James RALPH was born in Helston in 1845 and immigrated to Adelaide, SA. He married Elizabeth Mary SANDO.
There has been a settlement in this area since the Iron Age, the basis of the name being hen-lys, 'ancient court'. In the Domesday Book(1068) it is called the manor of Henlistn. Helston is an old coinage town, and at one time the focal point of mining and trading in Cornwall. In spring every year the Furry Dance takes place. In the past this has been mistakenly called the floral dance. The townspeople dressed in formal attire dance in and out of the streets and houses. It is a very sedate affair, which must be very different from the days when Wilkie Collins called it 'A sort of barbarous carnival... where even the "genteel" residents allow themselves to be infected with the general madness.'
Statistics Population in 1841 - 3584Population in 1991 - 8503
2918 acres of land
5 of water
17 of foreshore\
Map
