Heritage & History
Copper, convicts & colonial stone
The best heritage & history in Clare
The Clare Valley wears its 19th-century history in its stone: Jesuit cellars at Sevenhill, the grand Georgian rooms of Martindale Hall, and the copper-mining heritage of nearby Burra. Self-guided heritage trails string together churches, cottages, mine sites and museums across the district.
Few regions in Australia wear their history as visibly as the Clare Valley. To the east, the copper-mining town of Burra is one of the country's most complete 19th-century mining landscapes — its self-drive Heritage Passport unlocks the Monster Mine, the creekbank miners' dugouts and the stark ruin of Redruth Gaol.
Closer to the vines, the village of Mintaro preserves one of the most intact slate-built streetscapes in the nation, with the grand Georgian mansion of Martindale Hall nearby. At Sevenhill, the Jesuit church and cellars tell the story of the Austrian priests who planted the valley's first vines in 1851.
This deep heritage is woven right through the region, so a day of wine tasting can easily fold in colonial cottages, pioneer churches and pioneering mines. Many sites are free to visit and open year-round.