Mintaro Travel Guide

 balhannah Says:  The historic Devonshire house, started out as the Devonshire Hotel in 1856. It was the second pub in town to entertain the bullockies and was so large, it had a shooting gallery and a skittles alley.The Hotel didn't rely on Bar trade, but accommodation for tired travellers.... 

 balhannah Says:  The Magpie & Stump Hotel has been a wild pub in its time. Licensed in 1851, the Pub catered for Bullock and Mule drivers who passed through the town. Nowdays, it is restored like a typical English Pub.The former Bakers shop is part of the Pub Dining room and features the... 

 balhannah Says:  The Teapot Inn, shops and residence were originally part of an early shopping complex, which included a general store, butcher and shoemaker. It dated to the late 1850s, the Mintaro Mews, next door, opened in 1982. This building was rather pretty, as the Autumn leaves on the... 

 balhannah Says:  On my walk, I came across three attached buildings. This is where the Carpenter lived and worked. His house and shop were built in the late 1850's and used until the 1870's, when it was taken over and used as a Post Offie and Store. The Mintaro Telegraph, which opened in... 

 balhannah Says:  A couple of nice buildings that are joined together, are the Institute [1868] and the Council Chambers [1877]. In 1932, the Council amalgamated with the Clare District Council. The two buildings were not always joined together, this only happened in 1942.The buildings have... 

 balhannah Says:  Where do you find it?....At the historic village of Mintaro!The Mission Cross, dating to 1881, is situated infront of the plain Catholic Church, "Church of the Immaculate conception", built in 1856.Next to the Church, is an old cemetery with high grass, in fact, the whole... 

 balhannah Says:  We are now able to visit the inside of Martindale Hall. This come about, as a William Mortlock purchased the property from the Bowmans in the "great depression" as a wedding gift for his wife . It was a bargain at 33,000 pounds! It was in this family until the last... 

 balhannah Says:  I think Martindale Hall is an unusual sight in Australia, especially here! To me, it looks like it should be in Europe.Martindale Station, was the home of the Bowman family in 1841, a huge Sheep Station, where they ran top quality Merino sheep over 11,000 acres. They were... 

 balhannah Says:  For Bird-lovers, Martindale Hall had quite a few wild Parrot's that had called the Gum trees home. There were dozens of the salmon pink/rose red breasted, grey winged Galahs settling in the Trees.Then, in the paddock, feeding amongst the Sheep, were the beautiful Crimson... 

 balhannah Says:  Part of the 1975 Australian film "PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK" was filmed here. When we went for our look inside Martindale Hall, we saw the "White Room" which was used as Meranda's room in "Picnic at Hanging Rock." I have seen the film and it was easy to imagine the girls in... 

 balhannah Says:  Mintaro has a heritage walk, so pick up a brochure of the walk, or download one from the listed website.Walking Mintaro is easy. The Village is small, and it is mainly flat walking. Lots of the buildings are located close together.I found, a lot of the old heritage buildings... 

 balhannah Says:  This sweet Cottage, was one of a few businesses open on a week-day in Mintaro. In fact, in April, it was pretty quiet, we had the town nearly all to ourselves.Reilly's Cottage is now a Cellar Door/Restaurant. Hugh Reilly, a shoemaker from Ireland arrived in the tiny township... 

 tigerjapan Says:  Martindale Hall is an authentic 19th century Georgian Mansion. It was built in 1879 and was actually featured in the Australian film "Picnic at Hanging Rock". It features all the original furniture and fittings and is a nice stopping off point for something a bit different... 

 tigerjapan Says:  They state; "Idyllic 4.5 star retreat providing 4 self-contained heritage apartments for couples or larger groups." They have spas, open fire-places and kitchen facilities. Full breakfast provisions and bottle of local wine supplied. 

 tigerjapan Says:  National Trust & State Heritage listed self-contained stone cottages, embracing a c1845 chapel, c1852 coach house, c1869 school and c1855 settler's cottage. Each cottage is suitable for a couple seeking 19th century ambience. 

 tigerjapan Says:  We haven't stayed here, but from the outside it looked like a great place should we ever make it back to the Clare Valley.Millers House is a spacious and comfortable, self contained heritage listed, circa 1859, stone cottage of great character and quality set on a hectare of... 

 balhannah Says:  As the old historic buildings in Mintaro are heritage listed, I liked the way each had plaque stating what the building originally was or is, and what year it was built. So handy, especially for photos, and helpful if you haven't had a chance to pick up the heritage walk...