Barossa's Community

The Barossa was first settled in Lyndoch in 1840, followed later by Bethany in 1842. Today, it is a 1,970 square kilometre region that encompasses the Barossa Valley and Eden valley and the Barossa Ranges.

The Barossa, which contains four communities including Angaston, Lyndoch, Nuriootpa and Tanunda, and a collection of tiny hamlets in Bethany, Cockatoo Valley, Eden Valley, Greenock, Kyneton, Light Pass, Marananga and Seppeltsfield, Mount Pleasant, Penrice, Rowland Flat, Springton, Stockwell, Truro and Williamstown is unique in Australia as a wonderfully preserved enclave of British and Prussian heritage.

Gawler, on the western boundary of the Barossa, was among the first to be proclaimed a township, in 1857, and in 150 years has grown to become one of the Barossa tourism region's biggest regional centre. Similarly Kapunda, on the northern edge of the Barossa tourism region, is renown for its copper mining centre and very rich history dating back to the 1850s.

Angaston

There's a real buzz in the main street - cafés(Blond Coffee and Angaston Gourmet Foods), cheesemakers (Barossa Valley Cheese Company), wine bar and collective cellar (Taste Eden Valley), smart little antique shops (Antiques & More at 24) and traditional shops such as Angaston Cottage Industries and dried fruit from all over Australia (Angas Park Fruits). Blond Coffee in particular is a Mecca for the locals that visitors should not miss: a modern coffee shop that offers fresh light lunches, great coffee, and a selection of local and imported produce. It typifies the way the Barossa constantly reinvents itself to reflect the best contemporary culture while keeping its feet still firmly rooted in tradition.
The Barossa Farmers Market on the edge of town is another example. Held each Saturday morning, it showcases real food produced in the homes and farms of the Barossa. Local food producers offer the freshest of home grown produce, from fruit and vegetables to meat, poultry and free-range eggs, along with a huge variety of locally manufactured food products.
But history is never far away. With a population of around 2000, Angaston is at the "English" or eastern end of the Barossa and was named after one of South Australia's founders, George Fife Angas, who sponsored many of the region's early German settlers.
The Angas family were the major settlers here for many generations, with one of their homes, Collingrove, now providing accommodation and a popular tourism attraction. There is a terrific selection of B&Bs, both hosted and self-contained, as you'll need a rest after all of the activity Angaston has to offer.

Bethany

Settled in 1842, Bethany is something of an historical time capsule with 160-year-old cottages identical to the ones those early pioneers left behind in Silesia. Some of these cottages have been restored and, even
if you're just passing through, Bethany's village reserve beside a creek is the perfect place for a picnic lunch on your trip around the Barossa. Stop for a moment, too, at the beautiful Herberge Christi Lutheran Church.
Although there's been modern development, you can still see how the settlers mapped out their village along Prussian lines. You can get an even more vivid taste of history just up the road at Bethany Wines, where the Schrapel family planted the first vines in 1852, or at Turkey Flat Winery, whose vineyards include some of the oldest vines in the region.
Another place where you can see a similar historic village layout is in the former village of Langmeil (see Tanunda).

Cockatoo Valley

There's a small store and a service station here, and Cockatoo Valley is also in the heart of some interesting history. Nearby are the old gold diggings at the Barossa Goldfields, and at the Barossa Reservoir the unusual acoustic conditions at the famous Whispering Wall enable a message whispered at one end of the dam wall to be clearly heard at the other. Para Wirra Recreation Park lies to the south and here you may catch glimpses of wildlife and an abundance of birds. This helps explain the name - when a group of pioneer explorers came through the region in March 1838, seeing many cockatoos, they named it Cockatoo Valley.

Eden Valley

With its surrounding hills by stands of ancient red gums, you can see why Eden Valley was known as the Garden of Grapes and Gums. It is now most popularly known as a vineyard region - and a great one at that, with famous names such as Henschke and Mountadam, and a reputation for some of Australia's finest cool-climate red and white wines. There's a small township at the centre of it all, with the popular Eden Valley Hotel, dating from 1866 - which doubles as the cellar door for the Master of Merlot, Jim Irvine. There's a new scenic lookout a short distance to the north, with great views over the town and vineyards; a photogenic church and lots of kangaroos in nearby Kaiser Stuhl National Park.

