Our Story

“Within five years, a grass roots community campaign to bring business back to their town has seen the sleepy villages of Uraidla and Summertown transform into a food and wine hub of the Adelaide Hills and with it, a rise in community spirit.”

Just over six years ago, after a succession of business closures, the local hotel poured its last drink on 15 August 2012. This brought the community to the realisation that they were losing much more than local businesses. They were losing the potential of a thriving town for future generations.

In 2013 the picturesque village of Uraidla in the Adelaide Hills was close to becoming a ghost town. With the exception of Saturday afternoon bowls home games, you could walk the main street and not bump into another soul. Known for its cherries, berries and vegetable produce together with a strong sporting tradition, Uraidla, a town that once considered itself self-sufficient, sustaining an IGA supermarket, butcher, two hairdressers and a petrol station, was feeling the impact of longer city trading hours and a changing demographic.

Drawing inspiration from the UK Pub is the Hub movement, in March 2014 more than 220 people from Uraidla and surrounding hills settlements crammed into the Uraidla Football clubrooms to share their views on the future of their town. An amazing response given, Uraidla itself only has a population of 460 people.

Within five years, a grass roots community campaign to bring business back to their town has seen the sleepy villages of Uraidla and Summertown transform into a food and wine hub of the Adelaide Hills and with it, a rise in community spirit.

We can’t wait to see what the future holds for our district. 

“As a child growing up in the district, the Main Street was the hub: Fish and Chip Shop, Delicatessen, Supermarket, Butcher, Garage, RSL, Drapery, Institute, Church and Hotel.  By the 2000’s, it was a shadow of its former self, some would say a ghost street.  The Hotel closed, Shops gone and so was the nearby Summertown Post Office and store.

Then came the citizens rising!

Imagine Uraidla was formed.  The Hotel sold. A Pop Up Café.  From slow beginnings and the enthusiasm and pride of the Locals, our Main street and indeed the township has become a Hub again.  So much so that a carpark is difficult to locate.  All of the Shops are tenanted and doing well, flag poles denoting the town, planter boxes of trees, hanging baskets resplendent with flowers, the Hotel (known for its eclectic décor) and Cafes doing a booming trade. A truly vibrant Main Street.”

— Testimonial from Di Liebelt, Vice President Uraidla Show Society

What We’ve Achieved