The Clare Valley is a valley located in South Australia about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Adelaide in the Clare and Gilbert Valleys council area. [1] It is the river valley formed by the Hutt River but is also strongly associated with the roughly parallel Hill River. The valley is traversed by the Horrocks Highway and the towns in the valley along that route from south to north are Auburn, Leasingham, Watervale, Penwortham, Sevenhill and Clare. The geographical feature has given rise to the Clare Valley wine region designation, a notable winegrowing region of Australia. [2]
The valley is formed by the Skilly Hills and Bungaree Hills on the west with the Stony Range rising on the valley's east. The Temperate Grassland of South Australia cover most of the area.
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The original inhabitants of the Clare Valley were the Ngadjuri people. It is believed that they had major camping sites at Clare and Auburn, as well as other areas outside the valley. [3]
The first European to reportedly explore the Clare Valley was John Hill, who did so in early April 1839, visiting and naming the Hutt River. [4] Its nearby twin, the Hill River, was later named in his honour. On returning to Adelaide, he reported his findings of potentially good farmland to his friend and associate, Edward John Eyre. Eyre in turn informed John Horrocks, who had only arrived in South Australia during March 1839. Eyre later explored the Clare Valley on the return journey from his second 1839 expedition to the northern regions of South Australia. Horrocks set out with his servant, John Green and established himself in the area now known as Penwortham. [5] This became the first permanent settlement in the valley.[ citation needed ]
By 1840, Edward Burton Gleeson had set up the Inchiquin pastoral run to the north which was later developed into the town of Clare [6] and in 1848, Jesuits were settling into the place which would become the town of Sevenhill. Settlers came from places including England, Ireland, Poland and Silesia during the 1840s, producing a rich heritage of architecture and villages, which remain largely intact.[ citation needed ] Vineyards were planted alongside those first villages and winemaking has continued ever since.[ citation needed ]
On 16 February 1983, the Clare Valley was affected by the Ash Wednesday bushfires. Although there were no fatalities in the area, over 6,100 hectares were burnt out, causing $5 million worth of damage. [7] The railway line between the Clare Showgrounds and Penwortham was severely damaged, and resulted in its eventual demise. The old rail route has since been transformed into a bicycle and walking track known as the Riesling Trail . This 35 km sealed trail links the villages of the valley.[ citation needed ]
The Clare Valley is a popular wine tourism destination. Known for its cool climate white wines, most notably its Riesling, it is home to an estimated 50 wineries throughout the region.[ citation needed ] Some of its most well known and popular wineries include Taylors Wines, Annie's Lane, Grosset Wines, Jim Barry Wines, Seven Hill Cellars, Kilikanoon and Skillogalee.[ citation needed ] Kilikanoon (2013) and Jim Barry Wines (2020) won James Halliday's Winery of the Year award. [8]
Held in late May, after harvest, the Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend is a festival celebrating food and wine. It is spread over three days, with many of the local wineries and restaurants hosting events, tastings and music. [9]
The Clare Valley is also known for its walking and cycling trails being home to stretches of the Riesling Trail, Rattler Trail, Mawson Trail and Lavender Federation Trail.[ citation needed ]
The Blenheim Music and Camping Festival, a two-day music festival, was an annual event between 2009 and 2018. The Shaolin Afronauts, Max Savage and the False Idols, Tony Joe White, Marlon Williams, Timberwolf and Kaurna Cronin played at the 2015 event. [10] [11]
The festival organisers decided to take a break in 2019, to allow the property to regenerate after prolonged drought and the impact of people camping in the paddocks. [12] It was intended to run its 10th event over the Easter weekend in 2020; however the restrictions enforced owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia prevented this. [13]
The Clare Valley wine region is one of Australia's oldest wine regions, best known for Riesling wines. It lies in the Mid North of South Australia, approximately 142 km north of Adelaide. The valley runs north-south, with Horrocks Highway as the main thoroughfare.
