STIRLING IN THE HILLS

Beyond Mt. Lofty, it was once all stringybark forest visited by the Kuarna aboriginal people of the plains. Then in the 1830's and 1840's the "tiersmen" moved in - woodcutters, cattle duffers and sheep thieves. Today, they've been supplanted by affluent, inviting Stirling dwellers. It's a pretty dormitory suburb to some, an old-fashioned hills village community to others, as the grand old oaks suggest, and to the rest of us it's a nice spot for a drive…..plenty of bakeries and cafes to entice us, too, if the gorgeous Autumn colours aren't quite enough.

Our Postcards tour takes us to see how the new Mt Barker Road through the hills created a rustic village and the arrival of the railway turned it into a cool haven for the rich and powerful. There was no Stirling township until the coach road took a new route through to Mt. Barker and Melbourne. The first part of the town is downhill from today's retail centre, on the way to Aldgate. A canny Scot, Peter Prankerd, laid out the first section and named it after a countryman who'd settled in Strathalbyn and became a parliamentarian. He was Edward Stirling. There are still visible signs of the original rural hamlet.

The centrepiece of old Stirling is the simple and solid old Ashton Memorial Church, named after a well-loved pastor, James Ashton by the Bible Christians who built it in 1878. Worshippers attended till it closed in 1983, and now devotees of fine art and craft come to admire and buy from the beautiful collections within and without the Aptos Cruz Gallery.

Next door, the original general store has a new twenty-first century function too as an ethnic restaurant. Lovers of Indian curries dine in very historic surrounds. Carpenter John Milford bought land here when it first became available in 1855. An active churchman over the fence and Town Clerk for Crafers, John ran a Post Office, general store and smithy here.

Autumn is a specially good time for a bite in Stirling's modern centre - and a healthy walk afterwards. You can include the substantial Stirling Hotel with its ornate ironwork on the upstairs verandah in your itinerary again. After a seven-year closure, it's open and playing a major role in the town again. Always a landmark (we found a compelling picture of Australia Day celebrations in front of it during World War I) the first landlord had cunningly worked out that the coach passengers on the new road through the hills would need to slake their thirst. And so "The Halfway House" to Mt Barker began.

On the opposite side of the old highway, the tall oak lined park is home to a monthly market and the library or council centre can provide your walk brochures. They guide you to Avenue Road, with more oaks glowing in the autumn sun. They overhang a Memorial Bandstand, a retired and colourfully daubed steamroller in a playground and the live theatre venue for the hills, the old Institute.

For botanic age and beauty, however, Druids Avenue off the main street is hard to beat. In warm red seasonal garb, they were planted back in 1890 by the Pride of the Hills Druids Lodge. The Stirling West brochure leads you to the top of the grove to what is probably the first stone cottage in the district. In was built around 1856 by one, George Brown, who lived in a hollow tree while he was constructing it…with his wife Cecilia and baby Israel. The family prospered, moved into a bigger house next door, and George lived to the ripe old age of 106.

Stirling's main street, the Mt Barker Road that comes off the freeway, has always enjoyed a well-planted garden feel, and with the help of the Council walks leaflets, we can enjoy more gardens and the grander, almost hidden side of the area up on the ridge and over towards the Mt. Lofty railway station.

The old summit station is now run successfully as a backpackers and budget accommodation house. In the 1880's it brought grand estates and huge fortunes to the hills. The first official train trip, however, was not propitious. Somehow, the Governor's carriage was unhitched in Blackwood and he was left behind!

Soon after, though, men of high station and wealth came to build great mansions and gardens. They even issued black and white postcards of them when the trees were small (we included some of the photographs reproduced in "Under Mt Lofty", the district history and more from the historical society collection in the council library). Now, these cool retreats from hot work in the city are all but hidden by the lush growth of exotic trees and giant camellias and rhododendrons. Imposing gateposts, distant gables, a glimpse of stone and cast iron lacework…it's a green game of hide and seek on your tour through gracious and expensive Stirling.

Back on Mt. Barker Road, the town centre lifestyle's pretty attractive too. There are several cafes with outdoor tables under glorious autumn-tinted liquidambar and oak trees. And now you can add informative walks to your list of attractions in one of the most beautiful parts of the Adelaide Hills. In Autumn, you're seeing the very best side of Stirling.

Details:
A Walk along Stirling Main Street
A Walk along Stirling West

Brochures available from:
Adelaide Hills Council Library
Stirling Branch
61 Mt Barker Road, Stirling South Australia
Phone: 08-8408-0420
Fax: 08-8339-5470
www.ahc.sa.gov.au

Adelaide Hills Council Customer Service Centre
63 Mt Barker Road, Stirling South Australia
Phone: 08-8408-0420
www.ahc.sa.gov.au

For more information about the Adelaide Hills consult: www.visitadelaidehills.com.au