Barossa Heritage

Barossa Heritage The Barossa Regional Heritage Network aims to ensure the rich heritage of the Barossa, Light and Gawler is identified, preserved, promoted and accessible.

Do you know you can now access historic editions of ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐ต๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ค๐‘  through the National Library of Australia's Trove d...
23/06/2026

Do you know you can now access historic editions of ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐ต๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ค๐‘  through the National Library of Australia's Trove database ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/title/2056 #

Issues spanning 1908 to 1945 have been made available online thanks to a digitalisation project by The Heritage Network (Barossa, Light, Gawler and Mid-Murray) in partnership with the Barossa Valley Archives and Historical Trust.

The achievement marks the culmination of several years of fundraising, community support and collaboration aimed at preserving one of the Barossa region's most important historical resources.

Originally published in Angaston in 1908, ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐ต๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘ ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ค๐‘  chronicled the people, events and developments that shaped the district and surrounding communities for generations.

Issues from 1946-1951 will also be added as part of a separate project funded by the National Library of Australia.

For the full story, see the June 24 edition of The Leader newspaper.

Itโ€™s the final weekend of the SA History Festival and there is still so much to experience!๐‘๐ž๐ ๐†๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ: ๐‹๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐š๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐šF...
28/05/2026

Itโ€™s the final weekend of the SA History Festival and there is still so much to experience!

๐‘๐ž๐ ๐†๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ: ๐‹๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐š๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐š
Friday 29 May, 10am, Red Gum Retreat, Williamstown.
The Barossa Special Survey around Williamstown is often overlooked, yet it remains an important district in South Australiaโ€™s development. Come and learn about the regionโ€™s fascinating history and be introduced to the Barossa Special Survey and its surrounding Community Tree.

๐‰๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง: ๐…๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐‡๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐’๐ญ๐ž๐š๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ
Friday 29 May, 9.30am. Gawler Cultural Heritage Centre.
Step into Gawlerโ€™s historical engine room on a guided walk exploring how James Martinโ€™s vision transformed South Australiaโ€™s first country town into a hub of innovation, industry, and civic pride. From blacksmithing and bullock drays to steam locomotives and civic leadership, discover how Martin shaped the Gawler of today.

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐Œ๐š๐ฉ: ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ง๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž๐ฌ
Friday 29 May and Saturday 30 May, 10am to 3pm. Barossa Museum, Tanunda.
A new multi-media display suitable for all ages has been unveiled at the Barossa Museum, Tanunda, for History Festival! The much-loved wall map asks us to consider where the Barossaโ€™s Germanic settlers came from in todayโ€™s Germany or Poland, and how did they get here?

๐€๐ง๐ ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐’๐ก๐จ๐ฉ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฎ๐ฆ
Saturday and Sunday, May 30 and 31, 1pm to 4pm. 19-21 Murray Street, Angaston.
Listen to the hammer striking the anvil and step back to an era when blacksmithing was at the heart of village life. Established in 1876, this 150-year-old site stands as testament to the skill and resilience of generations past. Discover the stories, artefacts, and images that reveal the challenges and joys of life in simpler times. Presented by Angaston & Penrice Historical Society

๐„๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Œ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐žโ€™๐ฌ ๐ˆ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐ & ๐‚๐š๐ฏ๐ž
Sunday 31 May, 1.30pm. Jacobโ€™s Creek Visitor Centre, Rowland Flat.
Led by Historian Bernie Oโ€™Neil, this walking tour traverses the state heritage-listed site where Johannes Menge (1788โ€“1852), South Australiaโ€™s pioneer geologist, mineralogist, and educator, resided from 1839 to 1842.
Visit: https://festival.history.sa.gov.au/ for all booking information.

Photo: Williamstown in about 1908. State Library of South Australia B 22754.

Where will history take you this weekend?Thereโ€™s still plenty to experience this South Australian History Festival. Here...
21/05/2026

Where will history take you this weekend?
Thereโ€™s still plenty to experience this South Australian History Festival. Here's a look at what's coming up in the Barossa.