Gawler

With a population of 20,000 Gawler is bound by rolling hills and is a major regional centre for commerce and business within close proximity to Adelaide. This is South Australia's first country town, established in 1839, and one of only two towns in the State planned by colonial surveyor Colonel William Light - the other, Adelaide.
Settled on the banks of the North and South Para Rivers, Gawler played a major role in the 19th century mining and agricultural booms and has blossomed into a town of broad streets, peaceful parklands and distinctive architecture.
The Town's pioneering spirit is reflected in its rich, historic architecture, which can best be appreciated by joining a local on the Church Hill State Heritage Walking Tour or Historic Main Street Walking Tour. A self-drive tour of the town will also provide you with an insight into its rich history (brochures available for all 3 from the Visitor Information Centre on Lyndoch Road). There are many significant buildings lining the streets and the oldest public building still in use is the Old Telegraph Office (1860), home to the National Trust's Museum.
Gawler is growing in popularity for residents and visitors, and has a full range of leisure offerings. There is an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a par-3 golf course and a cinema complex. For the little more adventurous soar with the eagles above the township in a glider, or fly in a motorized hang glider from the Adelaide Soaring Club. Horse racing fans will know that Gawler has a highly rated racetrack and is home to the Gawler and Barossa Cups.
Dining options include more than 10 historic hotels, contemporary cafés and third generation local award winning bakeries. Visitors are welcome to tour the smallgoods processing factory Wintulichs, and the award winning permaculture farm The Food Forest, which produces 160 varieties of organically certified products. Visitors can also learn about the fine craft of cricket bat making here, or enjoy the work of local artists at the Gawler Community Art Gallery.
The Gawler Visitor Information Centre on Lyndoch Rd is open seven days a week, phone (08) 8522 9260.

Greenock

Once upon a time Barossa villages used to be defined by their churches. They're still important, of course, but with Greenock it's the pub that attracts most souls. Mick Schluter's famed Greenock Tavern is now being run by his daughter, Ami and on tap are the richly flavoured beers from the Barossa Brewing Company's micro brewery, located in an 1860s former wheat store across the road. This, with the mill and silos still standing, is a reminder of the days when Greenock served as a hub for the grain trade and was still known as "little Scotland in the Barossa", due to its mostly Scottish settlers. In fact, the name Greenock literally means "sunny hill" and is derived from the Gaelic, Grain (meaning sun) and Cnoc (which means hill). On the edge of the village is Murray Street Vineyards, a splendid cellar door overlooking an even newer winery that's a firm vote of confidence in the Barossa's future. Savvy visitors will order platters of local produce while they taste the wines on a deck overlooking the vineyards. At weekends keep an eye open for cricket or soccer action on the local oval, with its restored grandstand. The village green in the centre of the village is a popular gathering spot - especially when the Tour Down Under cycling event comes to town during January.

Kapunda

For such a small country town, Kapunda on the northern edge of the Barossa has an extraordinary amount of history. This stems from its days as an incredibly rich copper mining centre with a strong Celtic heritage that's still celebrated in Australia's oldest Celtic festival. A landmark eight-metre bronze statue known as Map Kernow, or Son of Cornwall, is also a symbol of these days and greets visitors as they enter the town. Kapunda's enormous wealth during its halcyon days has been well preserved in the shape of the large houses and elegant business buildings that characterised the town during the 1850s and 1860s. The Kapunda Visitor Information Centre, in the Thomson Building on Main Street, has a fascinating interpretive centre in its basement, art gallery on the top floor, craft shop and library with family history records. Visitors can view a short DVD of the town's early years, purchase locally made goods and souvenirs and browse through the many brochures on offer. There is also a 10km Heritage Trail Drive that meanders through Kapunda's streets taking visitors past the mine site, parks and gardens, stunning homesteads, churches and buildings. When the copper mine finally closed after a few failed ventures resulting in economic failure in 1879, the town became the centre for a thriving pastoral industry and later the home of the world's largest private landowner, Sir Sidney Kidman, the Cattle King. Kapunda's museum, in the Baptist Church on Hill Street, is one of
Australia's finest folk museums and is home to a number of well-preserved and restored agricultural machines, vehicles and furniture, as well as thousands of other artifacts which are a delight to explore. Kapunda also has a range of accommodation providers and eateries, as well as a few hotels that serve as good watering holes after a long day of travelling.

