At the back of the Horseshoe Inn Reserve is a broad, light-green, waviform (of various height) descriptive panel, as a Historical Marker. A transcription follows:
THE HORSESHOE INN
"The name Horseshoe (or "Shoe" as it was often called), takes its name from the horseshoe shape of the river through the town.
"The original Horseshoe Inn operated on this site from July 1840 to May 1889. It was renamed the Horseshoe Hotel from May 1889 to September 1932. It did not trade as a hotel between September 1932 and December 1983, being then re-licenced as 'The Horseshoe (South Australian Historic Inn)' until it was destroyed by fire on New Years Eve 1987.
"From its early days it was a popular rest stop for bullock drivers and teamsters carting goods between Adelaide and all places south as far away as Victor Harbor. As the country was opened up and people began to move south, a thriving horse coaching centre grew around the hotel.
"The Hotel played a major role in this development as it provided John Hill & Co. with considerable stabling facilities for horses and coaches. With the coming of the railway to Willunga in 1915, the horse coach trade declined through Noarlunga and the operation was transferred to Willunga.
"In 1933 the building began a period where it traded as an Ampol petrol station, bootmaker and harness repair shop. In 1983 it resumed trade as a hotel and had a very popular restaurant right until the whole complex was destroyed by fire on New Years Eve, 31 December 1987."
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KAURNA HISTORY
"The Kaurna (pronounced "Garner" or "Gowna") people are a group of Indigenous Australians whose traditional lands cover the regions from Cape Jervis at the southern end of the Fleurieu Peninsula to Port Wakefield on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Saint Vincent and as far north as Crystal Brook in the Mid North.
"This place has been a meeting ground for the Kaurna people for tens of thousands of years. As the first inhabitants the Kaurna lived along the Ngankiparringa Parri (Onkaparinga River) in small family groups averaging twenty to thirty people. They lived in natural caves or built worli's, semi-circular dome shaped huts constructed from branches, bark, grass and seaweed. They were hunters and gatherers making the most of the river, the land, the plants and the animals.
"White settlement had a serious impact on the Kaurna people and their cultural identity. Today, Kaurna descendants work toward cultural renewal and reconciliation in order to retain the Kaurna aboriginal heritage for future generations. They have a strong affinity with the lands as, to all aboriginal people, the land is the mother."
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WINNAYNEE RESERVE HORSESHOE INN
THE PARK TODAY
"This park has been developed as a commemoration to its Kaurna and European history, and recognises its special link with the Onkaparinga River. Materials have been salvaged from the fire-ravaged ruins of the Horseshoe Inn building and have been put to use in the park, for example red-orange bricks as pavers, large burnt timbers, fire blackened concrete and limestone rocks for walling.
"The Winnanynee Clan Horseshoe Inn Reserve is designed as a place of reflection, and developed by the Government of South Australia in partnership with the City of Onkaparinga. Wonderful contributions to its design have been received from the residents of Old Noarlunga, especially the children of Old Noarlunga School, and aboriginal representatives of the Kaurna people."
Visited: 0808-12, Monday, 28 May, 2018