A Penola Heritage Loop
Saints, cottages and the birth of Coonawarra wine
The plan
Little Penola punches far above its weight in history. It was here that Mary MacKillop, Australia's first saint, opened her first school, and here that John Riddoch founded the colony that became the Coonawarra wine district. Its streets are lined with restored pioneer cottages.
This is an easy half-day loop on foot and by car, threading together the town's heritage precincts before you slip out to the vineyards on the red strip a few minutes north.
The walk
Start at the John Riddoch Interpretive Centre to set the scene, then wander Petticoat Lane, the town's oldest street, past Sharam's Cottage and a row of slab-timber dwellings. Walk on to the Mary MacKillop Penola Centre and the schoolhouse where the Sisters of St Joseph began.
Finishing up
With the town's story under your belt, drive the short distance north into Coonawarra to see where Riddoch's fruit colony became one of Australia's great wine regions, the heritage and the vines two halves of the same pioneer tale.
Day 1
4 stops-
1
John Riddoch Interpretive Centre
PenolaPenola's visitor and interpretive centre, telling the linked stories of the town, the Riddoch family and Coonawarra wine.
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2
Petticoat Lane Heritage Walk
PenolaPenola's oldest street, a lane of restored timber and stone cottages telling the story of the town's founding families.
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3
Mary MacKillop Penola Centre
PenolaThe museum and heritage precinct telling the story of St Mary MacKillop, who founded her first school for all children in Penola in 1866.
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4
Wynns Coonawarra Estate
CoonawarraCoonawarra's most recognisable winery, its 1896 triple-gabled cellar set among the oldest vines on the terra rossa.
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On the map
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Image credits
- Penola SA town centre.jpg by Alpha from Melbourne, Australia , CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons