Helen Stephenson's Australian Pictures - February/March, 2000 - Mount Barker Township

I have started this page off with pictures of the town's two main hostelries: Grays Inn on the left and Hotel Barker on the right. Grays Inn appears to have undergone a name change along with a recent refurbishment, but I'll bet that the locals still call it Grays Inn. Both establishments are located in Gawler Street, the main street of Mount Barker.

Now I'm redressing the balance by showing some of the places of worship in Mount Barker. To the right is the Uniting Church, which I remember as the Methodist Church from my youth. I used to attend the Christmas service in this church, when the Baptists and the Methodists combined. I'll never forget stepping in through the front door and hearing the sound of the pipe organ echoing through the church.

Below is the Church of England.

It is unfortunate that there is a power line directly in front of the Uniting Church and no amount of photographic wizardry could remove it from this picture. Maybe I should try some wizardry of the PhotoShop type instead.

The Presbyterian Church (shown below) never figured strongly during my formative years. The Baptists had an alliance with the Presbyterians at one time, but it was too long ago for me to remember. Now some of the older one-time Baptists attend this church as the services now offered by the Baptists are not to the taste of many long time church members.

Mount Barker is an important regional centre. Here are the offices of the Mount Barker and District Council, from which not just the township is administered, but also a considerable area of surrounding district, including a number of smaller towns.

The War Memorial Monument was moved from the head of Gawler Street to a position near the Council Offices a number of years ago. The front of the monument contains the names of Mount Barker men who lost their lives in two World Wars and in Vietnam.