Facilities & Culture

Health

Clare is the main town within the District with a variety of health services. Clare acts as a regional health hub including 3 medical centres, a regional hospital and 2 pharmacies.

The Clare Hospital provides a comprehensive range of medical and surgical services to patients from Clare and surrounding communities including the Lower and Mid North areas. These services include an operating theatre and visiting specialist health professionals.

The Riverton District Hospital provides acute services ranging from in-hospital care for adults and children by local GPS to outpatients and aged are beds.

The District’s smaller towns also offer health services including local and visiting doctors and pharmacies.

Education

The District is serviced by a variety of public and private primary schools and 2 high schools to cater for your children’s education needs. Clare has the greatest variety of schooling options with two private and one public primary school and a large high school. Riverton has a primary and a high school. The smaller towns also have primary schools including Auburn, Watervale, Saddleworth, Manoora and Tarlee.

The region is also serviced by TAFE SA who offers training courses locally.

Recreation and Leisure

Are you super active or do you like the more leisurely things in life such as a long stroll with a glass of wine at sunset? The Clare & Gilbert Valleys offers this and so much more.

The District’s towns offer a variety of sport and recreation clubs including athletics, running, cricket, football, swimming, netball, basketball, to name but a few. The main recreation centre is The Valleys Lifestyle Centre in Clare, however each town has their own various facilities including ovals, parks, swimming pools and golf courses. The Clare Golf Course is one of the best regional courses in the State with Riverton and Saddleworth also offering courses.

There’s plenty of parks and playgrounds for the kids to explore. Major playgrounds include the Sevenhill Playspace, Riverton Recreation Ground and Clare’s Melrose Park having large playgrounds to explore including an entire miniature train track at Melrose Park for weekend fun, visit the Clare Valley Model Engineers. Gleeson Wetlands at Clare and the Duck Ponds at Riverton are natural fauna and flora havens.

The District is famously known for its trails including the Riesling, Rattler, Mawson, Heysen and Lavendar Trails crossing the region you could spend years walking or riding them all.  The Riesling Trail and Rattler Trails, in particular provide a recreational backbone for cyclists and walkers which traverses the region and is used by locals and tourists alike. Many regular events including the Clare Valley Parkrun are held along the trail.

The Clare Valley Short Walks has also recently been launched which enables you to get a taste of all these fantastic trails. From simple strolls to more serious slogs, the 6 walks range from 1 hour to 4 hours and take in parts of the well-known Heysen, Lavender Federation and Riesling Trails as well as the Spring Gully Conservation Park.

SA Communities Directory provides the key directory for the clubs and services within the district. Just type in your area of interest and the Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council to see what’s on offer.

Food, Wine and Culture

Unlike some regional areas, there are no shortage of places to eat, drink and have fun! From nationally renowned restaurants, to gourmet pub fare and romantic dining locations, the region offers a delectable range of food and wine offerings. Not to mention the nearly 40 cellar doors with the Clare Valley being the heart of Australian Riesling. Some well-known labels include Taylors, Grossets, Jim Barry, Pikes, Killikanoon and Tim Adams.

In terms of cultural pursuits, there’s no lack of activities to fill your time. The District provides the platform for a bounty of events including the annual Clare Valley Gourmet Week, various country markets, the Clare Show and the annual Rotary Art Exhibition. There are a variety of galleries to choose from with the well-known Riverton Light Gallery exhibiting artist Robert Hannaford’s work, to the Arts Collective Clare Valley in Clare.

Auburn is a hive of creativity with the Courthouse Cultural Centre occupied by Heritage / Arts / Traditions Auburn which has a lively program of events that cover music, cabaret, theatre, puppetry, poetry and community events.

Heritage is strong within the district with Martindale Hall and Bungaree Station providing a journey back to the region’s pastoral days to the historic centre of Auburn and the State Heritage listed town of Mintaro which remains one of the key suppliers of quality slate to the nation. Sevenhill Cellars’ celebrated old stone winery and cellar door, stately St Aloysius' Church, College building, spacious gardens and surrounding vineyards provides a memorable experience of this historical place established in the 1850s.

To explore the District’s many food, wine and cultural offerings visit the Clare Valley website