Brinkworth. The former Eudunda Farmers Store. Now the Cafe for Ewe. Built in 1926.
Brinkworth.
Brinkworth has around 400 people. It is near the Broughton River but that is not why the town was established. Brinkworth is a relatively new town, compared with Blyth or Koolunga as it was only developed in 1892. Its origins lie with the establishment of a cross country rail line from the deep sea port of Wallaroo which passed through Snowtown and then terminated at Brinkworth. The rail line was also extended from Blyth through Brinkworth to Gladstone in the north. Both lines were agreed upon in 1892 and physically reached the town in 1894! When the first train arrived from Adelaide, Brinkworth was described as a tent village with no buildings. But soon it had a large wooden railway station with luggage rooms, waiting rooms, porter’s rooms, residences for the station master and foreman and porters etc. A railway refreshment rooms was set up in Brinkworth in 1895 and operated until 1941 servicing both Gladstone and Moonta trains. These refreshment rooms could seat 200 people for refreshments which included full meals and alcohol! About 15 women were employed form the town to operate the refreshment rooms. Magpie Creek was dammed to create a railway reservoir and a large water tank were erected in the rail yards. It was a busy rail junction and station complex and stockyards were located next to the railway yards. Much later between 1923 and 1927 the line from Blyth to Gladstone was increased from a 3’6” gauge line to a broad gauge line giving Brinkworth (and Gladstone) a direct rail link to Adelaide without change of gauge. From the late 1890s there was a daily train to and from Wallaroo. By 1927 this service had become a daily Barwell Bull rail car service to and from Moonta. Rail crews had to stay overnight in Brinkworth in railway cottages for the return trip to Moonta the next day. This Moonta service stopped in 1972. In 1959 an air-conditioned Bluebird rail car service began on the Adelaide to Brinkworth line until all passenger services ceased in 1982. The importance of the railway can be imagined from the large expanse of land in the main street. All the tracks and railway structures were removed after 1991.
The land here in the Hundred of Hart was opened for farm selection in 1866. By 1892 the land where Brinkworth now stands was owned by Peter Brinkworth the son of George Brinkworth the original landowner from 1866. The district was known as Magpie Creek. Peter Brinkworth subdivided part of his father’s farm in 1892 to create a private town which would sit at the junction of the two newly announced government railway lines from Wallaroo and Blyth. He called his town Brinkworth rather than Magpie Creek. Like Blyth the Brinkworth area had always had a mix of German and English background farmers. Given the late establishment of the town most of the buildings date from around 1900 or later. For example the school was opened in 1895 (but now demolished), the public hall opened in 1900 and had later additions in 1920 in Art Deco style when it was renamed the Soldiers Memorial Hall, the Police Station and Post Office were both erected in 1909, the Wesleyan Methodist Church was built in 1907 and the Lutheran and Catholic Churches both opened in 1909. The Sunday School and Hall beside the Methodist Church, now Uniting Church, were opened by Miss Brinkworth in 1930. The Anglican Church in Brinkworth opened in 1910 and closed in 1997. It was designed by William Mallyon a bank manager from Port Pirie who designed about 35 churches free of charge for the Anglican Church throughout South Australia. St John’s Lutheran Church still operates in Brinkworth but the former Catholic Church which is right next door to it is now the town Museum. Both of these churches were built in 1909 a year in which many of Brinkworth’s buildings were constructed. Brinkworth has a public cemetery on land along the Blyth Road which was donated by the Hawkers of Bungaree and the earliest burials there are from around 1904.
The Junction Hotel in the Main Street was built earlier than many buildings in Brinkworth as it was constricted in 1893 with extra additions made to it in 1909. Using this as a starting point head south along the Main Street. The old English Scottish and Australian Bank with attached residence was opened in 1909 before closing in 1942. It is just north of the Police Station. Just beyond the Police Station on the corner of Clare Street was the coffee palace built in 1896. When the Temperance movement was popular coffee palaces flourished in South Australia in an attempt to keep people away from hotels. It closed as a coffee palace in 1952 when it reverted to being a large residence. The small shop next door to the Coffee Palace was a saddle maker‘s shop built in 1902. Just along from that is a building with a roof parapet which is marked SSS 1923. Sidney Stewart Sergeant added a new façade to an old building in 1923 for his tax agent office. As a German settled area Brinkworth also had a Eudunda Farmers’ Cooperative general store. It was store number 25 and it operated from 1920 to 1984. It began operating in a small store next to the Bank of Adelaide before much larger premises were erected in 1927 on the next corner south from the Coffee Palace. The old 1927 Eudunda Farmers building is still the store, cafe and deli in Brinkworth. If you turn left into Junction Street here you will see the fancy neo-Georgian style Post Office opened in Brinkworth in 1927 but it has now been closed for some years. An old general store has now been converted to the Post Office back in the Main Street near the old Eudunda Farmer’s Store. Just beyond that is the Bank of Adelaide and residence which was built in 1906 although the bank opened elsewhere in the town in 1903. This building became an ANZ bank in 1979 until it closed in 1983.
