Mount Compass Anglican Church. Opened 1961.
Square Waterhole/Mount Compass. White settlement began in the 1850s primarily with a small licensed inn which provided ale for the bullock teams carting Willunga slate to the Victor Harbor and Goolwa districts. The first land was purchased in 1854. The district was known as “Square Waterhole” as a large square hole had been cut for extracting peat! The locality was on the land route from Willunga to Encounter Bay but the district was only used for grazing area because the soil was so swampy and peaty. Development proceeded from 1890 when a small town was surveyed. In 1892 the district was subdivided into 100-acre farms for the cutting of peat, the growing of vegetables and dairying. The first dairy cows were recorded in 1899. This industry expanded with the development of refrigeration in the early 1890s which allowed export of local butter to England. Dairying further expanded in the 1920s when advances in soil technology and fertilisers allowed for improved pastures. Dairying is still a major activity in the district. A butter and cheese factory opened at Mt Compass in 1956. It was run by Dairyvale and it closed in 1996. A community hall opened in 1903 and a town cemetery was established. The first church which was erected in 1916 was the Church of Christ. A school (1899), Post Office and co-op store were also open by then. St. John’s Lutheran Church opened in 1958. It was consecrated in 1961 and still operates. The Anglican Church in Mount Compass also opened in 1961.
Mount Compass Anglican Church. Opened 1961.
Square Waterhole/Mount Compass. White settlement began in the 1850s primarily with a small licensed inn which provided ale for the bullock teams carting Willunga slate to the Victor Harbor and Goolwa districts. The first land was purchased in 1854. The district was known as “Square Waterhole” as a large square hole had been cut for extracting peat! The locality was on the land route from Willunga to Encounter Bay but the district was only used for grazing area because the soil was so swampy and peaty. Development proceeded from 1890 when a small town was surveyed. In 1892 the district was subdivided into 100-acre farms for the cutting of peat, the growing of vegetables and dairying. The first dairy cows were recorded in 1899. This industry expanded with the development of refrigeration in the early 1890s which allowed export of local butter to England. Dairying further expanded in the 1920s when advances in soil technology and fertilisers allowed for improved pastures. Dairying is still a major activity in the district. A butter and cheese factory opened at Mt Compass in 1956. It was run by Dairyvale and it closed in 1996. A community hall opened in 1903 and a town cemetery was established. The first church which was erected in 1916 was the Church of Christ. A school (1899), Post Office and co-op store were also open by then. St. John’s Lutheran Church opened in 1958. It was consecrated in 1961 and still operates. The Anglican Church in Mount Compass also opened in 1961.