REGION
Formal European settlement of South Australia began in 1836, with exploration, survey, and settlement of the good lands progressively radiating from Adelaide. In 1842 the survey teams made their mark in a fertile valley north of Mount Horrocks. This was the most northerly progression of the land division at the time and laid out the sections for what we now call Polish Hill River. The history of the land tenure of the region from that time to 1990 is documented by William Pattullo in his Land History of Polish Hill River (ISBN 0 646 03649 1).
The first man to purchase land in this area was Arthur Young, Esquire, of Aberdeen, on 15 June 1842. At this time the geographical description of the region was simply Hill River.
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The fortunes of this region were given a fillip in 1845 with the discovery of copper ore at the Burra Burra, to the north. In time the Burra mine proved itself to be the richest copper mine in the world, but the land around it was harsh and dry, and a market was quickly established for the supply of fresh produce from Hill River.
The "Gulf Road" between the mine and Port Henry (now Port Wakefield) operated during the 1850s and officially ran through Mintaro and south of Mount Horrocks. An alternative gulf road also existed through Penwortham and North of Mount Horrocks, which traversed the Hill River survey.
Despite being the first survey in the area, Hill River never became a centre of commerce. That honour fell to the later settlements along the main north road, the largest of which was Clare.
South Australia had been founded on strongly Protestant principles, with Clare representing a Catholic outpost of Irish. Paradoxically, the founding fathers of South Australia established their province on the foundation of offering a home to those escaping religious persecution. In 1851, a mission of Austrian Jesuits arrived in Adelaide, and was dispatched north to the Irish at Clare as being the best hope of achieving support (and no doubt the furthermost possible from the bigotry of the capital). That mission established Sevenhill, named for the seven hills of Rome, and with the grand intention of establishing itself as the headquarters of Jesuit Catholicism on Australia. (Clare-A District History, by Robert J Noye, 1975, ISBN 0 86946 144 3).
In 1856 a community of Poles from the Dabrowka region arrived at Port Adelaide. This was a group of deeply religious Catholics who had fled religious persecution of their homeland. The most popular version of history is that one of the Sevenhill Jesuit priests travelled to Port Adelaide and herded the group north to Sevenhill, for fear that they may fall in with the Lutherans of the Barossa. (Mlodystach - a family history of Polish Pioneers, 1985, ISBN 0 9589586 0 2, documents the fragmentation of a family between Barossa Lutheranism and Sevenhill Catholicism.)
On 22 January 1857, Joseph Niemetz was the first Polish Name to appear on the register of land holders. Others rapidly followed and within a few years, most of the original Hill River survey was held by Poles. No surprise that it eventually became known as Polish Hill River. Other Polish families to settle the region were Nykiel, Polomka, Malycha, Wayman (or Waymen, Weiman), Seipelt, Kostera, Kluska, Rucioch, Drula, and Pawelski.
These Poles worshipped at Sevenhill, but the Sevenhill Jesuits did not conduct the mass in Polish, prompting the small community to eventually build its own church in the heart of Polish Hill River, and to secure a Polish priest, Father Leon Rogalski. Father Rogalski saw it as his mission to keep his community together, and appears to have achieved that aim during his lifetime. During the early years of the 20th century the community began to disintegrate, as families sought larger farm holdings. Many moved north to Petersburg (now Peterborough), and by the 1990s there was not a Polish name or a descendant of those settlers living in Polish Hill River.
The little church and its adjacent school room have been restored and are open as a museum one day each month.
HISTORY OF WINE IN POLISH HILL
The Nykiel family is credited with being the first of the Polish settlers to cultivate the vine, and in time most landholders had a small garden with assorted fruit trees and a small patch of vines. They were essentially mixed farming operations, and cereal and livestock provided most of the income. Legend is that most of these families made a little wine for their own consumption.
During the 1890s there was a large vineyard development, by Clare doctor, John Bain, comprising 100 acres adjacent to the Mintaro Road. We do not know if Bain had intended to construct a winery, however during the 1890s, Bain lost considerable money on mining ventures. He died in 1903, and the property was purchased by the Main brothers, who constructed their Nyora winery during 1904.
Nyora was planned to produce 10,000 gallons during its first vintage, but by 1908 Nyora had ceased to function as a winery, and the Main brothers had leased the property. All of Doctor Bain's vines were removed, and the for many years the old winery operated as an apple-packing shed. The Nyora ruins are a prominent landmark adjacent to a bend in the Mintaro Road.
Thereafter, until the 1970s, what vines existed in Polish Hill River were the small garden plantings as part of the mixed farming operations.
In 1980 The Wilson Vineyard commenced winemaking operations at Polish Hill River. Explosive is an appropriate description of the vineyard and winery development that has occurred in Polish Hill River during the 1980s and 1990s.
There are now three wineries operated by family businesses. Beringer Blass has major vineyards and there are a number of growers contracted to other operators.
CLARE VALLEY HISTORY RESOURCES
Here is a listing of the local historical organisations, and their contact details
Clare Regional History Group
Concerns itself mainly with the northern (Clare) end of the Valley, and is very active in family history research. Their website includes a listing of useful reference books for sale.
Mount Horrocks Historical Society
Strongly involved in the history of Watervale, Penwortham, and Auburn.
Contact address is P.O. Box 26, Watervale 5452.
Mintaro Historical Society
Concerned with the history and families of the town and surrounds.
Contact Martin Smith (08) 8843 4292 or Derek Bolton (08) 8843 9220.
Polish Pioneer Descendants' Group
Concerns itself mainly with the family and social history of the 19th century wave of Polish migration that settled at Polish Hill River, and other parts of South Australia.
Contact Tony Pawelski
Polish Hill River Church Museum Closely aligned to the above group. The Museum is open on the first Sunday of each month (but not if New Year's Day, or Easter Sunday): 11.00 am to 4.00 pm.