Warriparinga Nature Reserve

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Posted 2012-08-09 by Dave Walsh ⇒ follow

[SECTION]Warriparinga[/SECTION]

Warriparinga in a nature reserve in Bedford Park, not far from the Marion Shopping Centre . It is also home to the Warriparinga Wetlands, Fairford House, and the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre .

Rather appropriately Warriparinga is also home to the Adelaide Peace Markets , which aims to improve our sense of community.

Originally a traditional Kaurna meeting place (the name Warriparinga means Windy Place), the land was granted to George Fife Angas in 1839. It was called Fairford after a local ford, and comprised land and a single roomed cottage.

Angas was a founder of The South Australian Company and a Member of the Legislative Council like Sir John Morphett who built Cummins House .

In 1876 the land was sold to Henry Laffer whose family farmed there and retained it for 112 years. In 1998 wetlands were developed around the Sturt River, and in 2002 The Living Kaurna Cultural Centre was established.

The Centre includes a cafe, an art gallery, retail area and a stage for cultural and social events.

[SECTION]Warriparinga Wetlands[/SECTION]

The Warriparinga Wetlands were created to improve water quality in the Sturt River by slowing and filtering storm water flows. They also provide a fairly peaceful bush setting for people to relax in. I say "fairly" because the background noise from the Southern Expressway is audible in places.

The traditional users of the land found the Warriparinga area a good source of food such as yabbies, ducks, kangaroos, possums and other marsupials. There were also a number of plants which were used as food. For more information see the Marion Council website

.

The wetlands are a pleasant place to take a walk, or ride a bicycle through to connect with a Bike Direct route. There are nesting boxes in some trees, and a bird refuge on an island in the wetlands. Seating is placed at intervals to encourage the visitor to sit, relax and enjoy the surroundings.

As I wandered through a couple of girls were making the most of the natural wetland scenery with a photo shooting session. Clearly I wasn't alone in enjoying this calming place.

[SECTION]Fairford House[/SECTION]

Built around 1843, Fairford House has adapted with the times as it moved into the twentieth century. There have been a number of modifications and differing design styles used. The house is not currently open to the public, but it is possible to wander around the grounds.

It's possible to see signs of the farm's early heritage as you wander around. Old vines and a straggly fig tree are still to be found in the back yard, and part of the plum orchard still remains..

The old coach house at the rear of the house was built in the 1860's as a storage facility, while during the second world war Italian prisoners of war worked as grape pickers at Warriparinga and slept in the coach house loft.

Life must have been pleasant here when times were good. The soil is fertile and vineyards and fruit orchards flourished for over 150 years.

It's an idyllic view looking back across the river at Fairford House in its cottage garden, and must have been even better when the only nearby traffic were horses travelling along South Rd.

But we can still dream of it.