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Mintaro
South Australia
Martindale Hall.JPG
Martindale Hall
Mintaro is located in South Australia
Mintaro
Mintaro
Location in South Australia
Population 188 (2016 census)
Established 1849
Postcode(s) 5415
Location
  • 126 km (78 mi) north of Adelaide
  • 18 km (11 mi) south-east of Clare
LGA(s) District Council of Clare and Gilbert Valleys
Region Mid North
State electorate(s) Frome
Federal Division(s) Grey
Localities around Mintaro:
Polish Hill River / Clare Stanley Stanley / Farrell Flat
Penwortham Mintaro Black Springs
Watervale Auburn Manoora

Mintaro is a historic town in the eastern Clare Valley, east of the Horrocks Highway, about 126 kilometres (78 miles) 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.

Mintaro was originally intended as a stopping and resting place for the bullock teams carting copper ore from the Burra mine to Port Wakefield. By 1876 the population was recorded as 400. Mintaro continued to develop as a rural service centre during the 1870s and early 1880s, when pastoral and agricultural activities boomed in the state's mid north. After 1930, there was a general decline in rural populations and little development took place within the town for several decades.

The Mintaro district includes prominent Martindale Hall and Kadlunga, two large pastoral properties. Known for its high quality, Mintaro slate is produced from what is believed to be the oldest continuing operating quarry in Australia. Although Mintaro is primarily an agricultural community, tourism plays an increasingly important role. Due to its historical and cultural significance, the entire town of Mintaro was declared a State Heritage Area for South Australia in 1984. In recent years, Mintaro has become a popular tourist destination and had increased building restoration and residential development.

History

Europeans explored the Mintaro district in mid-1839, firstly John Hill and then Edward John Eyre. The first European settler was pastoralist James Stein who from 1841 held occupation licences for extensive sheep runs stretching from Mount Horrocks through Farrell Flat to the Burra district.

Stein established his homestead on a tributary of the Wakefield River, in a vale beneath Mount Horrocks, about three kilometres west of present Mintaro, naming it Kadlunga, Aboriginal for 'sweet hills' after the abundant honeysuckle there. In following decades, with a succession of owners, Kadlunga Station became a famed sheep and horse stud. The historic stone buildings of the Kadlunga Estate are listed on the Register of the National Estate.

The town was founded in 1854 by Joseph and Henry Gilbert on land purchased by Henry Gilbert in July 1849.

Originally, and for several years, Mintaro was a busy watering stop for throngs of bullock teams travelling the Gulf Road between the copper mining town of Burra and Port Wakefield, transporting copper and coal for the Patent Copper Company.

In mid-1852, as a result of the Victorian Gold Rush, most of these teams and wagons abruptly lay idle for want of teamsters. In desperation the Patent Copper Company imported mule teams from South America and up to a hundred mules were seen to pass though the town each day. The town’s economy collapsed when the teams where rerouted to the new railhead at Gawler from 1857, but soon recovered with the growth of slate quarrying and agricultural production. The town now has tourism as its current primary industry. When the railway from Gawler was later extended through to Burra, the Mintaro railway station was 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) east of the town.

Mintaro features many original Victorian buildings, including Martindale Hall which was used in the 1975 movie Picnic at Hanging Rock, Mintaro Slate Quarries and numerous vineyards and wineries. Due to its rich natural and cultural heritage, Mintaro was the first entire town to be declared a State Heritage Area, in 1984.

Naming

Although it has been claimed in recent years that the name derives from a Spanish word meaning camp or resting place, based on the presence of South American muleteers in mid-1850s, this connection, though romantic, is incorrect as the first such muleteers did not arrive until 1853. In actual fact, the district was called Mintara in some of the earliest advertisements and the Township of Mintaro name first appeared in an advertisement of 5 November 1849. Other sources have more reliably claimed that the name is derived from the Ngadjuri word mintadloo or Minta - Ngadlu meaning netted water.

Slate and Flagstones

Mintaro’s Cambrian Period slate has a reputation for quality and has been used around the world for the manufacture of billiard tables, monuments, pavements, and many other items. Slate mining began in the 1856, helping to keep the town alive after rerouting of the mule trains. The slate received an honorable menton at the 1868 London International Exhibition and Walter Lindrum, Australian billiards champion, wrote to the quarry with congratulations on the slate’s quality.

