Soldier's Memorial Hall
Community Co-Op Store
The Vine Inn Hotel
Coulthard House
Coulthard House was built in 1958 ny William Coulthard, founder of Nuriootpa township.
He with his wife and children were to live in the beautiful bluestone house.
More Information to Come
The refurbishment team for Coulthard House
Coulthard House
Nuriootpa Soldier's Hall Memorial
The Vine Inn Today, 2015
The Vine Inn Today, 2015
The Vine Inn
A local landmark in the Barossa for over 150 years, the Vine Inn Barossa celebrated its 75th year of community ownership in 2012, and is still serving as a great community focused facility.
As a community owned business, all hotel profits are returned to the region through sponsorship and donations to local sporting and service clubs, schools, kindergartens and community projects.
Further History Information Coming Soon!
The Co-Op Community Store
The history of cooperatives in Australia stretches back to the 1850s. ‘Co-ops’, as they are affectionately known, are an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations, through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
Co-ops are representative of a collaborative way of life, of true community spirit.
The Barossa Community Store in Nuriootpa is Australia’s largest and most successful
surviving Rochdale co-operative store. It is located in the Barossa Valley, the centre of one
of Australia’s major wine growing regions.
THE NURIOOTPA CO-OP
Struck by grief when his son never returned from the battlefields of World War Two, Harold Sheard, owner of Sheard’s Self Service Stores, set his eyes on retirement. His plan had been to pass his store onto his son, but with those dreams shattered he faced two alternatives: sell the store, or close its doors forever.
Community leaders rallied together to form the Nuriootpa Co-operative and purchased Sheard’s, securing the store’s future with an initial issue of 7500 one-pound shares, held in trust by the first committee of management.
As it remains today, the philosophy was to share profits with members at the end of each trading year.
Some 68 years later with 1800 co-operatives operating in Australia, the Barossa Co-op as it is known today is ranked among the top 50 with over 14,000 members and employing 300 staff.
Sources:
The Co-Op Website: http://barossa.coop/history/
Historical Source Library:
<http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/7053/1/BalnavePatmore.pdf>
Nuriootpa
The area of Nuriootpa was surveyed in 1841 by W. Jacob.
It was settled soon after by William Coulthard, who first established a hotel to cater to the bullock team drivers passing through.
The Coulthard’s were later joined by the family of Matthias Lange.
The name Nuriootpa is derived from the aboriginal word, meaning Meeting place.
This is thought to be because large numbers of aboriginal people once gathered there to trade and it was a town passed through on the way to Kapunda.
In 1850 the first settlement of the township began as it was divided into blocks and bought by German and British people.
In 1856, it was officially declared a town.
The Coulthard families large bluestone home and serval early settler’s cottages survive in the Main Street to this day.
After the turn of the century several large wineries were developed in Nuriootpa, part of why this town is now a famous icon of the Barossa Valley. Known for Penfolds Wines, Kaesler Wines and later on Eldertons Wines.
Following World War Two Nuriootpa was developed as the modern commercial focus of the Valley.
Since the 1930s, Nuriootpa has often been cited as a textbook example of inspired community development.
The Community Co-Op was established and as such the town's community owned and operated retail businesses have funded many important public facilities, including the Senior Citizens' Club, the swimming pool, and the kindergarten and recreation areas.
Sources:
TEXT: Barossa Valley Heritage Study, Lester Firth and Murton Pty Ltd, May1981.
WEBSITE: Barossa Village: Golden Jubilee, Nuriootpa's Stories :<http://www.barossavillage.org/Documents/Time%20Line%20Book%202013%20-%20Final%20for%20web.pdf>
Nuriootpa Soldiers Memorial Hall was erected in memory of those who served in World War One. The foundation stone was laid in 1924 and the hall was opened in 1925.
A piece from The Register (Adelaide), 9 June 1925, reads:
'The Nuriootpa Soldier's' Memorial Hall was opened yesterday by Sir Henry Barwell. Service was conducted by the Rev. Mr. Smith, assisted by the Rev. Lewis James. The President (Mr. Craig) occupied the chair. The hall is of two stories in front, and contains a gallery.'
Sources:
Monument Australia: http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww1/display/51364-nuriootpa-soldiers-memorial-hall/