Oakbank, founded around 1840 by Scottish brothers James and Andrew Johnston, takes its name from their home district of Oakbank, Scotland. A large oak tree on the main street is said to have grown from an acorn brought by one of the brothers from their town to Australia.

A brewery opened in 1845, drawing water from an underground spring fed by the Onkaparinga River. A second brewery was established nearby in 1889. Both closed in 1938 after a yeast virus outbreak, switching to soft drink and cordial production.

From 1918 to 1963, Oakbank was served by a railway station on the Mount Pleasant line.

Population:

865 ¹

Postcode:

5243

Location:

23 km southeast of Adelaide

Main Roads:

Onkaparinga Vly Rd (B34)

Radio Stations:

DAB+:
ABC Classic, ABC Country, ABC Jazz, ABC Kids Listen, ABC News Radio, ABC News Radio, ABC Radio Adelaide, ABC Radio National, ABC Sport, Blender Beats, CADA, Chemist Warehouse Remix, Coles Radio, Cruise 1323, Dance Hits, Double J, Easy Hits, EBI World, FiveAA, Fresh 92.7, Life FM, Mix 102.3, Mix 80s, Mix 90s, Nova 919, Nova Jamz, Nova Throwbacks, Oldskool 80s Hits, Oldskool 90s Hits, Radio Adelaide, Three D, RnB Fridays, SAFM Adelaide, SBS Arabic, SBS Chill, SBS EuroPop, SBS PopAsia, SBS Radio 1, SBS Radio 2, SBS South Asian, Smooth 80s, Smooth FM Adelaide, TikTik Trending on iHeartRadio, Triple J, Triple J Unearthed, Triple M 2000s, Triple M 80s, Triple M 90s, Triple M Adelaide, Triple M Classic Rock and Vision Australia Radio Adelaide

FM:
5MBS (99.9 MHz), 5MU (94.3 MHz), ABC Classic (103.9 MHz), Faith FM (88.0 MHz), Lofty 88.9 (88.9 MHz), Mix 102.3 (96.7 MHz), Nova 91.9 (99.1 MHz), Power FM Adelaide Hills (100.3 MHz), SA FM (90.3 MHz and 107.1 MHz), SBS Radio (95.1 MHz and 106.3 MHz), Triple J (105.5 MHz) and Triple M (98.3 MHz and 104.7 MHz)

AM:
ABC News Radio (972 kHz), ABC North and West SA (639 kHz), ABC Radio Adelaide (891 kHz), ABC Radio National (729 kHz), Cruise 1323 (1323 kHz), FiveAA (1395 kHz), Radio Italiana (531 kHz), RadioTAB (1539 kHz) and Vision Australia Radio (1197 kHz)

Town Centre:

Looking northwest on Onkaparinga Valley Rd (B34) in the Oakbank town centre near the soldiers' memorial hall, December 2007.

Image © Michael Greenslade