Keyneton

Keyneton is at a crossroads, which means there'll have to be decisions about which way to go. We suggest that you don't miss the famed Henschke Winery a few kilometres away, which is synonymous with Keyneton, a village that became a musical and cultural focus for early settlers such with groups such as the Henschke Family Brass Band. The district, named after English pastoralist Joseph Keynes, has been the home for up to seven wineries during its period of settlement.

Light Pass

Just outside Light Pass, at the intersection of Light Pass Road and Kalimna Road, is a small monument surrounded by vineyards that strikes home the historic nature of this region. It's a monument to Colonel William Light and Captain Charles Sturt, two of the most iconic names in South Australia's pioneer history, who came through here in the 1830s.
Light was looking for a pass east through the ranges to the Murray River and subsequently Light Pass, a small settlement based on two Lutheran churches, was established in 1844. It shows how important it is in the Barossa to drive into the back roads and explore. Here, for example, you'll find some of the most authentic buildings remaining in the region, including the original tiny mud and straw schoolhouse built in 1846 and now known as Luhr's Cottage Museum - open to the public seven days a week. A regular and popular event on the Barossa calendar is "Sunday Funday" at Gibson Wines, a short drive from the main street on Willows Road. Call the Barossa Visitor Information Centre to check dates, or visit www.barossa.com

Lyndoch

Dating back to 1840 when Colonel William Light, the man who designed the basic plan for Adelaide, led an expedition into the valley north of the capital, Lyndoch is one of the oldest towns in the state.
Lyndoch was once a processing centre for local wheat growers and it was not until the first vineyard was planted in the Para River catchment that the region's future began to take shape. Today it is an integral plank in the world-famous Barossa wine industry and where a number of small, family-owned vineyards can be found. It is an area rich in multicultural history as well as award-winning Rieslings, Chardonnays, Semillons, Shiraz, Cabernets and fine fortified wines. Visitors can enjoy many attractions including
Yaldara, equipped with cellar door, café, larder, wine tunnel and brewery; Kies Winery and the relaxed Monkey Nut Café & Tea Rooms; Ross Estate Winery Tour (bookings essential); the aromatic smells of the Lyndoch Lavender Farm; and great coffee and meals at The Lord Lyndoch and Lyndoch Bakery and Restaurant. For a different perspective, see if all from the sky on tour with Barossa Helicopters, nestled in the ranges just behind the township.

Marananga and Seppeltsfield

If you were looking to condense the best of the Barossa into one small area, it would have to be Seppeltsfield Road, where food, wine, music, accommodation and religion all come together in a remarkably small stretch of road - handsomely decorated with an avenue of huge date palms that were planted to provide work for local families during the Great Depression. The central landmark is Seppeltsfield Winery, founded in 1851 and still the showcase for Seppelt wines - including its fabulous storehouse of fortified wines, which can be tasted on a special tour. (Check with the winery for tour times.) Seppelt family history lives on, if that's the right word, in the Seppelt family mausoleum down the road. For arts enthusiasts, Shakespeare in the Vines is an annual midsummer event at the winery each January long weekend. Some people know of the nearby tiny hamlet of Marananga only because of its famous brass band, which you can listen to in rehearsal most Tuesday nights. Marananga is interesting historically because its renaming in 1918 reflects the anti-German sentiment in South Australia during World War I. Previously the village was known as Gnadenfrei, meaning "freed by the grace of god" in German - a name that lives on in Gnadenfrei Lutheran Church. Nothing else was changed and it remains a sweet little place with a metal art forge adding to the character of the old settlement. Dining doesn't get any better in the Barossa than at Appellation, at The Louise - which has also set a new benchmark for luxury accommodation in the Barossa. There's more luxury nearby at
The Lodge Country House, a former Seppelt family residence, and more food at Maggie Beer's Farm Shop - where one of Australia's favourite cooks and writers, and a pioneering champion of regional food, sells her products and award-winning books, with picnic hampers to go. With around 14 wineries, and some of the most illustrious labels in the Barossa among them, Seppeltsfield Road should be a magnet for the most discerning wine lover.

