Rather than take the train all the way in to Adelaide, Mark Twain and party disembarked at Aldgate and took an open carriage ride the 20 miles to Adelaide, accompanied by C.A. Murphy the American Consul. October 12, 1895 10:30am
An inn called the Aldgate Pump was opened by Richard D. Hawkins, a well-known publican, in 1864.[4] Hawkins, who had emigrated from London, England, to the Province of South Australia in 1842, already owned several hotels, including the nearby Crafers Inn in present-day Crafers.[5] The pump which Hawkins had installed outside the hotel (and which gave the hotel its name) became a popular place to water the horses and bullock teams which passed through the area,[4] and by 1870, a small settlement had been established.
The pump and hotel, and subsequently the town, were named after Aldgate in London. The word derives from ealdgate, the Old English word meaning "old gate".[4] The Hills Land and Investment Company subdivided land in the Aldgate area and laid out part section 92, Hundred of Noarlunga for settlement in 1882, naming the town after the hotel.[4]