Nuriootpa ( ) is a town in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and the major commercial centre 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 list of wine-producing regions, wine-producin ...

, about an hour's drive north of the state capital,

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. The name of the town is reputed to be the local Aboriginal word for "meeting place". Nuriootpa is situated at the north end of the

, near the

Sturt Highway Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions along the route. Initiall ...

. It has a population of over 6,500 people, making it the largest town in the area. There are vineyards surrounding the town. It is home to wineries including

Penfolds Penfolds is an Australian wine producer that was founded in Adelaide in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife Mary Penfold. It is one of Australia's oldest wineries, and is currently ...

, Elderton Wines and Wolf Blass.

History

The first recorded Europeans to visit the area, on 3 March 1838, were the exploration party of John Hill, John Oakden, William Wood, and Charles Willis, ''en route'' to the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

from Adelaide. Since the 1930s, Nuriootpa has been cited as an example of inspired community development. The town's community owned and operated retail businesses have funded public facilities, including the Senior Citizens' Club, the swimming pool, the kindergarten and recreation areas. The short-lived progressive Adelaide movement, the Common Cause Movement, arranged a visit by future Prime Minister

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), and was n ...

to Nuriootpa in 1944 which led him, inspired by its approach, to promote the town as a model for community co-operation. The Adelaide architect

Louis Laybourne-Smith Louis Edouard Laybourne Smith (1 April 1880 – 13 September 1965) was an Australian architect and educator in South Australia. Born in the Adelaide inner-southern suburb of Unley, he became interested in engineering and architecture whil ...

prepared a plan for the town's recreation and education area, known as its 'War Memorial Community Centre' at that time. Much of this plan has been realised, including Laybourne-Smith's unusual 'fan-shaped' Olympic-sized pool. The

1950 Australian Grand Prix The 1950 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Nuriootpa Road Circuit in South Australia on 2 January 1950.Programme, Australian Grand Prix Carnival, 2 January 1950, Nuriootpa Road Circuit, South Australia It was organised by the Sp ...

, which was Australia's premier motor race of that year, was held in January 1950 using the ''Nuriootpa Road Circuit'', a temporary course utilising roads in and around the town of Nuriootpa. The race was won by

Doug Whiteford Douglas Seymour Whiteford (1914 – 15 January 1979) was an Australian racing driver. Whiteford raced from the mid-1930s through to 1975 with a short period of inactivity during the 1960s.Ray Bell, Vale – Doug Whiteford, Racing Car News, Febr ...

driving a

Ford V8 Ford engines are those used in Ford Motor Company vehicles and in aftermarket, sports and kit applications. Different engine ranges are used in various global markets. 3 cylinder A series of Ford DOHC 12-valve straight-three engines with Twin Ind ...

Special. The first race meeting to use the circuit had been held in April 1949. In March 1977

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

visited the town as part of an extended tour marking her

Silver Jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

. The first stage of the

2014 Tour Down Under The 2014 Santos Tour Down Under was the 16th edition of the Tour Down Under stage race. It took place from 21 to 26 January in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and was the first race of the 2014 UCI World Tour. The race was won for a record ...

was held in Nuriootpa in January 2014, starting from the town and finishing in Angaston. The 135 km stage was won by

Simon Gerrans Simon Gerrans (born 16 May 1980) is an Australian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018, for the , , , , and squads. Post-retirement he initially worked as an athlete intern at Goldman Sachs in L ...

of Orica–GreenEDGE.

Governance

Nuriootpa's local government is the

Barossa Council Barossa Council is a local government area in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The council area covers 912 square kilometres, and had a population of over 23,000 in the 2016 Census and 25,066 in the 2021 census. History Barossa Council ...

. The northern outskirts are in the

Light Regional Council Light Regional Council is a local government area north of Adelaide in South Australia. It is based in the town of Kapunda, and includes the towns of Freeling, Greenock, Hansborough, Hewett, Roseworthy and Wasleys. The council is named for ...

. It is in the state electorate of Schubert, and Light for the outskirts. Nuriootpa is in the federal Electorate of Barker.

Facilities

Nuriootpa High School (NHS), established in 1935, is a state

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

catering for students in years 7 to 12. more than 1300 students are enrolled at the school. Its

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

is "PER ASPERA AD ASTRA - Through Adversity to the Stars".

Media

The main local newspaper covering the town is '' The Leader'', published in Angaston. Nuriootpa was home to the short-lived ''Nuriootpa and District Community Diary'' (November 1955 – November 1956), a monthly magazine subtitled "'': monthly news bulletin of the Nuriootpa War Memorial Community Centre Inc"''.

Climate

Nuriootpa has a

hot-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

( Köppen: Csa), with very warm, dry summers and cool, relatively wet winters. Average maxima range from in January to in July. Mean average annual rainfall is , with a winter maximum. There are 65.9 clear days and 144.2 cloudy days annually. Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 17 June 1959 to on 24 January 2019.

History

Governance

Facilities

Media

Climate

See also

References

Further reading