Gomersal is a locality on the western side of the
Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destina ...
in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. It is between the
Sturt Highway (which mostly bypasses the valley to the west and north) and the
North Para River
The North Para River is a river located in the Barossa Valley of the Australian state of South Australia.
The river's name is based directly on the Kaurna word ''pari'' which means river. The "north" descriptor distinguishes it from the South ...
and town of
Tanunda on the valley floor. Prior to 1918, it was known as New Mecklenburg, but like many others, the
name was changed due to anti-German sentiment in World War I. The new name was derived from the town of
Gomersal, West Yorkshire.
Gomersal Road was developed in the 1990s as a freight bypass route to assist trucks to avoid the major town centres. It connects
Barossa Valley Way south of Tanunda near
Bethany
Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...
Road west over the hills to the Sturt Highway south of
Shea-Oak Log.
Gomersal school (opened 1929) and post office are both closed, as improved road transport provides connections to the surrounding towns. The Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Schoenborn is still active on Gomersal Road. The Gomersal (formerly Neu-Mecklenburg) Good Shepherd Lutheran church was first built in 1864, the building replaced in 1925, and closed in 1970 when the congregation merged into Trinity Church,
Rosedale.
References
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Barossa Valley
Towns in South Australia