The Blumburg Hotel

Birdwood
Pretty little town in the Adelaide Hills
Located 44 km from Adelaide in the heart of the Adelaide Hills, Birdwood is an attractive town with the National Motor Museum as its major tourist attraction.

The village came into existence in the 1840s when Lutherans fleeing persecution in Silesia settled in the area. The land was owned by George Fife Angas (see Angaston for more details) and the South Australian Land Company and was leased to a number of German settlers who,by 1853, had named the town Blumberg after a small village in Prussia. It is claimed that J. G. Bluemel laid out and named the town.

By the 1850s the town was prospering. The area was producing enough grain to justify the construction of the Blumberg flour Mill (now the National Motor Museum) in 1852 - the flour mill was built by Captain William Randell who was the first paddlesteamer captain on the Murray River - and gold had been discovered on the upper reaches of the Torrens River attracting prospectors to the area. As a consequence of this the local Lutheran Church was completed and the Blumberg Inn (opposite the Motor Museum) was completed in 1865.

Blumberg is one of the many examples of towns which changed their names as a result of intense anti-German feeling during World War I. It was renamed Birdwood after Sir William Birdwood who commanded the Anzacs at Gallipoli and the Fifth British Army in France.

Things to see:  

The Old Mill which is now the National Motor Museum

Birdwood Mill - the National Motor Museum
The major tourist attraction in town is located in the old Blumberg flour mill. It is one of the most impressive collections of vintage cars in the country having been started in 1964 by Jack Kaines and Len Vigar and being purchased by the South Australian government in 1976. The collection has over 200 vehicles including such valuable items as a 1910 Daimler, a 1929 Bentley and an 1899 Shearer Steam Car. Enthusiasts can purchase a 90 page catalogue which lists and describes all the vehicles.

Outside the Museum is a road engine which was hauled by road on temporary wheels by a horse team from Mannum to Gumeracha in 1911. It was used in the Gumeracha sawmill until the sawmill was burnt down in 1939.

Blumberg Inn
Built in 1865 it dominates the townscape. This charming building still is a central part of the town's main street.

Historic Buildings
There are a number of attractive historic buildings in town. The Birdwood Primary School is a real work of art with particularly beautiful iron lacework. The Birdwood craft shop next to the Motor Museum is another attractive building.

	Hotels
	Birdwood Hotel Shannon St Birdwood SA 5234 Telephone: (08) 8568 5243
	Blumberg Hotel Shannon St Birdwood SA 5234 Telephone: (08) 8568 5243
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Birdwood Bed & Breakfast 38 Olivedale St Birdwood SA 5234 Telephone: (08) 8568 5444 Facsimile: (08) 8568 5444 Rating: ***1/2
	The Elms At Birdwood Blocks Rd Birdwood SA 5234 Telephone: (08) 8568 5287 Facsimile: (08) 8568 5287 Rating: ****
	Blumberg Mews Country Retreat 7 Cromer Rd Birdwood SA 5234 Telephone: (08) 8568 5551 Facsimile: (08) 8568 5551
	Cottages & Cabins
	Birdwood Cabins 29 Shannon St P.O. Box 413 Birdwood SA 5234 Telephone: (08) 5868 5029 Rating: **
	Lavender Greene Country Cottage Cromer Rd Birdwood SA 5234 Telephone: (08) 5868 5361 Facsimile: (08) 5868 5361 Rating: ***1/2
	Restaurants
	Birdwood Country Pizza Parlour 19 Shannon St Birdwood SA 5234 Telephone: (08) 8568 5209