North East of Adelaide via   | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Barossa Council | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Schubert | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Barker | ||||||||||||||
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| Footnotes | [1] | ||||||||||||||
Geography edit
Tanunda is located 66 kilometres (41 mi) north-east of the state capital, Adelaide.[3]
History edit
The town derives its name from an Aboriginal word meaning water hole,[citation needed] or 'wild fowl on creek.'[3]
Tanunda was established as a village by Charles Flaxman, circa 1848.[4]
In 1856, gold was reported at Tanunda Creek.[4]
Prussian immigrants who arrived with Pastor Gotthard Fritzsche founded the village of Bethanien in 1842, the first settlement in the vicinity of today's Tanunda. One year later, Prussians relocating from Klemzig on the Torrens River, where they had settled upon immigrating in 1838 with Pastor August Kavel, came to the Barossa Valley and founded the village of Langmeil. Their new community bore the name of a Prussian town near Zullichau, from where the settlers had originated; it is now a Polish village known as Okunin. Sometime later, another village was founded and named Tanunda. Due to anti-German sentiments, both Langmeil and Bethanien were renamed during the Great War to Bilyara and Bethany respectively, although Bilyara reverted to Langmeil in 1975. As development of the Tanunda area continued, the villages of Langmeil and Tanunda were joined. Today the township is simply called Tanunda.[citation needed]
Demographics edit
In the 1986 census, Tanunda recorded a population of 2,856 people.[3]
In the 2016 census, Tanunda recorded a population of 4,588 people, 51.3% female and 48.7% male. The median age of the Tanunda population was 47 years, 9 years above the national median of 38. 83.4% of people living in Tanunda were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 4.5%, Germany 0.8%, New Zealand 0.8%, Scotland 0.6% and the Netherlands 0.3%. 91.6% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.9% German, 0.4% Mandarin, 0.2% Italian, 0.2% Latvian and 0.1% Gujarati.[5]
In the 2021 census, Tanunda recorded a population of 4,710 people, 51.4% female and 48.6% male. The median age of the Tanunda population was 48 years, 10 years above the national median of 38. 85.0% of people living in Tanunda were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 4.4%, New Zealand 1.0%, Germany 0.9%, Scotland 0.6%, and South Africa 0.4%. 93.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.7% German, 0.4% Mandarin, 0.2% Hindi, 0.1% Nepali, and 0.1% Spanish.[2]
Industry edit
Tanunda and the Barossa Valley comprise one of Australia's premier wine-growing areas, and the town is surrounded by vineyards. One such vineyard, Turkey Flat, is home to Shiraz vines that were planted in 1847 and are believed to be the world's oldest continually producing commercial vineyard that has been authenticated.[6]
Culture edit
The German heritage of Tanunda is still present today. The town has a male choir the Tanunda Liedertafel, the history of which is thought to date back to 1850.[citation needed] There is also a Kegel (bowling) club. The Tanunda Town Band celebrated 150 years as a band in 2007 and is the oldest brass band in the Southern Hemisphere.[7][8] Tanunda served as the launching point for the Nazi party's effort to expand in Australia in the 1930s.[9]
Media edit
Historically, Tanunda (and Adelaide) was the home to a number of the earliest South Australian newspapers that were printed primarily in German. German newspapers were set up by early settlers, but many were forced to close or merge due to labour shortages caused by the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s-1860s.
- Deutsche Zeitung für Süd-Australien (1851)
- Süd Australische Zeitung (1860–1874) - Tanunda/Adelaide
- Australisches Unterhaltungsblatt (1862-1916) - a supplement to the Süd Australische Zeitung and Australische Zeitung
- Tanunda Deutsche Zeitung (1863-1869) - later renamed Australische Deutsche Zeitung
- Australische Deutsche Zeitung (1870-1874) - Tanunda/Adelaide: a Melbourne edition of the newspaper was also printed 1870–1872.
- Australische Zeitung (1875–1916) - Tanunda/Adelaide: formed by the merger of Süd Australische Zeitung, and Australische Deutsche Zeitung; closed due to WWI
- Australische Zeitung (1927-1929) - attempted revival
Two weekly English-language newspapers served the area:
- The Leader, has been operating in the area since 1918.
- The Barossa and Light Herald from 1951, though its antecedents date from 1860.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Property Location Browser (Search: Tanunda, LOCB)". Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 7 December 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Tanunda (Suburb and Locality)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Boon, Robert (1991). The Concise Encyclopedia of Australia and New Zealand. Vol. 2 (10th ed.). Sydney: Horwitz Grahame Pty Limited. p. 787. ISBN 0 7255 2236 4.
- ^ a b Manning, Geoffrey (2012). "A Compendium of the Place Names of South Australia: Table Lands - Tyrone pdf" (PDF). The State Library of South Australia - Digital Publications. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Tanunda (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ G. Harding "A Wine Miscellany" p. 20, Clarkson Potter Publishing, New York 2005 ISBN 0307346358
- ^ "Tanunda Town Band - About Us". Tanunda Town Band. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ "Barossa Vintage Festival 2011". Postcards SA. Channel 9 South Australia. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ "Happy birthday, Hitler: how Australia's Nazis got away with 'the whole rotten show'". the Guardian. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
