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| Mount Lofty
Botanic Gardens at Crafers
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Crafers
First township in the Adelaide Hills.
Crafers is the first 'town' the visitor reaches
when driving into the Adelaide Hills via the
main road to Hahndorf, the South East
Expressway. It is only 16 km from Adelaide's CBD
and is so inconsequential that, if you are
driving too quickly, you find that you are
roaring off down the hill having completely
missed it.
Crafers greatest claim to fame is that the
Crafers Hotel is the oldest hotel in the Hills.
Apart from that it is now little more than a
church, a petrol station, a small shopping
centre and a suburban area just off the South
East Expressway. It was one of the earliest
settlements in the Adelaide Hills.
The township was named after David Crafers
who kept an inn in the area which, at the time,
was known as 'The Tiers'. Crafers was a great
entrepreneur who, in competition with a number
of sly grog shops spread throughout the Adelaide
Hills, managed the subtle art of publicity. For
example, in the Southern Australian newspaper of
17 July 1839 he put an advertisement: 'Some
impudent insinuations having been made
respecting my having slaughtered a bullock at my
house in the Tiers, I beg leave to inform the
public that I have done so, and that the hide
may be viewed by any inquisitive person who
desires it. And I further give notice that I am
about just now to slaughter another, and will be
happy to furnish any person with such portions
of it as they may require, for adequate
remuneration.'
By 1840 his inn was known as the Norfolk
Hotel, Stringy Bark Forest, Mt Barker Road and
it was attracting a rather unsavoury clientele
made up of ex-convicts, thieves, loggers and
ex-sailors.
Today Crafers is a tiny settlement beside the
South East Expressway. Little of the original
settlement still stands and the elegance of the
Adelaide Hills, with its attractive houses, has
overwhelmed the rough and tumble which
characterised the earliest settlers.
Things to see:
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Crafers Inn
The current Crafers Inn was built in 1880 on the
original site of David Crafers Norfolk Inn. The
original inn, which stood next to the current
Crafers Inn, was burnt down in 1926.
Exploring Crafers
Much of Crafers is now nothing more than
locations where historic buildings once stood.
If you are interested there is a small brochure,
An Historic Walk Through Crafers, which is
available and lists a number of sites along
Summit Road, Cox Creek Road and the Crafers Main
Street.
Mount Lofty
Recently modernised to include lots of car
parking and a very good restaurant, Mount Lofty
offers superb views over Adelaide and across
Gulf St Vincent. It was first sighted and named
by Matthew Flinders in 1802. Take Summit Road
and follow the signs.
Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens
A quite outstanding Botanic Gardens nestled in
the hills behind Crafers (take the Summit Road
and follow the signs), these gardens, with their
rich displays of rhododendrons, magnolias and
carmellias are best seen in spring although they
are still impressive all year round. The mixture
of European plants and Australian natives is
effective and interesting. The highlights are
Fern Gully and the Woodland Garden.