๐๐ž๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐‹๐ฒ๐ง๐๐จ๐œ๐ก ๐•๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฒ: ๐๐ž๐š๐ฎ ๐ˆ๐๐ž๐š๐ฅ
Friday 22 May, 10am, Red Gum Retreat. Williamstown.
This talk explores the original administrative aspects of the Lyndoch Valley Special Survey, focusing on its southerly and westerly sections. Included is a discussion on Section 26, Hundred of Barossa, and a tribute to Charles John Andrews. Presented by Ingrid Eidam

๐”๐ง๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐Š๐š๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š: ๐€ ๐‰๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐ž๐ฒ ๐“๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‡๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐œ ๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ž
Saturday 23 May, 10am. Historic Kapunda Copper Mine.
Explore nineteenth-century remnants and hear captivating stories on a guided walking tour. Presented by Light Country Visitor Information Centre

โ€˜๐“๐ก๐ž ๐“๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐š ๐“๐ซ๐š๐ ๐ž๐๐ฒโ€™ ๐“๐ซ๐ฎ๐ž ๐‚๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž: ๐Œ๐ž๐ž๐ญ ๐€๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐‘๐ข๐œ๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ ๐ƒ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐œ๐ก๐ค๐ž
Saturday 23 May, 10am. Cambrai School Community Library
Travel by bus from Cambrai Library to key locations from the book, following the grim true story of the Bertha Schippan murder, a crime that cast a long shadow over rural South Australia for more than 120 years.

๐‘๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐”๐ฉ ๐“๐ก๐ž๐ข๐ซ ๐’๐ฅ๐ž๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ: ๐“๐š๐ง๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š ๐“๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐–๐š๐ฅ๐ค
Saturday 23 May, 2pm. Tanunda Community CWA Hall.
Come and imagine Tanundaโ€™s historic main street as we walk and talk, retelling the stories of the women who created the Barossa Cookery Book. Presented by Barossa Council Public Library.

๐–๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐š๐ฆ ๐Œ๐š๐ฅ๐œ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ ๐’๐ก๐ž๐ž๐ฉ ๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐’๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐€๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐š ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ–๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ”
Sunday, 24 May, 10am. Red Gum Retreat, Williamstown.
William Oliver Malcolm is credited with introducing the first sheep into South Australia. This is a bold statement, but is there any truth to it? This presentation also includes a tribute to Alexander Borthwick Murray.

Visit: https://festival.history.sa.gov.au/ for all booking information.

Weโ€™re heading into the third weekend of the South Australian History Festival - and thereโ€™s still so much to discover an...
14/05/2026

Weโ€™re heading into the third weekend of the South Australian History Festival - and thereโ€™s still so much to discover and experience! Here's a snapshot of what's coming up across the Barossa region.

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‰๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐’๐ญ๐จ๐œ๐ค ๐‚๐š๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ง๐ฒ (๐‰๐’๐‚๐‚) ๐š๐ง๐ ๐š ๐“๐ซ๐ข๐›๐ฎ๐ญ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐‘๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐ญ ๐‘๐š๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ž
Friday 15 May, 10am. Red Gum Retreat, Williamstown.
The JSCC from 1838 has been elusive, and now a comprehensive study has been able to demonstrate the connections with William Coulthard and various members of the Baird family, and the Murrays. Presented by Ingrid Eidam.

๐‰๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง: ๐…๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐‡๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐’๐ญ๐ž๐š๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ
Friday 15 and 29 May, Saturday 23 May, 9.30am. Gawler Cultural Heritage Centre.
Step into Gawlerโ€™s historical engine room on a guided walk exploring how James Martinโ€™s vision transformed South Australiaโ€™s first country town into a hub of innovation, industry, and civic pride.

๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ง๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ–๐Ÿ”๐ŸŽ๐ฌ ๐–๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”
Sunday 17 May, and every Tuesday, 10am to 2pm. Bowdenโ€™s Cottage, Barossa Goldfields.
A visit to the Barossa Goldfields and Bowdenโ€™s Cottage will give you a brief glimpse into life in the 1860s and the 1930s.

๐†๐ซ๐ข๐ญ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐†๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐„๐ฑ๐ก๐ข๐›๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: ๐‚๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐“๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ
Wednesday 20 May, and 27 May, 11am. Gawler Civic Centre.
Delve deeper into the stories behind the objects in the new exhibition, uncover lesser-known histories, and hear about the challenges of researching, collecting, and interpreting womenโ€™s wartime service.

๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐–๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ž: ๐‚๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ฅ ๐‹๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญโ€™๐ฌ ๐•๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐‹๐ž๐ ๐š๐œ๐ฒ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‘๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐ฏ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž
Thursday 21 May, 7pm to 9pm. Gawler Cultural Heritage Centre.
Join Associate Professor Rob Cheesman AM for a discussion on the importance of adaptive planning processes as outlined in his book, Patterns in Perpetuity.

Visit: https://festival.history.sa.gov.au for booking information.

The SA History Festival is now well underway, and the Barossa region is doing its share of preserving, celebrating and h...
07/05/2026

The SA History Festival is now well underway, and the Barossa region is doing its share of preserving, celebrating and honouring the past!

Events on this weekend include:

Friday, May 8: โ€˜Menge, Mengetown, Mineral Wealth Around Williamstownโ€™ A talk on Johannes Mengeโ€™s fascination with Cornflower Hill in the Barossa, located near the South Para and the site of Mengetown. Bookings are free: https://tinyurl.com/3xw8sw58

Saturday, May 9: โ€˜Kapunda Museum and Main Street Walking Tourโ€™ Free entry to Museum from 10am to 4pm. Demonstrations of old crafts, including blacksmithing, and talk on Sidney Kidmanโ€™s house, โ€˜Eringaโ€™. A guided tour of the Main Street departs at 11am. Bookings to Mary Anne on 0417 893 177 or [email protected].

Saturday, May 9: โ€˜Love and the Lawโ€™ Join PHD Candidate Jacobin Bosman as he shares his research on the legal history of same s*x relationships (broadly defined) in colonial South Australia. Bookings are free: https://tinyurl.com/dhk9dxej

Wednesday May 13: โ€˜Starry Starry Skiesโ€™ Meet the History Maker and founder of the River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve, Chris Tugwell. Gather by campfire at Meldanda, Cambrai to hear the science and story behind protecting the night sky and to experience the brilliance of the stars. Bookings to Niya on 8564 5146 or [email protected]

Every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: โ€˜The Map: Connecting People to Placesโ€™ A new multi-media display suitable for all ages has been unveiled at the Barossa Museum, Tanunda, for History Festival! The much-loved wall map asks us to consider where the Barossaโ€™s Germanic settlers came from in todayโ€™s Germany or Poland, and how did they get here?

All details in the official SA History Festival Program!

07/05/2026

Rechner Cottage

18/04/2026

History Month is almost here and weโ€™re celebrating our rich history of cooking and community.

Join us for two special events bringing people together through food, stories and shared traditions. Discover how recipes have been passed down through generations, explore the role of food in shaping our communities and connect with others over a love of history and flavour.

Cooking the Books - A Spoonful of History
๐Ÿ“…Friday 15 May
โฐ10.00am to 11.30am
๐Ÿ“Nuriootpa Library
๐ŸŽซFREE - Bookings Essential

Rolling Up their Sleeves - Tanunda Walk
๐Ÿ“…Saturday 23 May
โฐ2.00pm to 4.00pm
๐Ÿ“Tanunda CWA Hall
๐ŸŽซFREE - Bookings Essential

Two events, plenty of inspiration - donโ€™t miss out!

For more details and to book, visit ๐Ÿ‘‰ barossa.sa.gov.au/events
or give us a call on 8563 8440.

The Williamstown and District Historical Society invites you to come and visit them this History Month.The Williamstown ...
07/04/2026

The Williamstown and District Historical Society invites you to come and visit them this History Month.

The Williamstown Soldiers Memorial Hall will be open Sunday, May 3, 2026, at 12pm to 3pm.

Find out more about the early mines and the timber industry that shaped this town. View some of the oldest maps and titles available on the area.

At 1pm get an insight into how the town and main street developed, with a digital walk-through time, and a knowledgeable guide to answer any questions.

Address

43-51 Tanunda Road
Nuriootpa, SA
5355

Telephone

85638440

Website

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