South Australia (Southeast Region)

A heritage-conscious town, Penola's many fine colonial buildings and streets have been wonderfully restored, with a number of slab and hewn cottages remaining in good condition. Sainthood may yet make Penola an even more important destination in the near future. It was here that Mother Mary MacKillop founded the Order of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and a school for the districts children irrespective of income or class in the 1860s. Her endeavour have since been widely recognised and she may well be soon canonised.

Beside the 1857 Cobb & Co booking office (now a restaurant), St Joseph’s Catholic Church looks like something out of an Italian village, a world away from the very modern Mary MacKillop Interpretative Centre (daily 10am–4pm; $3) next door. Sister Mary MacKillop (1842–1909) was Penola’s most famous resident, and Australia’s first would-be saint – in 1995 Pope John Paul II pronounced her “Blessed”, the last stage before full saint status. MacKillop set up a school, created her own teaching method and, with Father Julian Tennyson Woods, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, a charitable teaching order that spread throughout Australia and New Zealand. Dramatic episodes of alleged disobedience and excommunication give her story a certain oomph. There’s an informative display in the centre, lightened up by Barbie-doll look-alike “nuns on the run” and dressed-up dummies in the original school room. 

Across the fields are the National Trust-listed cottages of Petticoat Lane, where many of Mary’s poverty-stricken students lived. One of the buildings now houses a toyshop (daily 10am–5pm), while a display in another and an interpretive board in the garden tells the story of the 17-member Sharam family. You can also visit Wilson’s Cottage (same hours) which doubles as a linen shop.

Attractions

• JOHN RIDDOCH DISTRICT INTERPRETIVE CENTRE In the former mechanics Institute and Library building, this centre tells the fascinating history of the Penola district. The centre includes an audio-visual display, poetry recitals of the works of Adam Lindsay Gordon and John Shaw Neilson which enables visitors to appreciate the characters from Penola's past.

• PENOLA HERITAGE WALK Departing from the Tourist Information Centre, the Penola Heritage Walk visits more than twenty seven heritage sites around Penola. Information on the significance of the buildings is provided on boards. The buildings include the Penola Rectory, restored in 1991 the National Trust, and McAdam Slab Hut, one of the first houses built in the area in the 1880s.

• PEITICOAT LANE The National Trust of South Australia has restored a number of heritage buildings in this, the oldest section of Penola. Petticoat Lane has been re-constructed with red gum guttering and landscaping to complement the old cottages. These buildings now house a range of shops and galleries selling local crafts, hand-made wood products and local art work.
• WOODS/MACKILLOP SCHOOLHOUSE In Penola in 1866 Mother Mary MacKillop established the first school in Australia that catered for all children irrespective of their income or social class. The dedicated Woods/MacKillop Schoolhouse Committee has spent many hours collecting memorabilia from both Mother Mary and Father Woods. There treasured articles are on display at the Schoolhouse.

• YALLUM PARK This two storey, twenty-two roomed building, once the home of local pioneer John Riddoch, is considered to be one of the best preserved Victorian houses in Australia. Its outstanding features include the original gold leaf wallpaper, eleven Italian marble mantlepieces and the original gasoliers. Austin cottage at the rear of the homestead dates to 1840.

There are backpacker rooms at the comfortable and centrally located McKay’s Trek Inn, 38 Riddoch St, which caters to the OZ Experience crowd a couple of nights a week, and long-stay grape pickers, so it’s worth booking. Penola Caravan Park on South Terrace has good-value on-site vans and en-suite cabins. The focus of the town is the friendly National Trust-listed Heywood’s Royal Oak Hotel, 31 Church St, with four-poster doubles and some twin rooms. Out of town, on the Riddoch Highway, Chardonnay Lodge is an upmarket motel complex set amongst lawns and rose gardens, with a swimming pool and an attached café/restaurant.

The best place to eat is Heywood’s Royal Oak Hotel, which has a beautiful beer garden and an excellent bistro. Otherwise, Sweet Grape, 48 Church St (daily 8.30am–5pm, plus dinner Fri–Sun) dishes up affordable café favourites and international dishes. On the Riddoch Highway, Hermitage Café and Wine Bar, attached to Wetherall Winery (tel 08/8737 2122; daily 11am–5pm, reserve for dinner) hand out cheese and crackers to go along with some wine, while meals focus on local and organic produce. The vineyard setting is very pleasant, with a little pond for yabbies and a native garden out back, filled with banksias and big gum trees.