Heart of the Hills Market at Lobethal with Keith Conlon: In the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia

For more than a hundred years the Onkaparinga Woollen Mills were by far the biggest landmark in Lobethal. Sadly the looms fell quiet in 1993 but the buildings are buzzing again as home to the Heart of the Hills Market.

It’s got all the essential ingredients for a good country market - fresh fruit and vegies, home-style and gourmet produce from home kitchens and the many small producers who call the hills home.

“These are the chilli burners that have peperoni and chilli on the outside to give you a bite and a bit of a burn the next day…” laughed one stallholder, showing off his wares.

As you move through the aisles, you’re on a ‘virtual’ tour of the Adelaide Hills but the tastes are real. Terry and Rosemary’s Gourmet at Heart stall says it all - I sampled some delightful mustard oil produced at Waterfall Gully before admiring handmade scarves made from their own Alpacas.

And what about Di’s homemade jam and pickles a little further along the aisle? The country show ribbons on the wall say it all. “How much time do you spend making jam?” I asked. “Oh, a heck of a lot of time because I sell a heck of a lot too.” replied Di.

The market has its own special feel - thanks in part to its priceless setting. They don’t build ‘em like this any more and the exposed beams of the old saw-tooth roof have hovered over a long history. The boys from the Lobethal Heritage Association have gone out of their way to maintain some reminders of the days when the shed was producing fine woollen blankets at a frantic rate.

“The town of Lobethal was built around the mills,’ said Brian Brock. “Without the Onkaparinga Mill, there would never have been a town of Lobethal.”

Well, certainly not as big anyway. No blankets these days but there’s still plenty of wool to keep you warm. You have to call on the Gumeracha Spinners and Weavers. The girls spend more time than they are willing to admit spinning, knitting, felting and weaving their way through bucket loads of wool - literally.

“That’s how it all starts,” explained Gloria Schubert as she held op a box of wool straight off a sheep’s back. “The sheep grow it, the shearer shears it, we grab it and we spin it.”

As you chose yourself a nice warm beanie or hand-made jumper, you can appreciate the work that’s gone into it.

“It might take me a day to fill a spool at this rate. So that’s eight days to create a jumper’s worth.” said Gloria.

The Heart of the Hills market is the brainchild of Michael and Pene Willoughby.

“A lot of crafts people seem to live in the Adelaide Hills and we’ve given them a venue here that is just perfect for them to show off their wares,” said Michael. “It allows them to promote their wares without great expense as they don’t have to pay big rent for a retail shop.”

Of course, you don’t go to the market just to shop - you go to meet the characters. In this case you can even ‘spin a yarn’ over a cup of tea and the dangerously tempting snacks at the Spinning Yarns Coffee Shop.

One bloke you’re likely to meet is leather craftsman, Trevor Smith. He doesn’t have far to come - his weekday leather craft workshop is out the back. Trevor reckons he took the ‘ugg’ out of ugg-boots forty years ago! He’s gone from boot-maker to bag maker - that’s when he wasn’t being a pro wrestler called Strangler Smith!

“I got to wrestle the biggest wrestler in the world - Andre the Giant,” said Trevor. “He was also a movie star. The first time I wrestled him I lasted forty seconds and I got paid a dollar a second!”

If you want to get the feel of anywhere in the hills or early South Australia, the stall to visit is Memoir Photos. It’s a goldmine of our state history. Rhonda and Neil Lacey have more than 500 black and white photos in their collection ranging from the late 1800s to the 1950s.

“People have lots of stories to tell when they come with information and we try to keep notes so that we can build our history and information base,” said Rhonda.

The old Onkaparinga Mill creates the perfect link between the photos and their heritage links with the hills.

And that’s the case with the whole market really - it’s the perfect blend of local produce, local talent and delightful people. And with the gas heaters going, the colder and wetter it gets outside the cosier it feels inside.

The Heart of the Hills Market is in the old Woollen Mills at Lobethal and is open every Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.

Heart of the Hills Market
Old Woollen Mills
Lobethal
Open Sat, Sun & Public Holidays 10am - 4pm