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Bridgewater, SA

Charming village in the Adelaide Hills with a distinctive English ambience.

Bridgewater is an attractive village with a distinctly English ambience (particularly in spring and autumn) which is famous for its exceptionally beautiful Bridgewater Mill.

Location

The charming Adelaide Hills village of Bridgewater is located only 21 km south-east of Adelaide via the Princes Highway and South Eastern Freeway.

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Origin of Name

No one is certain about the origin of the name Bridgewater. The small settlement in the Adelaide Hills was originally known as Cock's Creek. This was corrupted to Cox's Creek and then to Bridgewater. There is the suggestion that it was simply a description of a place where a bridge crossed a creek but a more romantic version is that John Dunn, the miller who built the beautiful Bridgewater Mill, came from the village of Bridgewater in Somerset and decided to name the settlement after his old home.

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Other Attractions in the Area

Bridgewater Mill
Located on Mount Barker Road Bridgewater Mill, with its huge and distinctive waterwheel which still works, was built in 1859 by John Dunn, a miller, who was eager to exploit the traffic passing through the area. He changed the village name to Bridgewater. In 1986 it was purchased by a consortium which renovated the property and attached the award-winning Petaluma wine to the building. It was both a restaurant and a cellar door. In 2014 the building was sold to Warren Randall, a wine and restaurant entrepreneur, who was eager to expand the property and turn it into an iconic destination in the Adelaide Hills. Mind you, it always had been. He retained the staff from the previous restaurant which means it is a place of fine dining and fine wines. For more details contact (08) 8339 9200 or check out http://www.thebridgewatermill.com.au.

St Githa's Garden
Located in Rosewarne Crescent, St Githa's is a combination of a stone cottage with luxury facilities which can be rented and a multi-award winning garden which is spread over one hectare. It is a remarkable, formal English-style garden with formal lawns, roses, perennials and outstanding floral displays.

Walking Around Bridgewater
Walking around Bridgewater is a delightful, relaxing activity both in spring and autumn. The town has a number of interesting and historic buildings including the Millers Cottage (1860), the Bridgewater Mill (1860), the Bridgewater Inn, the General Store (1877) and the Old Police Station.

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History

* Prior to the arrival of Europeans the area had been occupied by the Peramangk and Kaurna Aboriginal people.

* Bridgewater, originally known as Cock's Creek, came into existence in 1840. In that year an inn was built where bullock teams forded Cock's Creek.

* This became corrupted to Cox's Creek and when, in 1859, John Dunn, a miller, built his beautiful mill across the creek (it was powered by the huge waterwheel which is still such a distinctive part of the village) near the coach road through the hills, he changed the name to Bridgewater.

* Today the village is a pleasant retreat from the heat of Adelaide. It has a distinctly English ambience with elegant homes surrounded by pleasant European gardens and  deciduous trees along Cox's Creek.

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Visitor Information

Bridgewater does not have its own visitor centre but information about the town can be obtained at either the Mount Lofty Summit Visitors Information Centre, Crafers, tel: (08) 8370 1054 or the Adelaide Hills Visitor Information Centre, 68 Mount Barker Road, Hahndorf, tel: (08) 8388 1185. or 1800 353 323.

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Useful Websites

There is a useful map of the Adelaide Hills which can be downloaded at http://courier.net.au/pdf/readermap.pdf. The official South Australian Tourism entry can be found at http://www.southaustralia.com/info.aspx?id=9005372.

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