The Riesling Trail is a 35 kilometres long walking and cycling track located in the Clare Valley, South Australia. Established for recreational purposes, it runs between Auburn and Clare, passing through several towns and villages along the way, including Leasingham, Watervale, Penwortham and Sevenhill. The trail is named after Riesling, the most important white grape variety in the Clare Valley wine region. It continues 8 kilometres north of Clare to the area known as Barinia.
Watervale is a town on the Horrocks Highway in the Clare Valley, South Australia, approximately 9 kilometres north of Auburn and 15 kilometres south of Clare. It is surrounded by a number of small wineries and several B&Bs. The Riesling Trail runs past the town to the west, between the Highway and the Skilly Hills. The town has a number of 19th-century heritage buildings, including the former Stanley Grammar School, which now provides private bed and breakfast accommodation.
Penwortham is a small town in the Clare Valley, South Australia, along the Horrocks Highway, approximately 10 kilometres south of Clare and 14 kilometres north of Auburn.
Auburn is a small town in the southern edge of the Clare Valley, in the Mid North of South Australia.
The town of Clare is located in South Australia in the Mid North region, 136 km north of Adelaide. It gives its name to the Clare Valley wine and tourist region.
The Hutt River is a river located in the Mid North and Clare Valley regions of the Australian state of South Australia.
Mintaro is a historic town in the eastern Clare Valley, east of the Horrocks Highway, about 126 kilometres north of Adelaide, South Australia. The town lies at the south-eastern corner of the Hundred of Clare, within the Clare Valley wine region. Established in 1849, Mintaro is situated on land which was bought originally by Joseph and Henry Gilbert, which they sub-divided into 80 allotments.
The Australian monastic town of Sevenhill is in the Clare Valley of South Australia, approximately 130 km north of Adelaide. The town was founded by members of the Jesuit order in 1850. The name, bestowed by Austrian Jesuit priest Aloysius Kranewitter, is in homage to the seven hills of Rome.
Leasingham is the name of a hamlet on the southern edge of the Clare Valley, in the Mid North of South Australia. It is approximately 117 kilometres from the state's capital, Adelaide and 17 kilometres south of the town of Clare.
The South Australian wine industry is responsible for more than half the production of all Australian wine. South Australia has a vast diversity in geography and climate which allows the state to be able to produce a range of grape varieties–from the cool climate Riesling variety in the Clare Valley wine region to the big, full bodied Shiraz wines of the Barossa Valley.
Polish Hill River is a small town in the Mid North region of South Australia, between the towns of Sevenhill and Mintaro.
Grosset Wines is an Australian winery based in the Clare Valley wine region of South Australia.
The Shaolin Afronauts are an Afrobeat band based in Adelaide, Australia. Their music is heavily influenced by West African Afrobeat artists such as Fela Kuti, but also incorporates elements of avant-garde jazz, soul and other traditional African and Cuban percussive rhythms. They describe their music as "interstellar futurist afro-soul".
The Hill River is an ephemeral river located in the Mid North region of the Australian state of South Australia.
John Jackson Oakden, pastoralist, was an English explorer of South Australia, part of the European exploration of Australia, and a pioneer runholder of the Canterbury region of New Zealand.
John Hill was an English explorer of South Australia and part of the European exploration of Australia. Hill was the first European to see and traverse the Clare Valley.
The Spalding railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network which branched from the Peterborough line at Riverton and passed through the Clare Valley to Spalding. The line opened from Riverton to Clare on 5 July 1918, being extended to Spalding on 9 January 1922. The cessation of railway services was a consequence of the Ash Wednesday bushfires in February 1983, which caused major damage to infrastructure between Sevenhill and Penwortham. The line was formally closed on 17 April 1984.
Hill River is a locality in the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia, about 127 kilometres north of the Adelaide city centre. It is bisected by the Hill River, an ephemeral stream from which it derives its name. Its boundaries were created in January 2001 for the “long established name.”
Auburn railway station was located on the Spalding railway line. It served the town of Auburn, South Australia.
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