Lobethal, South Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Lobethal
state = sa


caption =
lga = Adelaide Hills Council
postcode = 5241
pop = 1,653
est = 1841
stategov = Kavel
fedgov = Mayo
dist1 = 42
location1= Adelaide

Lobethal (pronEng|ˈloʊbǝθǝl) is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, and is nestled on the banks of a creek between the hills and up the sides of the valley. It used to have a large wool processing mill, but that has now closed. The mill buildings are now used by a number of cottage industry and handcraft businesses.

History

Origin of the name

Lobethal is German for "valley of praise". [ [http://www.placenames.sa.gov.au/pno/pnores.phtml?recno=SA0018684 Place Names - Lobethal] Accessed 16 June 2006.] On the day of the division of the land, according to Reverend I. Ey's account, 'it received the name Lobethal, taken from the II Book of Chronicles, chapter 20, verse 26 [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible%2C_King_James%2C_2_Chronicles#20:26 (EN)] [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/l/luther/luther-idx?type=DIV2&byte=1851041 (DE)] , which, according to Luther's translation, means Lobethal or 'Valley of praise'. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/South-Australia/Lobethal/2005/02/17/1108500204363.html Travel - Lobethal] , "Sydney Morning Herald", 8 February 2004. Accessed 16 June 2006.]

European settlement

Lobethal [ [http://www.ahc.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=208#L Adelaide Hills Council - Historical Town Information] Accessed 16 June 2006.] was settled in 1841 by Prussian immigrants, who came out with Pastor Gotthard Fritzsche aboard the sailing vessel Skjold, who initially went to Hahndorf but were alerted to good land in the upper Onkaparinga. Many of their traditions remain to this day, although the town is not as overtly Germanic as Hahndorf or Tanunda. In 1845, St John's Lutheran Church was built, which is still in use and is now the oldest Lutheran church building in Australia.

The town, as with many German towns in South Australia, was built in typical Silesian Hufendorf style, with the cottages arranged in a line along the main street, and each family having a long, narrow strip of land (used for growing crops) stretching from the main street back to the village common, where all families could allow their animals to graze. The advantages of this layout were that everyone had access to both fresh water and the main road, and a relatively even distribution of fertile and infertile land. [ [http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/dnuttIng/GermanAustralia/e/bethany.htm German Australian Teaching Resources] , David Nutting (2001). Accessed 16 June 2006] While the town developed out of recognition (the main street was Mill Road, now the western boundary of the town), elements of the hufendorf layout remain.

In 1850, F.W. Kleinschmidt set up a brewery. It closed after about two decades when Kleinschmidt turned his attention to hop-growing - which subsequently became a focus for Lobethal's agriculture. The brewery itself was turned into the Lobethal Tweed Factory, which became the Onkaparinga Woollen Company and operated until 1992. A cricket bat factory utilising locally grown willow also operated from 1894 until 1950.

Due to the Great War in Europe, in 1917 the Federal Government changed many German place names. The name Lobethal was changed to "Tweedvale" (honouring the town's major industry), but reverted back in 1935.

Lobethal was the host town for the 1939 Australian Grand Prix motor race won by A.G. Tomlinson driving an MG. Adelaide had to wait until 1985 to host the event.

Geography

Lobethal is located between Gumeracha and Woodside along the north-south road, and east of Adelaide via Magill and Norton Summit.

At the ABS 2001 census, Lobethal had a population of 1,653 people living in 707 dwellings, making it the largest town in the northern Adelaide Hills region. There are over 450 Lutherans in Lobethal, making it the dominant affiliation.

Facilities

Lobethal contains two hotels, two primary schools and a "Country Fire Service" Station.

The Lutheran Church complex and the Archives and Historical Museum nearby, which contains a great deal of information about the lives of the German settlers, are tourist attractions, as is the Lobethal Costume Museum in the old Woollen Mills buildings which showcase costumes from 1812 through to the present.

The Old Woollen Mills Complex now houses the Heart of the Hills Market.

Fairyland Village and Fauna Park tries to provide a visual interpretation of some of Grimm's fairy tales, complete with native animals and light lunches. [ [http://www.adhills.com.au/tourism/towns/lobethal/index.htm Adelaide Hills Online - Lobethal] Accessed 16 June 2006.]

[http://www.exploringaustralia.com.au/showplace.php?s=adel&p=2399 Tourist Information on Lobethal]

Culture

The town is famous around Adelaide for its display of Christmas lights along its main streets in December each year; many residents also adorn their front gardens and verandahs with elaborate displays. The tradition began in the 1950s and is the largest Christmas display in South Australia.

In 2003 parts of Lobethal were transformed by the production of the movie "The Honourable Wally Norman". Lobethal formed one third of the town used in the movie; Mount Barker and Nairne provided other parts as well.

Transport

The area is serviced by Adelaide public transport. Buses run from Lobethal to the Adelaide CBD via the South Eastern Freeway and Onkaparinga Valley Road. There are also buses from Lobethal to Verdun Junction and Mount Barker. A coach is operated from Tea Tree Plaza Interchange to Gumeracha and Mount Pleasant by Affordable Coachlines. [ [http://www.bussa.com.au/timetables/lobethal.html Timetable] Accessed 15 June 2006]

References

External links