About our Region
Padthaway is located at the northern entrance to the Limestone Coast region of South Australia.
It is central to many surrounding towns, including Keith, Bordertown, Naracoorte and Kingston. This makes it a great meeting point for enjoying a day out with family and friends.
Our Community
Padthaway is situated on the Riddoch Highway, 300 km south of Adelaide. The township was established in 1952 and remains a thriving small community with a primary school of 45 students.
With many farming industries, including vines, onions, cropping, mixed grazing and irrigation of pasture seeds, the region employs a population of around 220 people, with many extra contractors being used in the busy times.
Most of the original soldier settlers have passed on their land to the next generation, many of whom still farm the land to this day.
Padthaway thrives on locally run events and groups, including football, netball, tennis, golf, cricket, lawn bowls, ambulance, country fire services, and religious organisations. These community groups make Padthaway a very close-knit township, well supported by many volunteers.
The local community is serviced by a General Store/Post Office, a Mechanical and Engineering workshop, agricultural contractors and a tyre repairer, all owned and operated by local families. There is also one large agribusiness company operating within the town, run as a franchise, again by local families.
The Region
The Padthaway Wine Region comprises 345 square kilometres. Padthaway has more than 4,000 hectares of vineyard planted, with the predominant varieties being; Shiraz, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Our red varieties make up 50% of the total vineyard plantings in the region. There are also significant plantings of other varieties such as; Riesling, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer and Pinot Noir, with expanding plantings of newer varieties such as Viognier and Pinot Gris.
Riddoch Highway runs right through the middle of our region, so come, explore and see what we have to offer first hand.
The average total grapes crushed from Padthaway is around 32,000 tonnes per year.
Our History
Historical evidence shows that the sea once covered the Padthaway region, with sand dunes running parallel to the coast. This is evident from the limestone now found beneath our soil.
Robert Lawson, a Scottish immigrant, took out a pastoral lease in 1847, which covered an area of 47 square miles. He named his new home “Padthaway Station.
In 1872 the government reclaimed parts of Lawson’s run, then offered blocks of land for sale at the “Village of Cockatoo Lake”, which was later renamed “Keppoch”.
Another large group of farming blocks was taken up in 1936 by farmers, and following World War 2, soldier settlement blocks were allocated closer to the Padthaway Station homestead, with many of them still owned and operated by the next generations of these families.
