Picking grapes in the Adelaide Hills (pic: S.A. Tourism Commission)

Mount Barker
Major service centre in the Adelaide Hills
Located only 35 km from Adelaide on the South Eastern Freeway, Mount Barker is the major service centre at the southern end of the Adelaide Hills. Where most of the other towns in the Hills have a decidedly 'village' feel, Mount Barker is a substantial commercial centre.

The first European to map Mount Barker (and consequently to name it) was Captain Charles Sturt who saw it from Lake Alexandrina on 18 April 1831 and named it after Captain Collet Barker of the 39th Regiment who had recently been killed by Aborigines somewhere near the mouth of the Murray River.

The area was surveyed in 1839 by the pastoralist Duncan McFarlane with the expectation that it would be opened up to wheat and grain farming. Lots of 80 acres were to be sold but there was a problem as few farmers were willing to produce wheat unless their was a flour mill nearby. When John Dunn arrived in the area he was offered free land to establish a flour mill and by 1844, when the mill was completed, Dunn had established the first steam flour mill outside of Adelaide. The mill operated successfully for the next 50 years and it was on the basis of its operations that the town developed.

The town's major buildings were completed over the next three decades with the Post Office being built in 1860 and the Police Station with its stables being completed in 1878. The area's future was ensured with the arrival of the railway in 1883.

Things to see:  

Uniting Church

Walking Around Mount Barker
The local Tourist Information Office has a number of brochures for people eager to explore the area. There is a very good walking tour which lists over 30 historic buildings in the centre of the town.

Dunn's Flour Mill
Completed in 1844 this historic mill, which closed down in 1894, still stands and is used as a coffee shop and restaurant today.

Mount Barker Summit
Accessed by Springs Road from the centre of town or the Mount Barker Summit road from Nairne, this is one of the best views in the hills. On a clear day it is possible to see Mount Lofty in the north and Lake Alexandrina in the south-east from its 517 metre elevation. There is a stone cairn on the top which tells visitors that the mountain was originally known as Wommu mu Kutra to the local Aborigines and that it was an ancient burial site.

	Hotels
	Grays Inn Hotel 63 Gawler St Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8391 1014
	Hotel Barker 22 Gawler St Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8391 1003 Rating: *
	Pulpit Tavern Hutchinson St Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8398 2420
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Oakfield Bed & Breakfast 43 Adelaide Rd Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8391 2811 Facsimile: (08) 8398 2255
	Cottages & Cabins
	Little Undermount Springs Rd Mount Barker Springs Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 83911031 Facsimile: (08) 8398 0953
	Willowbank Cottage Junction Rd Littlehampton Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8398 3364 Facsimile: (08) 8398 3364 Rating: ***
	Mt Barker Caravan Park Cameron Rd Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8391 0384 Facsimile: (08) 8391 0087 Rating: ***
	Caravan Parks
	Mt Barker Caravan Park Cameron Rd Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8391 0384 Facsimile: (08) 8391 0087 Rating: ***
	Restaurants
	Giovanni Pizza & Pasta Morphett St Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8398 3399
	Hotel Barker Gawler St Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8391 1003
	The Store @ Littlehampton 70 North Tce Littlehampton Mount Barker SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8391 1120