Exploring Australia

Hahndorf, Adelaide Hills

Heritage Sites & Trails


Whilst the German heritage of settling Hahndorf is well known, the story of the original inhabitants of the Mount Lofty Ranges is less understood.


Bukartilla – the First Hills Dwellers

Bukartilla – the First Hills Dwellers

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For countless generations the Aboriginal people roamed through the Mount Lofty Ranges. The group which called the Ranges home was the Peramangk tribe. The lowlands to the east, along the river Murray and the Coorong were inhabited by various groups of the Ngarrindjeri, while to the west the Kaurna people occupied the Adelaide plains.
Through the Mount Lofty Ranges, little evidence of the former occupants remain. There are a number of small caves and rock overhangs adorned with ancient ochre paintings and a few of the very old gums show scars where bark had been removed for coolamons and shields.


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Less tangible evidence is recorded in the names of a number of locations throughout the region: Aboriginal names that refer to some particular aspect of a locality. Such is the case with Hahndorf. A creek which winds through the village of Hahndorf formed an attractive swimming hole towards the northern end of the town. This was known as Bukartilla and was a seasonal camping ground for the local Perramangk Aborigines. While this name is still recorded in some early official documents, it is now little used and the name coined by the early German speaking colonists, honouring Captain Hahn is that by which the village and surrounds is now known.
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Settling Hahndorf

Settling Hahndorf

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The village of Hahndorf was settled in 1839 by German immigrants escaping religious persecution by King Friedrich Wilhelm 111 of Prussia.
Deposed Lutheran Pastor Kavel sought refuge for his people and wealthy English philanthropist George Fife Angus agreed to sponsor their immigration. Eventually objections were overcome and the new settlers set sail in the Prince George and the  Bengadee for the new colony of South Australia. Three weeks later a further 199 left in the Zebra.


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Captain Hahn was the Danish captain of the ship Zebra which transported the newcomers to the new Colony, just three years old. Captain Hahn was kind to his passengers and not wishing to forsake them in a foreign land, he went out of his way to help them settle in an area suitable to their needs. The villagers named the village Hahndorf in his honour.

Initial rough slab huts were replaced in time by cottages of wooden slabs, stone or the distinctive Fachwerk (timber and brick). The village was laid out in the Hufendorf styleGerman migrants were respected for their pious customs and neat villages. Many were peasant farmers whose hard work and fresh farm produce was a godsend to the struggling province. The women would leave at midnight carrying laden baskets and walk miles along the rough bush track to Adelaide,

Later religious laws changed in Prussia, however migration continued following glowing reports from their South Australian countrymen.

Hahndorf prospered, being on route to Melbourne and the Victorian Gold Fields of the 1850s.


The Pioneers Womens' Trail

The Pioneer Womens' Trail follows in the steps of the Hahndorf women who left Hahndorf at midnight to trudge to Adelaide carrying farm produce to sell.
Pioneer Womens' Trail


Hahndorf's Heritage