Lake Plains

Lake Plains brings together local history with tangible connections to the Bremer River and destinations in the surrounding area. A bridge on Lake Road crosses the river; nearby Tolderol Game Reserve can also be reached via Lake Plains Road and then Tolderol Road. If you are looking for holiday accommodation in Lake Plains, you can therefore consider whether your trip is mainly about the town’s history, the wine country in the wider travel region or a destination such as the Game Reserve.

Bridge over the Bremer River and routes into the surrounding area

The bridge on Lake Road in Lake Plains crosses the Bremer River. It is informally known as Canal Bridge. This name provides a specific reference point when exploring the town and its river landscape: it refers to the bridge over the Bremer River, not to another named body of water. The river connection is therefore a distinct aspect of Lake Plains, while other outings take you into the surrounding area via its road links.

Nearby Tolderol Game Reserve can be reached via Lake Plains Road and then Tolderol Road. Within Lake Plains, Lake Plains Road is classified as a rural collector road. Council-recorded sections of Tolderol Road are located in both Lake Plains and Tolderol. This information helps distinguish the roads mentioned and their local locations when considering destinations outside the town as part of your trip.

School, post office and former church services

Several dates give the town’s history a clear timeline. Lake Plains School opened in 1862; the post office followed in 1869. The school closed in 1942. The history of these two institutions can therefore be described through their respective opening dates and, in the school’s case, the end of its operation. The dates refer to different institutions and should not be confused.

The former use of the schoolroom is also part of Lake Plains’ history. The parish was allowed to use the public schoolroom for church services. Rev. F. Slaney Poole once regularly held services in Lake Plains every second Sunday afternoon. The town’s history thus includes religious community life as well as the school and post office. For travellers interested in local history, these details offer different insights without describing present-day use of the school or a current service schedule.

The name Lake Plains and its historical significance

Lake Plains was a descriptive name for a subdivision of Section 2113 in the Hundred of Bremer. The Indigenous name for the place was also parankan, meaning “camping place”. The place known as parankan was located in the vicinity of Section 16 near Lake Plains. The naming history therefore connects a description of a particular part of the land with an Indigenous place name and its meaning. If you would like to explore the destination’s history, these are two distinct historical reference points: the descriptive name of the subdivision and the name parankan.

Wine and horseradish in the wider area

Near Lake Plains, Newman’s Horseradish Farm and Rusticana Wines has a Rusticana Wines cellar door. The nearby Newman’s Horseradish property is on the banks of the Bremer River. Deep black alluvial soil, needed for horseradish, was available there. The cellar door and information about the property offer two different perspectives on the surrounding area: wine is represented by Rusticana Wines, while the soil by the river is associated with horseradish.

In the wider travel region, the Langhorne Creek wine region lies between the Bremer River and the Angas River. Langhorne Creek is also home to the world’s oldest recorded Cabernet Sauvignon vines. This regional context adds a distinct wine connection to Lake Plains’ local history. When choosing holiday accommodation, you can decide whether your trip will focus more on Lake Plains itself, the wine country in the wider region or destinations such as Tolderol Game Reserve.

More places

More places: Richmond, Norton Summit, Marion, Leasingham, Polish Hill River, Paracombe, Lonsdale, Uleybury.

For the wider travel overview: South Australia.