A brief history of Meadows
The original residents of the Meadows area were the Peramangk Aboriginal people, and there are Peramangk people today who are keeping their cultural traditions alive.
Peramangk names are still in use, such as Battunga (as in Battunga Park, Road and country) which means place of big trees.
The Meadows area was surveyed in 1839, land was sold in 1840, and the land on which Meadows is situated was subdivided in 1859 into township allotments. It is this latter date that has been selected as the founding date for the community, with the year-long 150th celebration held in 2009.
Farming has been a key industry from the earliest days, with crops of barley, wheat, oats, potatoes and peas. Both cattle and sheep were grazed, but dairy farms soon began to dominate. In 1953 it was estimated that ninety per cent of the district’s rural production was concerned with milk.*
Forestry has also been important, as evidenced by extensive plantings in the nearby Kuitpo forest areas. Undoubtedly, the most famous resident of the Meadows area was Sir Douglas Mawson of Antarctica fame, and it was Mawson who established a hardwood mill in the district. The main street of Meadows bears his name.
The first schoolroom was begun in 1872, and the Meadows Primary School continues to be a centre of community life. The first Methodist Chapel was built in the 1840’s and the foundation stone of St. George’s Anglican Church was laid in 1869. The local hotel, known then as The Meadows Inn, was licensed in 1856.
*quoted from 150 Meadows 2009, p.6 (program guide for Meadows 150 celebrations)
Meadows Memorial Hall History
The site of the Meadows Memorial Hall has been an important focus for the community for more than 120 years. Originally it was a dairy factory. Later, it becames the towns hall.
The Kondoparinga Butter Factory Company was official registered in 1890. Farmers from around the district brought their milk to the factory on Mawson Road. It was very noisy and dusty with the clatter of milk cans, and the sound of horses and carts on the dirts roads.
Part of the original stone factory remains in what is now the kitchen of the hall. A new red brick factory was built around the old one in 1937 for the SA Farmers Union. Many local men worked here producing cheddar and romano cheese for export.
In 1939 when the Black Friday bushfires threatened the town women and children sheltered in the factory.
“On the day that Meadows was really under threat, all the women and children were evacuated down to the Farmers Union factory and they’d emptied out all the vats and filled them up with water and the kids all got chucked in the cheese vats to keep them cool and keep them out of mischief” Quote from Barry Ellis
The SA Farmers Union Factory closed in 1967. In 1975 local man, Mr Ken Secker, suggested that the factory be converted into a town hall. An impressive community driven project involving much fundraising and hard work, supported by the local council, transformed the factory into the wonderful community facility that exists today.
The Meadows Memorial Hall was officially opened in 1978. The previous town hall was a wood and iron building near the entrance to the recreation grounds. It was pulled down in the early 1970s because it was termite ridden.
“The Opening was a “grand gala night, standing room only. Nine hundred odd people we had there. It’s only licensed for two hundred and sixty, so you can imagine how crowded it was, and it hasn’t got all the rooms on the back that we’ve got nowadays, so it was very crowded, very busy – big night.”
Quote from Pat Rowe (nee Parker), inaugural Life Member of the Meadows Memorial Hall
Today the hall is used for a range of community and private events such as the monthly market, the award winning Meadows Easter Fair, meetings, concerts, dances and parties. It is managed by volunteers on the Meadows Memorial Hall Board on behalf of the Mount Barker District Council.
Meadows Antarctic Connection
The site of the Meadows Memorial Hall has been an important focus for the community for more than 120 years. Originally it was a dairy factory. Later, it becames the towns hall.
The Kondoparinga Butter Factory Company was official registered in 1890. Farmers from around the district brought their milk to the factory on Mawson Road. It was very noisy and dusty with the clatter of milk cans, and the sound of horses and carts on the dirts roads.
Part of the original stone factory remains in what is now the kitchen of the hall. A new red brick factory was built around the old one in 1937 for the SA Farmers Union. Many local men worked here producing cheddar and romano cheese for export.
In 1939 when the Black Friday bushfires threatened the town women and children sheltered in the factory.
“On the day that Meadows was really under threat, all the women and children were evacuated down to the Farmers Union factory and they’d emptied out all the vats and filled them up with water and the kids all got chucked in the cheese vats to keep them cool and keep them out of mischief” Quote from Barry Ellis
The SA Farmers Union Factory closed in 1967. In 1975 local man, Mr Ken Secker, suggested that the factory be converted into a town hall. An impressive community driven project involving much fundraising and hard work, supported by the local council, transformed the factory into the wonderful community facility that exists today.
The Meadows Memorial Hall was officially opened in 1978. The previous town hall was a wood and iron building near the entrance to the recreation grounds. It was pulled down in the early 1970s because it was termite ridden.
“The Opening was a “grand gala night, standing room only. Nine hundred odd people we had there. It’s only licensed for two hundred and sixty, so you can imagine how crowded it was, and it hasn’t got all the rooms on the back that we’ve got nowadays, so it was very crowded, very busy – big night.”
Quote from Pat Rowe (nee Parker), inaugural Life Member of the Meadows Memorial Hall
Today the hall is used for a range of community and private events such as the monthly market, the award winning Meadows Easter Fair, meetings, concerts, dances and parties. It is managed by volunteers on the Meadows Memorial Hall Board on behalf of the Mount Barker District Council.