Our History.
Take home the story of how the town of Nuriootpa began with a copy of Kathryn Schilling’s book ‘Vine Inn: A Historical Account of Community Success, Achievement and Sustainability in a Myriad of Changing and Challenging Economic Environments’.
Now available for purchase at the Vine Inn Reception Desk.
Our connection to Nuriootpa’s origins.
The Vine Inn’s long history began in 1836, where a 16 year old William Coulthard arrived in South Australia from Scotland on the HMS Buffalo. Spending his first years in the Littlehampton, Mount Barker and Langhorne Creek regions, he eventually settled in the land that is now the Barossa Valley.
In 1843, Coulthard saw an opportunity as the bullock wagons passed from Adelaide on their way to the Burra and Kapunda mines, stopping at the River to water their horses. He applied for a licence in September 1848 to run a ‘drinking house’. The licence was approved in March 1949, and the Red Lion Hotel (our first name!) commenced trading.
In 1850, the town of Nuriootpa was established. The western side of Murray Road became Nuriootpa, while the eastern side remained as ‘Angas Park’. After running the hotel for three years, in 1851 Coulthard sold the business and went on to build his two storey home, which still stands in Nuriootpa today as Coulthard House. Upon the handover to a new owner, the Red Lion was renamed to The Nuriootpa Hotel.
A born explorer, Coulthard set out at the age of 38 into the wilderness in the summer of 1858 with two other men in search of cattle country. During this trip, he set off alone in search of water, and never returned to the other men. He was found on the 15th of June 1858, having died of thirst.
He left behind his wife and six young children. His wife went on to remarry and have more children, and William’s estate was left to his eldest son John.
Today, the iconic Vine Inn Barossa Community Hotel still stands on the site of Coulthard’s first home, located in the centre of the Nuriootpa township.
The town benefactor.
After John Coulthard, son of founder William Coulthard, passed away at the age of 65, his son William Coulthard returned to Nuriootpa from Alice Springs to run the affairs at home, and became a significant town figure. He became part of the Nuriootpa Vigilance Committee, sat on the Angaston Council, and assisted in rebuilding the Institute and new sporting land by donating land in 1936.
Known affectionately throughout the town as ‘Old Bill’, William was one of the founding members of the committee who purchased his grandfather’s first home, which was still operating as The Nuriootpa Hotel.
With the interests of the town at heart, William invested a sizeable amount into the Hotel, as well as giving or selling land for the benefit of the community. When he passed away in 1953, he left further land and money to be used for town facilities to the Community Centre.
Being the last member of the Coulthards living in the family home, the house was left to his nephew Roy. In 1956, the Community Centre purchased the property to become a memorial to William. The house still stands today on the corner of Penrice Road & Murray Street.
‘Old Bill’ William Coulthard.
“He served the community regularly, carried pot plants, ran messages on his bike, sat on committees, assisted roadmaking turned up at working bees and gave money, land and time.”
The community’s hotel: by decade.
The 1930’s.
The 1940’s.
The 1950’s.
The 1960’s.
The 1970’s.
The 1980’s.
The 1990’s.
The 2000’s.
The 2010’s.
The 2020’s.
The 1930’s.
The people of Nuriootpa quickly discovered that by getting together, they could do things for themselves that would never get done by waiting for governments and councils.
In 1937, 1,500 people were living in Nuriootpa and the town was considered the geographical centre of the Barossa. A committee was formed to consider purchasing the Nuriootpa Hotel and turn it into a community owned hotel, based on the new Renmark & Barmera community hotels.
Formal application was made in early September 1937, and the lease for The Nuriootpa Hotel was purchased on Friday 10th September, with Mr Ted White appointed manager.
Plans for expansion soon followed, with land purchased for accommodation and an architect hired to plan and build a modern hotel building alongside the original hotel. This expansion and renovation in order to modernise the hotel was estimated to cost £4,000. The new building included a reception, dining room, hotel room, accommodation and kitchen.
After completion, the renamed Vine Inn Community Hotel opened in 1938.
Community Bus & Nuriootpa Dairy.
The 1940’s
In 1944, post war, many communities in Australia set up various committees to examine the needs of the town covering health, education, social service, library service, and more. Nuriootpa was part of a movement of towns establishing community centres. The Nuriootpa War Memorial Community Centre was formed, and the idea was to create a Community Plan and establish a public fund to provide money for the construction and maintenance of proposed projects.
