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Watervale is a town on the
Horrocks Highway Main North Road is the major north-south arterial route through the suburbs north of the Adelaide City Centre in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. It continues north through the settled areas of South Australia and is a total of long, fro ...
in the Clare Valley, South Australia, approximately 9 kilometres north of
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
and 15 kilometres south of
Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...
. It is surrounded by a number of small wineries and several B&Bs. The '' Riesling Trail'' runs past the town to the west, between the Highway and the Skilly Hills. The town has a number of 19th-century heritage buildings, including the former Stanley Grammar School, which now provides private bed and breakfast accommodation.


History

Watervale is located on Eyre Creek, which is a tributary of the Wakefield River. The area on which the town was settled was originally granted to a pioneer named David Davies in 1847 by
Governor Robe A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
, and he named this section of land ''Watervale''. The area was settled by a number of Protestant families who founded a Bible Methodist Church in the township. The current Uniting Church and accompanying hall are examples of such colonial constructions in the area. The second vineyard in the Clare Valley was planted by Valentine Mayr, who planted four acres at 'Pomona', Watervale in 1852, and made his first wine in 1856. He had thirty acres planted with shiraz and verdelho, which is now the site of Crabtree Watervale Wines, located on Main North Road north of Watervale. The heritage listed Quelltaler Estate dates back to 1865. Francis Treloar, formerly a miner at Burra, bought 117 acres of land near Watervale in 1851, for a winery which he named Spring Vale. Treloar established the Springvale wine cellars in 1868: sections of these stone cellars, dug into the hillside (as was typical of cellars at that time) survive. In 1890 T. G. H. Buring and Carl Sobels joined forces and purchased the Spring Vale vineyard and plant. This winery subsequently was developed as Quelltaler, known more recently, as Annie's Lane. In 2017 this winery and vineyards were bought by Seppeltsfield. Hughes Park Estate, extending over 3,000 hectares, is three km from Watervale in the Skilly valley, where the first stone homestead was completed in 1860. It was built by Sir Walter Watson Hughes, who owned the Walleroo and Moonta copper mines and founded Adelaide University from his profits. Still owned by the Duncan family, over the years many Watervale residents have found work there. At present the restored two-story homestead caters for weddings and the restored 1845 worker’s cottages are now rented as a B&B.


The town today

The township boasts a general store and Post Office, Hotel, Primary School,
CFS CFS is an acronym for: Organizations * Canadian Federation of Students * Canadian Forest Service * Center for Financial Studies, a research institute affiliated with Goethe University Frankfurt * Center for Subjectivity Research, a research insti ...
unit,
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
and Uniting churches, a garage, a small number of local businesses, wineries, and a variety of recreational facilities at the "Watervale Soldiers' Memorial Park" (tennis club, tennis courts and a bowling green). Several Bed and Breakfast and Holiday Cottages are available for rent, including Watervale Retreat, Battunga B&B, Quince Cottage. The town can be readily accessed from the Riesling Trail. The historic Grandstand overlooking the town oval was renovated in 2010. As part of the Clare Valley, the area is known for Riesling. Cabernet and Shiraz wines are also produced. Local wineries include Crabtree Watervale Wines, Stephen John Wines and Annie's Lane. A local artist of note is Harry Sherwin. Watervale hosts an annual 'Day on the Green' concert at Annie's Lane, attracting up to 6,000 concert-goers. The Watervale Foresters Hall, which in more recent years had been used by the community for meetings, art classes and a children's playgroup, had by 2009 fallen into disrepair. It was subsequently sold by the Watervale Community Association following considerable controversy and is now in private ownership.


Governance

Watervale is in the District Council of Clare and Gilbert Valleys, the state
electoral district of Frome Frome is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It is named after Edward Charles Frome, the third surveyor-general of South Australia. The electorate stretches north-eastwards from the Gawler River and Gu ...
, and the Australian House of Representatives
Division of Grey The Division of Grey is an Australian electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 October 1903 and is named for Sir George Grey, who wa ...
.


See also

*
Stanley Football Association The Stanley Football Association was an Australian rules football competition based in the Clare Valley region of South Australia, Australia. It operated between 1915 and 1936 with breaks in 1916-17 and 1919 due to World War I. Brief history The ...


References

{{Authority control Towns in South Australia Mid North (South Australia)