Mount Pleasant

No-one is exactly sure how the town got its name, but there seems to be some consensus that it was probably named after a Mrs Pleasant who was a relative of one of the early settlers. These settlers moved into the area in the late 1830s with flocks of sheep and bags of grain. These days you'll also see more contemporary additions such as goats and alpacas. This is a pretty little country town with a population of around 500 and still home to one of the state's largest agricultural shows.
Its peaceful demeanor is broken only once a year when it becomes the service park for the Sprint Auto Parts Rally SA motor event, where team service crews rebuild their rally cars before you can finish a sandwich, and you can get a close look at both cars and their drivers. A quieter occupation is to explore the antique shops in Mount Pleasant's attractive plane tree-lined main street.

Nuriootpa

Nuriootpa's name is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning "meeting place", as large numbers of Aboriginals once gathered there to trade. It is still recognised as the commercial centre of the Barossa, but "Nuri" is now also very much right at the centre of the region's wine production.
This is a rapidly growing town with a population of around 5500, and services more than 50 wineries in the nearby area. Some of the best-known cellar doors are found here, including Elderton, Wolf Blass Visitor Centre and Penfolds -- where want-to-be winemakers can design their own blend on a daily tour.
A visit to the Bush Garden is recommended - this community project is successfully growing plants that are indigenous to the area, while the Bush Chapel at Coulthard Reserve is a place for quiet reflection or celebration. Town founder William Coulthard's original bluestone home ‘Coulthard House', opposite the police station, is now home to APEX Australia.
Through it all meanders the peaceful North Para River. Nuriootpa Linear Park provides a delightfully scenic riverside walk from Coulthard Reserve to Tolley Reserve on the Barossa Valley Way - both are perfect spots to settle down for a picnic or BBQ lunch with regional produce bought from the main street baker or butcher.

Penrice

Just a short distance north of Angaston, Penrice was originally known as German Pass, but was then settled by Cornish migrants who named it after their homeland. Its elevated position provides exceptional views over the Barossa and, while land has been highly sought after for residential use, grazing sheep and majestic gums still dot the landscape. The Union Chapel on Penrice Road, built in 1844, is claimed to be the oldest surviving church in the Barossa. Sponsored by George Fife Angas, in the hope that all Christians would form a single church, the chapel has, at various times, been a dance hall, fruit storehouse, home and shearing shed. It has now been restored by the local community and is a popular venue for weddings, christenings and regular Sunday church services.

Rowland Flat

As the winemaking centre for the giant Orlando wine group, Rowland Flat is best known for its proximity to Jacob's Creek - yes, it really does exist - and the company's ultramodern Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre, which contains an excellent restaurant and interactive winemaking display, as well as all the usual wine-tasting facilities. Johann Gramp, who arrived in The Barossa in 1847, initially planted his vines at Jacob's Creek, but his son, Gustav, moved the business in 1877 to Rowland Flat. Other wineries to visit are Leibichwein and Lou Miranda Estate, while a short distance away there's the Novotel Barossa Valley Resort - don't miss its tasting room, with local produce on sale and free wine tastings at 5pm daily, adjacent to the Tanunda Pines Golf Club.

Springton

A sleepy hamlet in the rolling hills east of the Barossa Ranges, Springton was originally known as Black Springs and is known primarily because the earliest European settler, Friedrich Herbig, lived in a hollowed-out red gum that still stands in the main street. Herbig, a German tailor turned farmer, arrived in South Australia in 1855 and travelled to the Barossa where he leased 80 acres from George Angas. Desperately poor, he decided to live in the famous Herbig Family tree, where the first two of his 16 children were born. From these humble beginnings Herbig went on to dominate the early life of the town, eventually owning more than 400ha of land. While the area's lush green pastures have supported dairy farming for many years, its soil and cool climate has made it excellent for viticulture with white grape varieties winning special recognition. Local wineries to visit include Peter Seppelt Wines and Mountadam.