This is how the Hotel became involved with the Community Dairy and Community Bus. On the 13th of September 1948, the Hotel entered a lease with the Community Centre to run The Dairy. The Dairy was born from the Hotel’s inability to secure sufficient milk for its needs and having to source from outside areas. The Dairy began with 10-12 cows and included modern milking machines, and ran until 1960, when it was closed and sold for 1,000 pounds.
The Community Bus commenced in 1946, when it was decided there was a need for a well appointed bus to benefit both locals and tourists. The Hotel owned two buses and they were used as free transport for children to the kindergarten, as well as day tours of the Barossa. The buses were also used for day trips to Adelaide for shopping on Rundle Street.
The 1950’s.
The Hotel’s success continued into the 1950’s, and it was seen to be the place in the Barossa to hold events, celebrations, and a place for locals to meet. The town had grown to 1,600 people and the Hotel remained an asset, returning steady profits to the community. The success of a range of community ventures made Nuriootpa a centre of worldwide interest, as people were interested in seeing what could be achieved by the co-operation of residents of a town or district.
The Hotel board decided to prioritise the accommodation, as house takings had far exceeded bar takings. In January 1953, it was reported in The Leader Newspaper that the board had made a decision at their meeting to proceed with completion of the proposed 16 new bedrooms at the rear of the hotel.
Vine Inn frontage.
The 1960’s & 1970’s.
The 1960’s and 1970’s were a time of rebuilding and extending the Hotel. The Public and Saloon bars were bulldozed and replaced with a new cream brick building. While the builds were happening, the Hotel traded in an Atco portable bar, and beer was kept cold in the cold store in the Orchard down the road. Air conditioning was also installed.
In 1968, the Directors of the Board realised a larger dining space was needed to cater for the increasing number of tourists to the Barossa as well as the growing population. The Grill Room, now the Vine Garden Bistro, was added and was an immediate success, becoming a great function room for Christmas, weddings and dinner dances.
In 1971, all debenture holders were paid out in full, leaving the Hotel free of all shares and debentures.
The hotel rooms were updated in 1972 and shower alcoves were fitted in the rooms, and in 1973, the business was officially registered as ‘The Vine Inn Hotel’.
In 1978, the Grill Room was extended to twice its original size with the gardens as the feature. With the co-operation of the Angaston Council, the Hotel was also able to exchange some land and build a carpark for patrons.
The 1980’s.
Following the new additions from the 70’s was the build of 12 new motel units, as well as the growing popularity of live music. Discos came to the Vine Inn on Friday nights, and live bands performed regularly in the bar.
In 1983 after a long summer drought, March brought a one in 100 year flood to Nuriootpa. Being situated on the bank of the North Para River, the Vine Inn was hit hard by water coming from both the street and the river. Flood waters entered the bottom storey of the motel units, and the carpet had to be cleaned and removed, and was given to the Nuriootpa Football Club. The entire cleanup took weeks due to the mud, but the hotel’s priority was to get the kitchen back up and running as soon as possible.
Following the floods, the hotel continued to prosper. The bottle shop was extended in 1986 to have a browsing area as well a larger selection of beer, wine and spirits. The saloon and public bars were renovated, and a solar heated swimming pool and spa were installed between the hotel and motel units alongside fully landscaped gardens and fencing. TAB agency was installed and in 1987, Sky Channel dish/antenna was installed so patrons could watch live racing and direct telecasts of overseas sporting events.
The floodwaters from the 1983 flood.
The 1990’s.
The introduction of pokies in 1994 saw the original dining room become a gaming room with 40 pokie machines.
Prizes, weekly promotions, as well as free morning teas, weekly jackpot draws, free birthday meals and members meal deals were just some of the new benefits members of the Hotel could enjoy, and membership quickly grew to 1,000 within a few years.
More renovations and additions occurred, with the salad bar introduced in the restaurant, and the motel units renovated with new bathrooms. The Board also decided to relocate the reception area and reorganise the kitchen with some internal changes.
The Vine Inn continued to assist the community with donations and sponsorships while also keeping a focus on maintaining and upgrading the business in order for it to grow.
In 1999, the Vine Inn celebrated 150 years as a licensed premise. The Board also purchased the ‘Top of the Valley Motel’ and adjoining house at 53 Murray Street, Nuriootpa. This acquisition allowed the business to offer 36 extra rooms to the conference and tourist market. The Motel was renamed The Vine Court, and the adjoining house The Vine Lodge. The reception was closed and reopened as Murray’s Restaurant, which later closed as an unsuccessful venture. After the space was rented as a pasta restaurant and later an office space, it was refurbished into 5 bedroom apartments, suitable for families.
