Meadows 150 Anniversary: Keith relives the history of the town in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia

The quiet and historic town of Meadows is celebrating its 150th anniversary. The idea to mark the landmark was hatched in the local pub. A few years ago the publican hung some historical photos and they sparked a lot of interest.

A few of the locals, like Gary Dawe got together and decided to celebrate the 150th anniversary of their town being gazetted way back in 1859. Gary's lived in Meadows all his life and he remembers when it was booming. The country that once provided well for the Peramangk people flourished as timber cutters poured in clearing the country and later working the nearby Kuitpo Forest. The high rainfall meant the district was soon dotted with farms - the newly cleared paddocks yielding tons of potatoes and lots of backbreaking work come digging time.

Gary Dawe: "I vaguely remember the main street had businesses virtually all the way along it. There were lots more jobs here too and we had a District Council of Meadows. We had two cheese factories, which closed in the 70s."

The old Kondaparinga cheese factory out the road is an art studio now but it still nestles in classic cows and blue gum Battunga Country that would have made Sir Hans Heysen weep. Back in town the old Farmers Union Cheese Factory is still an important hub - no milk cans these days though - now it's the local hall.

In its first years there was no main road to Meadows. It was so hard to find in fact that an early mail contractor got lost somewhere up in the hills trying to find it. Had to right back to Clarendon to get new directions and start again.

The main street is peppered with lovely slices of days gone by when the stagecoach used to plod along the main street. The old Odd Fellows Hall is enjoying a new life as a studio and Cleverclogs shop. Tree-changer, Julie West is adding real colour to the centre of town.

Back in the earlier days the first Wesleyan Church went up high on a hill offering heavenly views of the town and surrounding country. The old church is long gone but the little pioneer cemetery is still cared for on top of the hill. It contains some remarkable headstones made from big slabs of redgum that were cut from giant trees out towards Kuitpo Forest a few miles away. They tell us that Martha Milligan has been resting here since 1883.

Meadows' 150th celebrations will take on a special significance this year when the locals come out to play at their annual Meadows Country Fair. We're all invited to a celebration of all things country with plenty of produce, food and wine - not to mention the fun events like egg throwing competitions, milk crate stacking races and the feature event - the Udder Tug where you get to hand-milk a cow.

The big Country Fair celebrating the 150th anniversary of Meadows is on Sunday October 18, 2009. If you want to hear more on the heritage of the town, the locals have produced a DVD. You can pick one up from the Meadows Post Office or at the Country Fair. It'll pack out the local oval in the centre of town and gates open at 9am. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

Meadows Country Fair
Meadows Oval
Sun Oct 18, 2009
Adults $6 Children under 12 - free

Published 11th October 2009