Angaston

 

In 1839 the South Australian Company Geologist, Johannes Menge, described his future vision for the valley in a letter to George Fife Angas, company Chairman then based in London, of “flourishing vineyards and orchards”.

First known by European settlers as German Pass, the Angaston area was surveyed for George Fife Angas by Anthony Forster and James Smith in 1841. 

John Howard Angas looked after his father’s South Australian interest until George Fife Angas arrived from England in 1851 and laid out and registered final plans for Angaston in 1857.  The Angas’ were prominent among the many English and Scottish families settling in the Barossa Ranges and southern parts of the valley.

Large land holdings were mostly owned by British settlers. Smaller land holdings, leased mainly by Germans from G. F. Angas, aimed at self sufficiency.

In 1842 Angas Town consisted of just one house and two dug-outs.

When the stone arch bridge was built over the creek at the western end of the village in 1865, the new road opened with better links to the Barossa Valley, the Murray River and Adelaide.  Angaston grew and developed quickly and by the 1860s there were a number of churches, a Mechanics Institute, two hotels, a police station and court house.  

The Angas family financed new public buildings and churches, promoting social and cultural life.  By 1900, the established families of Angas, Evans, Smith, Salter and Sage were enhancing the area’s reputation for agriculture, wine and fruit.

From the 1870s marble quarried at the Angaston Marble Quarries by William and James Sibley was used to great effect in almost all principal buildings. A flour mill was built in 1885 and the railway was joined to the Barossa town of Angaston in 1911. Trade increased and many substantial buildings date from this period. 

Angaston is made famous by many icons that are recognised both nationally and internationally and are a testament to the founding families of the area.

-       Yalumba Wines – The Smith and Hill-Smith Families

-       Saltram Wines/ Saltrams Restaurant

-       Angas Park Fruit (closed in 2013 – relocated to Mildura)

-       The oldest buildings of the Barossa Valley can be found in Angaston, including the believed oldest building,

                  The Union Chapel – built 1844

 

 

Sources:

Barossa Valley Heritage Study, Lester Firth and Murton Pty Ltd, May 1981.

 

 

Check out the Angaston History Website for information on all the historical icons in the beautiful town:

Angaston History Website: http://angaston.org.au/angaston-district-2/