Loxton - River Beauty: In the Riverland region of South Australia
Lush and lively Loxton in the Riverland is a very different place today from the mallee dustbowl it once was.
The town got its name from a brilliant young horseman called William Loxton who lived down by the river, with his young wife, in a pug and pine hut. He was a boundary rider for Bookpurnong station. The old peppercorn tree right near the hut, which was planted from peppercorns he brought back from a trip past the Palmer hotel, must be at least 120 years old now. When the town was declared in 1907 they thought about calling it Mimiville or even Melba (after the famous singer), but luckily the district was already known as Loxton's Hut, so Loxton stuck.
On the rise above the site is a memorial to Charles Sturt, who passed downstream on his historic voyage in 1830. The indigenous clans he saw gave us names like Moorook and Cobdogla. And….. Bookpurnong street in Loxton.
Pick up a heritage walk brochure at the old Fire Station-turned-Visitor Centre, and it’ll lead you to an imposing sign of the town’s Germanic origins.St. Peter’s Lutheran Church is difficult to miss and quite magnificent in its gothic glory. Its opening service, in 1926, was held in both English and German and around 2000 worshippers passed through its doors on that one day.
The bustling commercial hub of the town is wide and pretty East Terrace, sloping down towards the river. It's a far cry from the early years, after 1907, when the township was initially subdivided. The updated pub, a longtime community owned property, was one of the first businesses off the rank. These days it's the Loxton Community Hotel Motel and it's a great place to stay. And the Sunday breakfast on the verandah is legendary. Just up the hill is the Institute. The names associated with its establishment - Thiele, Hamdorf, Schultz, Feckner,.. reveal the undeniable link with Loxton's German mallee farmer forebears.
The Soldiers Memorial Rotunda marks a centerpoint of Loxton. The gardens surrounding the Memorial come courtesy of laying out the road wide enough for the bullockys to turn their wagons around!
The contemporary monument near the Rotunda notes another significant contribution to the success of Loxton. The Blockers, as they were known, were the World War II returned servicemen who came and took up the blocks of an irrigation scheme, and it was their hard work in planting fruit, citrus and grapes that started the 'greening' of the Loxton district.
Loxton is strong on community and Visitor Centre Manager, Tracy Bye, points out there’s one time of year when it’s especially on show.
“Definitely at December, the rotunda and the lawns here and the trees are covered in fairy lights for our Christmas celebrations - the whole town comes alive.”
This Riverland centre really lights up for the Loxton Christmas Lights Festival and each December busloads of enthusiasts travel up from Adelaide for the annual event. More than 300 homes light up, including a huge display at Loxton North -where it all started. Tracy explains what’s special about the original display.
“ It’s called Christmas Wonderland and there’s the full little town of Bethlehem with a live donkey. It takes about 10 minutes or so to walk through the property and it’s just fantastic”.
The Christmas Festival lights up the town but all year round the work of hundreds of volunteers have brought to light the treasures of the past in the Loxton District Historical Village. Down by the river, you'll step back in time to the early days and get a sense of what is was like to live on farms and in small towns in Mallee country. As Council staffer and village stalwart Des Schliebs showed me round, he explained where it all came from.
“Well, it's a collection of the whole area. We've got a large band of volunteers here - people donate their gear, and if a building's being pulled down, we go out there and collect the materials, come back here and rebuild it.The bank is a prime example. It's from Geranium about 20 kilometres south of Allawoona, it came up on the back of a prime mover, as it is, we got it here, stood it up on site and repainted it and there it was.”
It really gives you an idea of the work involved to make this place such an authentic experience.The general store came from Allawoona, but this time in numbered pieces for reassembling here, and the chapel was built to typify the little churches that dot the mallee. At the other end of the village main street the fire engine gleams with the spirit that makes it all happen. One thousand hours of volunteer time went into its restoration.
This is not just another village – every building is fully furnished on the inside as well. And if you really want to see the village come alive then come to the Village Alive days which are.... literally that! It's when everything cranks into gear; the bakery, the barber, the dental surgeon's, the general store, the blacksmith, the chapel. All year round it’s so realistic that, according to Des, some visitors think this was the original Loxton main street!
When it comes to sensing the triumphs and tales of survival of the early settlers through here, the Loxton Historical Village couldn’t tell the tale any better.So next time you're up river, make sure you leave a lot of time to visit this extraordinary place of the past.
The Visitor Centre will tell you everything you need to know about it, along and the Christmas Lights Festival. Loxton is about 250 kilometres from Adelaide – about 3 hours for drive.
Loxton Visitor Information Centre
Bookpurnong Terrace, Roundabout,
Loxton,
South Australia.Open 7 days
Ph: 8584 7919
www.loxtontourism.com.au
