Nairne with Keith Conlon: In the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia
Nairne is a ‘quaint, pretty, Englishy looking, sweet smelling little town’. That’s what the Nairne Tourist Bureau said of the little Adelaide Hills town way back in 1908. With the help of an up to date walking tour brochure, I think you’ll find it’s living up to its reputation pretty well.
In the early 1900s they also said it was one of the most attractive ‘get-at-able’ of the hills towns and that’s certainly the case today. To get there, take the SouthEastern Freeway from the city, get off at the Mount Barker exit and continue through Littlehampton.
It sure beats the stagecoach days when it took fifteen bumpy hours travelling through the hills. That explains why Nairne welcomed the arrival of the Adelaide Hills railway in 1883. The train trip was only 2 hours from Adelaide.
The train was good for Nairne’s industries too - especially the local bacon factory. The story goes that the enterprising kids of the town earned some handsome pocket money herding the pigs and cattle down the main street from the station.
No doubt the ladies of the town ran to close their garden gates on market day
The area’s first big landholder founded Nairne. Scottish lawyer, Matthew Smillie advertised blocks in the town in 1839. We met up with local history buff, Rosemary Pay in the market Square - a parcel of land Smillie put aside in the centre of town for picnics, meetings, stock sales and the like.
“Matthew Smillie was a Scottish lawyer who came here to be a landowner,” Rosemary explained. “He had four thousand acres but he didn’t want to be a farmer so he had tenant farmers on his land.”
With the aid of the walking tour brochure, Rosemary took us to Nairne’s picturesque pioneer cemetery. The land is another land gift from Matthew Smillie and you can’t miss the founding family’s memorial.
“As you can see on the monument, Matthew Smillie was married to Elizabeth Course Nairne so Nairne was named after his wife.” Said Rosemary.
“On a Sunday, she would be driven to town on a dray with a big sofa strapped to it and her servant was a rather tall Afro-American with a silk topper. He would drive her up the hill to church. It must have been quite a site.”
The early farmers earned Nairne a burst of international fame. In the mid 19th century, wheat reaped on the slopes under Mount Barker won gold medals in London and Paris.
And in the paddocks on the road into town - one Amos William Howard changed the face of Australian agriculture. In 1889 he discovered subterranean clover growing in a paddock now covered in vineyards.
By harvesting the seeds and distributing them around Australia he helped transform millions of hectares of worn out wheat country into productive pasture.
Look out for the monument to his groundbreaking efforts under the giant redgum next to the road.
Back in town, things were booming - by the 1860s the legendary John Dunn had bought the Albert Mill - one of 10 steam-driven mills he’d own around the state.
Wander along the main street and you’ll see lots of substantial stone buildings that point to the busy times.
“There were two copper mines at Kanmantoo and Callington,” said Rosemary. “The smelters were near Nairne and what with the miners and the smelters, the wage for the month was two thousand pounds and that had to be spent somewhere. With three pubs in the town I think it was pretty wild on a Saturday night.”
In the main street, look out for the hand made meat hooks that are still on Jackson’s old butcher shop that served the district for three generations. The stable out the back was where they fed and watered the delivery horses.
There’s been a public house where the District Hotel stands for more than a century and a half. Underneath are the old police troopers’ quarters and cells. They were used until the newer police station and lock-up was built over the road.
Henry Timmins’ original tannery is still down by the creek - later to be used as a bacon factory. Out front is Mr Timmins’ leather shop, which he had built in a style reminiscent of his native Cornwall. It’s now full of reminders of Queen Victoria’s Empire as Upstairs Downstairs.
Every town needs and institute and of course, Nairne’s has played its role including a repository of local memorabilia.
Also on the main street you’ll find the trunk of a massive old gum tree. They reckon the branches stretched right across and touched the verandah of the pub on the other side of the street.
It’s just one piece of Nairne history that you’ll find with the aid of the new walking brochure. Pick one up at either of the hotels or any of the shops. It’s a great way to see one of the most ‘get-at-able’ of the hills towns.
Do the walk anytime but they’d love to see you at Founders Day on Sunday November 13, 2005. There’ll be full-guided walks, period dress - the works.
Nairne ‘An Historical Walking Tour’ free brochure available from most Nairne businesses.
Nairne Founders Day
Sunday 13 November 2005
If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au. You can also visit www.visitadelaidehills.com.au for more info on the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia
