The Tunnels Wine Storage: Keith explores these tunnels in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia
The Adelaide Hills are one of the defining features that help make Adelaide such a livable city. After all, where else can you be strolling through beautiful unspoilt Aussie bushland just 20 minutes from the city?
They're a selling point for Adelaide these days but as the young colony of South Australia grew getting goods out of the hills and down to the markets in town was a real feat. Bullock drays and wagons were the order of the day but it was soon realised a more efficient mode of transport was needed. The challenge went out and one of colonial South Australia's major engineering feats was underway - a tunnel through the hills.
The original single-track Sleeps Hill line and tunnels are in the Waitparinga Reserve. Named after a local shepherd, Samuel Sleep, there are two tunnels - one 170 metres long and the other 360 metres.
Dave Munro has found a novel use for the disused tunnels. The constant 17 degrees provides the ideal environment for commercial and private collections of wine.
Dave Munro: "We had one guy who brought two bottles of Grange and said I want to store these for 20 years for my daughter's 21st."
The 1880 tunnels took four years of backbreaking work to dig and were used by the old RX90 steam trains, similar to Goolwa's Cockle Train, which carefully crawled their way along the old track through the hills and over long tall, spider like viaducts built over the steep gullies.
They were decommissioned in 1920 and for the next 60 years they produced 2-thousand boxes of mushrooms a week.
During World War Two Adelaide was in fear of Japanese air raids so one tunnel was used to store ammunition and the other to hide some of the state's treasures. Valuable pieces from the Museum and Art Gallery's collections were stored here until the threat passed.
Liquid treasures are now locked safely away in the tunnels. This is your ultimate bomb shelter - Dave reckons just bring your cheese and bickies!
The Tunnels Wine Storage is on Railway Terrace in Panorama. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
The Tunnels Wine Storage
4 Railway Tce
Panorama
Dave Munro Ph 0403 161 462Published 18th May 2008