The 2000’s.
Redevelopments continued into the 2000’s in order to keep up with the modern era and the growing Barossa population. In 2003, the front of the hotel took on a whole new look, with a beer garden outside the bars. A breezeway was also built, as due to new gaming laws, anyone under the age of 18 was not allowed to walk through the gaming room. This breezeway allowed access from the Grill Room to the Reception area.
In the early 2000’s, the Community Co-operative Store purchased the National Bank building on 15 Murray Street. Both the Store and the Vine Inn saw an opportunity for the two community owned businesses to work together and provide the town with another hospitality venue. After extensive negotiation and business and marketing surveys, the lease was agreed upon and Branch 15 was born. Originally planned as a night club, the Branch was positioned across from the Vine Inn and was a different offering to tourists and locals. After some licensing issues and restrictions which included only one solo artist and for patrons to be seated while drinking, the Branch was more of a wine bar, and operated under the Vine Inn for 5 years before closing.
The Vine Lodge was sold in 2002, but part of the land was kept after subdividing for redevelopment. In 2006, the 11 self contained apartments on the Vine Court site were completed, increasing the accommodation offering for not only tourists but wine industry employees who required a longer stay.
The Grill Room was renamed the Vine Garden Restaurant, and could seat up to 320 patrons. The Beer Garden also proved a great addition, providing smoking areas when smoking was banned in enclosed public spaces by the Australian Government in 2007.
Branch 15, interior.
The 2010’s.
The 2010’s brought some financial hardships. The business was suffering from the losses generated by the Branch venture, and locals were questioning whether the Hotel was still a viable community asset.
After a few years of consolidated plans and works, the bars were upgraded in 2011, with new carpet and a big screen TV. The cold rooms in the kitchen were also upgraded as the meal numbers were growing and food storage was a priority.
Government grants in 2011 and 2012 enabled the completion of refurbishments of the Vine Court rooms and the hotel & motel rooms. The bar and gaming rooms were also ageing in comparison to competitors, and the goal was to create a place that offered not just social connection, but an attractive environment.
The bar was completely renovated in 2015 with a family friendly dining area, fireplace, modern decor and a new entrance from the carpark. The bar was renamed ‘Billy Jack’s’, to honour the original Coulthard family who started the hotel and their relationship with the local Aboriginal people. In his outback treks, William Coulthard, founder of the Vine Inn, was known as ‘Jack Billy’.
The Bottle Shop was also redeveloped into a standalone building with grants from the Government, which resulted in 3 awards in the AHA annual awards in South Australia.
The 2020’s.
While welcoming in a new decade, the world was brought to a standstill by the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. This new virus rapidly spread globally, and a Public Health Emergency was declared on January 30th, 2020. It was named a global pandemic on March 11th, and restrictions soon followed.
These restrictions included state border closures, overseas travel restrictions and social distancing, as well as business closures, mask mandates and quarantines. Lockdowns also followed, with any non-essential business having to close. During these lockdowns, the only reason a person could leave home was if you were an essential worker, carer, to exercise or to purchase essential items. Schools were closed and elective surgery was also cancelled. Panic buying ensued, resulting in shortages of toilet paper, hand sanitiser and cleaning supplies, which proved a challenge for the Hotel.
For the first time in the Hotel’s 171 year history, it had to close to the public and all functions, accommodation and dining reservations were cancelled. Bottle shops were the only part of businesses that were allowed to remain open to the public, and customers were not allowed to leave their car to make purchases. The Vine Inn kitchen offered takeaway food to customers, who were instructed to wear masks to collect their food. This service allowed the Hotel to provide limited shifts to staff.
Contact was maintained at 1.5 metres, and staff handling cash had to wear disposable gloves. All pens had to be wiped with antiseptic and cleaning of rooms required extra attention. A member of housekeeping remained on duty from 7am-8:30pm each day to solely clean customer facing surfaces with antibacterial. The kitchen received the same level of care, with all food service areas cleaned after each use. Lockdowns provided an opportunity for maintenance and deep cleaning, but this depended on the availability of tradesmen.
Restrictions continued into 2021, due to continued waves of the virus.
The Major Emergency Declaration was ended in May 2022, having been in place for 793 days. It was then that businesses were able to slowly return to normal trading.