Brinkworth. The former Eudunda Farmers Store. Now the Cafe for Ewe. Built in 1926.
Brinkworth.
Brinkworth has around 400 people. It is near the Broughton River but that is not why the town was established. Brinkworth is a relatively new town, compared with Blyth or Koolunga as it was only developed in 1892. Its origins lie with the establishment of a cross country rail line from the deep sea port of Wallaroo which passed through Snowtown and then terminated at Brinkworth. The rail line was also extended from Blyth through Brinkworth to Gladstone in the north. Both lines were agreed upon in 1892 and physically reached the town in 1894! When the first train arrived from Adelaide, Brinkworth was described as a tent village with no buildings. But soon it had a large wooden railway station with luggage rooms, waiting rooms, porter’s rooms, residences for the station master and foreman and porters etc. A railway refreshment rooms was set up in Brinkworth in 1895 and operated until 1941 servicing both Gladstone and Moonta trains. These refreshment rooms could seat 200 people for refreshments which included full meals and alcohol! About 15 women were employed form the town to operate the refreshment rooms. Magpie Creek was dammed to create a railway reservoir and a large water tank were erected in the rail yards. It was a busy rail junction and station complex and stockyards were located next to the railway yards. Much later between 1923 and 1927 the line from Blyth to Gladstone was increased from a 3’6” gauge line to a broad gauge line giving Brinkworth (and Gladstone) a direct rail link to Adelaide without change of gauge. From the late 1890s there was a daily train to and from Wallaroo. By 1927 this service had become a daily Barwell Bull rail car service to and from Moonta. Rail crews had to stay overnight in Brinkworth in railway cottages for the return trip to Moonta the next day. This Moonta service stopped in 1972. In 1959 an air-conditioned Bluebird rail car service began on the Adelaide to Brinkworth line until all passenger services ceased in 1982. The importance of the railway can be imagined from the large expanse of land in the main street. All the tracks and railway structures were removed after 1991.
The land here in the Hundred of Hart was opened for farm selection in 1866. By 1892 the land where Brinkworth now stands was owned by Peter Brinkworth the son of George Brinkworth the original landowner from 1866. The district was known as Magpie Creek. Peter Brinkworth subdivided part of his father’s farm in 1892 to create a private town which would sit at the junction of the two newly announced government railway lines from Wallaroo and Blyth. He called his town Brinkworth rather than Magpie Creek. Like Blyth the Brinkworth area had always had a mix of German and English background farmers. Given the late establishment of the town most of the buildings date from around 1900 or later. For example the school was opened in 1895 (but now demolished), the public hall opened in 1900 and had later additions in 1920 in Art Deco style when it was renamed the Soldiers Memorial Hall, the Police Station and Post Office were both erected in 1909, the Wesleyan Methodist Church was built in 1907 and the Lutheran and Catholic Churches both opened in 1909. The Sunday School and Hall beside the Methodist Church, now Uniting Church, were opened by Miss Brinkworth in 1930. The Anglican Church in Brinkworth opened in 1910 and closed in 1997. It was designed by William Mallyon a bank manager from Port Pirie who designed about 35 churches free of charge for the Anglican Church throughout South Australia. St John’s Lutheran Church still operates in Brinkworth but the former Catholic Church which is right next door to it is now the town Museum. Both of these churches were built in 1909 a year in which many of Brinkworth’s buildings were constructed. Brinkworth has a public cemetery on land along the Blyth Road which was donated by the Hawkers of Bungaree and the earliest burials there are from around 1904.
The Junction Hotel in the Main Street was built earlier than many buildings in Brinkworth as it was constricted in 1893 with extra additions made to it in 1909. Using this as a starting point head south along the Main Street. The old English Scottish and Australian Bank with attached residence was opened in 1909 before closing in 1942. It is just north of the Police Station. Just beyond the Police Station on the corner of Clare Street was the coffee palace built in 1896. When the Temperance movement was popular coffee palaces flourished in South Australia in an attempt to keep people away from hotels. It closed as a coffee palace in 1952 when it reverted to being a large residence. The small shop next door to the Coffee Palace was a saddle maker‘s shop built in 1902. Just along from that is a building with a roof parapet which is marked SSS 1923. Sidney Stewart Sergeant added a new façade to an old building in 1923 for his tax agent office. As a German settled area Brinkworth also had a Eudunda Farmers’ Cooperative general store. It was store number 25 and it operated from 1920 to 1984. It began operating in a small store next to the Bank of Adelaide before much larger premises were erected in 1927 on the next corner south from the Coffee Palace. The old 1927 Eudunda Farmers building is still the store, cafe and deli in Brinkworth. If you turn left into Junction Street here you will see the fancy neo-Georgian style Post Office opened in Brinkworth in 1927 but it has now been closed for some years. An old general store has now been converted to the Post Office back in the Main Street near the old Eudunda Farmer’s Store. Just beyond that is the Bank of Adelaide and residence which was built in 1906 although the bank opened elsewhere in the town in 1903. This building became an ANZ bank in 1979 until it closed in 1983.