Torrens, Sir Robert Richard

Torrens, Sir Robert Richard, 1814-84, Australian statesman, b. Ireland. Son of Col. Robert Torrens (1780-1864), one of the founders of South Australia, he went to that colony in 1839. There he served (1851-55) in the colonial legislature. When self-government was introduced (1856) he entered the assembly, and he was briefly prime minister in 1857. He secured the passage (1858) of a landholding reform known as the Torrens Act, which substituted public registration for the old conveyance system, in which land transfer could be accomplished only through a complicated tracing of deeds. The Torrens system has since been widely copied. Torrens resigned from the assembly to administer the act. Pensioned in 1863, he settled in England and served in Parliament from 1868 to 1874.

Torrens (postcode 2607) is a suburb in the Woden Valley district of Canberra, Australia. It is located along the district's southern edge. The suburb is named after Sir Robert Torrens, a former Premier of South Australia. The suburb was gazetted on May 12, 1966. Streets in Torrens are named after South Australian pioneers.

Torrens adjoins the suburbs of Pearce, Mawson and Farrer. It is bounded by Beasley Street to the north, Athllon Drive to the west, and the Canberra Nature Park to the south. The suburb contains a small shopping centre, a neighbourhood oval, and Torrens Primary School

Geology

Deakin Volcanics green-grey and purple rhyodacite is under the suburb, but only exposed in the south east quarter. The rest is covered by Quaternary alluvium. The south west has Deakin Volcanics green grey, purple and cream rhyolite with the corner topped off with Deakin Volcanics red-purple and green grey rhyodacite.