Across Australia Part 3 - South Australia

Hi dear readers, I hope you and yours are doing well. It is freezing here in the south west of Western Australia where I live. There are blue skys, but I don't seem to be able to get warm. Several groups of friends of ours are gearing up to head to northern Australia for the winter. 

Last time I brought you part 2 of our travels across Australia from west to east. If you missed it, you can catch up here - Across Australia Part 2 - Western to South Australia. 

This week I will share the few days we were in South Australia on our way to Victoria. Here is a map. We are going from Western Australia, across South Australia to Victoria on the eastern side of Australia. This map is of the South Australian section from our SPOT tracker. 

After our overnight camp in the Recreation Ground at Kimba, we were on the road again via Port Augusta for a fuel up and grocery shop. Heading south we turned east away from the coast near Winninowie, past the wind turbines and up through Horrocks Pass through the Flinders Ranges. This is a steep and winding narrow road, then a steep descent on the other side and into the grain growing area. 

We stopped at the town of Orroroo for lunch. They have a park that runs down the middle of the main street which was perfect for us to sit and have our picnic lunch. It looked like a lovely town to explore more, however being a Sunday not much was open. Perhaps an overnight stay next time! 

Back on the road again our next stop was Peterborough. We have been through here before, but never stayed, so we decided to book into the caravan park. We did washing and had a good shower after those nights free camping on the road across the Nullarbor where we only had a quick basin wash each night.  

The Peterborough caravan park has farmland on two sides and some shade, plenty of space and some drive through sites. We could pick our own spot. 

The next morning we drove into town at what we thought was 7.51am only to find our clocks were an hour behind and it was actually 8.51am! 

We had a walk around town looking at the federation buildings, had a virtual train ride in the old train carriages, learnt about Bob the Railway Dog (a train hitchhiker in the 1800s), social history displays in the rooms of the YMCA building, the Federation quilt in the Town Hall, and learn some of the history. 

In the 20th Century Peterborough was a major railway hub and crossroads for trains crossing the country. It is quieter now, and I recommend at least an overnight stay. 

 We had morning tea in Cafe 229 in the old Capital Theatre building which is full of fascinating memorabilia, friendly service and great food! 

We were then back on the road again 24 kilometres to Terowie. The name is derived from the local Aboriginal word meaning "hidden water".  Established in 1872, Terowie was an important railway town until around 1970. From a population of over 2000 people in 1940, the population dwindled to less than 200. The town is mostly deserted now but it is a great place to stroll and see many original buildings, several of which have been restored by locals. In the old North Eastern Times building we viewed a fascinating old photo display. 

Make sure you collect a map and information at the Visitor Centre which is manned by volunteers. There are a few businesses trying to keep the town alive. I found it a fascinating town for a wander. You can free camp at the old railway station. 

At the Terowie Railway Station in 1942 General Douglas McArthur made a famous speech (here and in other places in Australia) in WW2 after he had fled the Philippines during the Japanese offensive, saying "I shall return".  He did return to the Philippines in 1944. 

Make sure you check out the quirky tin men in a paddock just out of town. 

Our next stop for the next few nights was Burra (64 kilometers to the south) where we booked into the caravan park.  We walked through a park by the river next to the caravan park when it was a little cooler later in the day.

There is lots to explore in Burra and surrounds. If you are in town for a few days the Burra heritage passport is a great way to explore, with keys to heritage sites and museums through a self-guided tour. Pick up from the Burra Visitor Information Centre. 

Burra was made famous when copper was discovered by shepherd Thomas Pickett in 1845. By 1850 Burra had one of the world's largest copper mines. 

I just found this great historical site - Burra History Group

Some of Burra's attractions include, the Midnight Oil House (3km from town it was famously used on Midnight Oil's "Diesel and Dust" record cover), Burra Town Hall, the art gallery, Burra Railway Station (limited opening hours), learn about mega fauna along a 5km interpretive walk trail at Red Banks Conservation Park, view the old Burra mine site, Unicorn Brewery Cellars, Redruth Gaol (used in the filming of the 1980 Breaker Morant movie), Paxton Square Museum, miner's dugouts. You can stay in the Paxton Square Miner's Cottages. 

Below you can see.. clockwise from left to right Paxton Square Miner's cottages, grape vines along shop verandahs, war memorial, Saint Mary's Anglican church, Burra School, Burra Town Hall, Redruth Gaol, old Burra copper mine site, and in the centre the Midnight Oil house. 

The Midnight Oil House - and cover of the album Diesel and Dust. The lighting in my pic is a little different.....

There are also places to visit further afield. Burra is close to the Clare Valley and Barossa Valley wine growing regions.  (this photo was taken on a previous trip)

We took a day trip to Mintaro, only 34kms from Burra, and had lunch at the Magpie and Stump Hotel, which dates back to 1851. We had lunch here in 2013, and it was as good this time as then. My husband and I had the chicken curry pie (delicious), while our son that the squid and chips. 

After lunch we had a walk around town to look at some of the old buildings. There is a heritage town walk. Mintaro heritage walk. The town was founded in 1854 by Jospeph and Henry Gilbert. It was declared a State Heritage Area in 1984. 

Below is the Wesleyan Methodist Church. It was Australia's first United Methodist church. The first chapel was built in 1854. When the congregation grew a second larger Victorian Gothic church was built in 1867. 

We then drove to Martindale Hall, only 3km from Mintaro. 

Completed in 1880, Martindale Hall demonstrates the lavish opulence of the era. Built by the Bowman family who lived here for 11 years, it was purchased by the Mortlock family in 1891, until 1965. It has been a State Heritage listed property since 1980, and was gifted to the South Australian Government in 1986. In 2014 Michael and Sharon Morris, became caretakers of Martindale Hall. 

Today visitors can explore the luxuriously decorated rooms and walk around the grounds. Open Wednesday to Monday 10am-4pm, entry fees apply. Check opening hours before visiting. 

Martindale Hall was used as a set for the Appleyard Girls' School in the 1975 movie, Picnic at Hanging Rock, adapted from the book by Joan Lindsay.

If you are a fan of the TV series Downton Abbey - you will love Martindale Hall. The furnishings and details are sumptuous. Even the bathrooms! 

You can also visit the coachhouse and peer through the windows

From Burra we also drove down to Greenock in the Barossa wine growing region to visit friends, and stopped to look at some painted silos.

Top left is at Farrell Flats representing rail history and painted by Jarrod Soden and Matthew Knights, top right is at Kapunda showing the mining history painted by Smug and across the bottom in Eudunda representing two of Australian author Colin Thiele's books painted by Sam Brooks. 

We saw lots of silo art on our travels. You can look them up on the net here - Australian Silo Art. By clicking on the links you can find the silos in the state you are visiting, scroll through a map, and read more about them. There is even a downloadable mobile phone app - of course there is! 

That's it from me for today. Next time we will drive through the Murray River region to Renmark and then cross into Victoria. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

If you are looking for a translate button - it's there near the top on the right hand side. 
   

Mosaic Monday @ Soul & Mind & So On

Saturdays Critters - Viewing Nature With Eileen

Cosy with Coffee - Weekly Wonders 

Monday Morning Blog Club @ sticky mud and belly laughs

Peabea's Pictorial Tuesday

Travel Tuesday

Talking About It Tuesdays @ Slices of Life

Through My Lens 
Thankful Thursday 

H2O Thursday
Nature Thursday

Sky Watch Friday

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Until then, enjoy your day...Life only comes around once, so do what makes you happy, be kind, and be with people who make you smile.