We started today with a clear morning in Wallaroo. Finally we could use the balcony on our apartment without getting blown away. Unfortunately, we were also packing up to leave, so I took a couple of parting shots on the way out. It’s not Monaco, but there are a few nice boats in the fake harbour.
Following breakfast we drove to Kadina, about 8 kilometres which is the third city of the ‘Copper Triangle’. Like Moonta and Wallaroo, many cornish miners settled here to mine copper until most of the mines were closed by 1938, making way for the return of agriculture as the major industry for the area. It’s a pretty tidy town with a few historical building still adorning the main street.
Notable people from Kadina are Richard Champion (Brisbane AFL Footballer and Radio Announcer) and Steve Prestwidge (Cold Chisel band member).
With our final Yorke Peninsula activity completed it was time to head to the Clare Valley. I was keen not to spend as much time in the car, so our next stop was a mere 100 kilometres. Auburn is a pretty town at the southern end of the Clare Valley with lots of history and the spring flowers that really provide a pop of colour. Auburn was established as a transport hub to connect the copper mines of Burra to Port Wakefield. It was also the home of famed Australian Poet CJ Dennis who is best known for publishing a verse novel ‘Songs for the Sentimental Bloke’ in 1915.
With midday approaching, we settled on a bite to eat at the ‘Velvet and Willow’ cellar door where we experienced a wine tasting and cheese platter special. We were treated to some really good aged wines and the cheese platter was very tasty, with the blue cheese being a stand-out. We got the impression that during the COVID years that they hadn’t been able to sell as much wine as they would have liked, so there were some pretty good specials to be had. They have a spectacular garden and some of accomodation cottages as well.
We also visited Grossett Wines, who are a small producer that only open for about 6 weeks per year. They are famous for their Reisling, and have some excellent wines that will make their way home to our house separately. We also found a country church on our way, to keep Deb’s collection of country churches alive.
In keeping with our plan to keep things simple, our last thing for today was to visit Burra, an historical mining town. It has some magnificent old buildings and country churches (for Deb’s collection), but I wanted to visit for another reason. Those who know me can attest to my being a big fan of the band ‘Midnight Oil’. The house on the cover of their ‘Diesel and Dust’ album is just outside Burra and as such I wanted to do the pilgrimage.
Despite me knowing where the house was, with the weather closing in, Deb saw what she thought was the house. I dutifully stopped, took photos of the mystery house with the weather closing in.
While similar, it was not the house. A short discussion resolved the confusion and we continued on to Burra.
I couldn’t find anyone else famous in Burra … so the Midnight Oil house will have to do.
With my requirements satisfied we drove to Clare, which will be our home for the next few days. To close out the day, we had a multi-course dinner at a restaurant called ‘Seed’ which was wonderful. I’ll leave you with some pictures of some of the things. We thought it was the best meal we’ve had so far and a great upgrade from the ‘pub’ fare on the peninsula.
Until tomorrow!
Rob's "Beats Working" Blog 