DESTINATION: Gawler

Around 44km NE of Adelaide, the town of Gawler began as a supply centre for the copper-mining towns of Kapunda and Burra. In the 1870s and 1880s, when entrepreneurs built flour mills to process grain grown by pioneer agriculturalists, the town boomed. The rural depression at the beginning of the 20th century was a prelude to Gawler's decline and in the 1930s with the Great Depression, the town's manufacturing industries closed. However, due to its strategic position, Gawler survived and today is largely a commercial service centre for the surrounding farmlands.

Main Attractions

The sporting facilities; 2 golf courses, bowling and croquet lawns, a heated pool, tennis courts, trotting grounds, and a racecourse; attract visitors to the town. The town walking routes are popular activities, the Church Hill Estate Area Walk being a very interesting walk through the original town centre. The busy Thursday morning market held in Gawler South Hall attracts many shoppers and browsers. The National Trust and Gawler Heritage Museum has interesting exhibits. Para Para Historic Mansion can be viewed from Penrith Ave.

Nearby attractions

The wineries of the Barossa Valley are only a 15min drive east of the town centre. Roseworthy Campus, University of Adelaide, was established in 1883 as Australia's first agricultural teaching college and research centre. Today the college is famous for its wine industry research. Dryland Farming Museum, located on the campus, is open Wednesday and the third Sunday of every month, although tours can be arranged at other times by appointment.

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Region: Barossa

Barossa, South Australia, although relatively small in area, the Barossa Valley is Australia's best-known wine region. Each year thousands of visitors tour the wineries of Seppeltsfield, Angaston, Lyndoch, Penfolds and Wolf Blass to name a few, tasting the wines and making cellar-door purchases. The Barossa's Mediterranean-type climate and differing soils make it an ideal place for growing diverse varieties of grapes, producing consistently high quality wines.. more

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2 Lyndoch Rd, Ph: (08) 8522 6814

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