Present

Mintaro today is an idyllic, sleepy village, popular as a tourist accommodation destination for visitors to the Clare Valley. It boasts a number of character Bed and Breakfast establishments, and the Magpie & Stump Hotel. There are 2 winery cellar doors in the town, galleries, charming eateries and a Maze.


Notable residents

Image Name Association to Mintaro Reference
Edmund Bowman Jr.jpeg Edmund Bowman Jr (1855–1921) Purchased Holm Hill at Mintaro, part of the Martindale estate and established a merino stud farm there. Built Martindale Hall in the late 1870s.
William Jethro Brown.jpeg William Brown (1868–1930) Born in Mintaro on 29 March 1868. Professor of law, political thinker, academic and jurist.
John Chewings.jpeg John Chewings (1819–1879) Owned and resided at Kadlunga. Landowner and goods supplier to the region.
Peter Cloke (born 1951) Played 28 games for Richmond Football Club in the early 1970s. Played 145 games for North Adelaide Football Club from 1975 to 1981. Finished runner-up in the 1979 Magarey Medal count. Lives in Mintaro.
Hugh Fraser SA Parliament.png Hugh Fraser (1837–1900) Emigrated to South Australia in 1863 with four brothers and worked at the slate quarry in Mintaro for four years. Subsequently, moved to Adelaide where he won the seat of West Adelaide in 1878.
Percy Hutton (1876–1951) Born in Mintaro on 2 October 1876. Played a single first-class cricket match for South Australia during the 1905–06 Sheffield Shield season scoring 30 runs.
Norman William Jolly, 1924.jpg Norman Jolly (1882–1954) Born in Mintaro on 5 August 1882. In 1904, he was the first South Australian to be chosen for a Rhodes Scholarship. Was a noted cricketer and Australian rules football player.
Michael Kelly (1905–1967) Born in Mintaro on 16 April 1905. A rheumatologist, he wrote extensively on a wide range of medical, political, historical, ethical and literary matters. Won the Geigy prize in 1958.
Charles Kimber.jpg Charles Kimber (1826–1913) Worked in Mintaro as a farmer for a time. Elected to the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Stanley in April 1887.
Alexander Melrose.jpg Alexander Melrose (1889–1962) Owned and resided at Kadlunga where he bred sheep, cattle and horses. Represented the Liberal Party in the House of Assembly seats of Burra Burra and Stanley.
John Andrew Tennent Mortlock.jpeg John Mortlock (1894–1950) Born and lived in Mintaro. Owned Martindale Hall and surrounding estate where he was a successful stud Merino sheep breeder and pastoralist.
William Tennant Mortlock.jpg William Mortlock (1858–1913) Purchased Martindale Hall and surrounding estate in 1891 where he was a successful grazier. Was elected to the seat of Flinders in the South Australian House of Assembly at the 1896 election.
Frederick Muir (1849–1921) Born in Mintaro in 1849. Played one first-class cricket match for Otago in 1872/73. The New Zealand connection is unclear.
John Jackson Oakden (1818–1884) A pastoralist and early business partner of James Stein. Oakden managed the Kadlunga property under occupational licences between 1841 until 1850.
James Stein.jpeg James Stein (1804–1877) Pioneering settler of the Mid North of South Australia and founder of the Kadlunga pastoralism estate.
Alfred (Jack) Tanner (1887–1955) Livestock authority who specialised in beef cattle. Worked for the Weston family at Kadlunga early in his working career and later married their daughter, Jean Way Weston.
James Torr (1816–1894) Arrived in Australia from England in 1847, eventually settling in Mintaro. Landowner and farmer to the district. Managed the Devonshire Hotel in Mintaro for a while. Known for many years as one of the largest landowners in the colony. Uncle of William George Torr.
Samuel James Way.jpeg Samuel Way (1836–1916) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia. Purchased Kadlunga in 1881 and owned the estate for 35 years.
Lawrence Carthage Weathers VC.jpg Lawrence Weathers (1890–1918) New Zealand-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. When he was a child of seven his family came to South Australia and settled in the Mintaro district. After leaving school, Weathers moved to Adelaide.
George Young.png George Young (c. 1822–1869) Emigrated to South Australia in 1847 and lived at Mintaro as a surveyor / land agent for several years. Represented the seat of Stanley in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1862 to 1865.

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