Stockwell

This comfortable little village, laid out near the entrance to the original Light's Pass, was founded in 1853 by English migrant Samuel Stockwell, who bought the land from George Angas and subdivided it into town blocks. In no time it had a Lutheran church and school, and being on a busy stock route, pioneered in the late 1830s, the town soon had a number of stores, a blacksmith, bootmakers, a post office and hotel. Now there's not much more than the post office and the hotel, built in 1867, which has earned a fine reputation for its dining room and has a classic country pub front bar.

Tanunda

For many, Tanunda will always feel like the heart of the Barossa, and it's not hard to see why. The region's European heritage is strong here with many historic buildings including the old Goat Square, where they used to hold the Ziegenmarkt (goat market), which still has several pretty cottages. There are some remarkable Lutheran churches - they had four, the result of differences amongst the early settlers. Now a substantial town of around 4000 people, Tanunda grew from the neighbouring village of Langmeil, laid out in thin narrow strips similar to the pattern at Bethany. The village spread along its main street, Langmeil Road, which runs parallel to the North Para River, and among its interesting buildings are the dark ironstone cottages and barns of the early settlers, several of which have been maintained or restored. The
Barossa Visitor Information Centre, in Murray Street - the town's main street - is where you can get friendly advice on everything you need to know about the Barossa, with books, mementos and clothing for sale as well. There's a thriving café culture, innovative regional restaurants, and a happy pub scene.
Nearby wineries include Château Tanunda, Domain Barossa, Illaparra Fortified Store, Vinecrest and the Para Road cellar doors of Langmeil, Peter Lehmann and Richmond Grove.

Truro

The gateway of the Barossa from the northeastern end of the region, Truro lies in the ranges 14km northeast of Nuriootpa. John Angas, a son of George Fife Angas, surveyed the area in the mid-1800s and named the town Truro, after Truro in Cornwall. While copper was successfully mined here, the lack of capital and high water table plus the discovery of gold in Victoria soon saw the mines' demise. However, the fertile land soon grew the area's reputation for cereal cropping and sheep grazing.
The town has recently become a focus for lovers of olives - a thriving new Barossa industry - and its worth taking a look at the "House of Olives" on the Main Road. And, Craneford wines cellar door is open for tasting and sales of premium wines daily. History buffs can visit the Sturt Memorial Cairn in the main street, one of a chain of commemorative cairns erected in 1944 along the route of the famous expedition to Central Australia led by Captain Charles Sturt, or explore the interesting buildings dating back to the 1850s.

Williamstown

At the Southern Gateway of the Barossa, picturesque Williamstown offers a welcome for visitors wanting to enjoy a distinctive Barossa historical experience. The original settlement of Victoria Creek transformed into Williamstown after the legendary sale of a team of horses for the parcels of land on which the hotels are sitting. The town originally functioned as a service centre for the already well-established pastoral and timber community of the famed Mount Crawford district.
Located close to wineries, the Barossa reservoirs, conservation parks, Mount Crawford forest and the Barossa goldfields, Williamstown offers plenty to see and do, including cycling, walking and wildlife watching. A visit to the world-famous Whispering Wall in its natural bushland setting is a must. The massive curved retaining wall of the Barossa reservoir is a 140-metre long acoustic marvel (you can speak in a normal voice and people on the other side can clearly hear you). This town is also home to the biggest mural in the Barossa, depicting aspects of life at Williamstown and surrounding areas since the earliest days of South Australian settlement.
Along the pretty main street browse the antique store, visit either of the two hotels or grab a bite to eat at the bakery, the local deli or fish and chip shop or have a picnic/ BBQ with your family at Colonist Corner or the Victoria Creek Reserve. Accommodation options include bed and breakfast establishments, and a shady caravan park with cabins and tenting options.