A History of The Barossa Valley... 

First settled in 1842 the Barossa Valley is steeped in rich history and culture, which is predominantly German, and with a very strong Lutheran influence.  This cultural and religions heritage remains very prominent today.    

The four main towns in the Barossa Valley each have their own uniqueness.  Tanunda, considered to be the most tourist of all the towns, was settled by Germans and retains much of this cultural influence.  Nuriootpa is the commercial centre of the Barossa Valley and was settled by a mixture of German and English settlers.  Angaston, considered the most English town of the region, was settled mostly by English settlers.  And Greenock, a quaint farming town, is known as "little Scotland" and was settled by Scottish settlers. 

The Barossa Valley was settled originally by an adventurous and hard working group of 25 German families who chose to move to the region in 1842 to start a new life for themselves, in order to escape religious persecution.  Over the following months and years many more families followed, as they began hearing reports of what the region had to offer in the way of quality soil and perfect climate for grape growing.  It was one of the original families who settle in the Barossa who bought with them a vine clipping all the way from Germany in the hope of being able to grow enough grapes to make their much loved style of traditional tasting wine.  With the rich clay soils of the region and the continental temperate climate, it was no wonder that news quickly spread back to Germany of the great potential these original settlers saw for growing and making quality wines in this area. 

These first settlers were hard working, conscientious and committed to keeping their strong heritage.  They set up Lutheran churches, schools, and held strongly to strict grape growing and wine making traditions.  They established many cultural festivals and events in order to celebrate their heritage and ensure it was protected and passed down from generation to generation over the coming years.  It was their dedication to such culture, religion, history, and tradition that makes the Barossa Valley what it is today.  Its evidence is seen in every aspect of community life. 

Although the German settlers were the most dominant, there were English, Irish and Scottish settlers who also came to the Barossa Valley and established Catholic, Anglican and Methodist Churches throughout the region also.  The evidence of these settlers is seen in some of the different towns in the area.  When you first come to the Barossa Valley you immediately get a feel for their strong heritage and culture, and it is certainly an enjoyable experience that one does not want to miss out on.