Mylor, on some maps, has the name Warrakilla Hill.
In the 19th century Warrakilla was the name given by George Woodroffe Goyder to his home in this vicinity. As Surveyor-General for more than 30 years at a crucial period in South Australia's development, Goyder's work was of paramount importance to primary industries.
It was Goyder who suggested some relatively flat ground here as a town site when service centres were needed to support the new workingmen's blocks. The town dates from 1891, proclaimed by Acting Governor Sir James Boucaut, who named it after his Cornish birthplace.
A child of the blockers movement, then, Mylor was also effectively as replacement for a little community which had informally developed on a property named Rockford. Mylor thus gained instant substance as established businesses transferred to the new location and it quickly provided supplies and services. Some settlers formed a co-operative store, while others handled anything from bread to bootmaking.
A church or two and a school were soon up and running; oddly, though, there was no hotel and, in fact, there has never been one - every attempt to gain one was frowned upon by temperance-minded Methodists that no pub ever materialised. Much heritage from Mylor's early development still stands.
There are some surrounding Park Lands and Reserves, while outside the town, close to the Onkaparinga River, is the Adelaide Hills Wilderness Lodge. This wedge of land, bigger than the town itself, had its origins in an 1898 initiative by the Government to provide an experimental orchard to research the best fruits for the area.
Mylor Tourism Information Section by Adelaide Hills On-Line.
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