Polish Hill River is a small town in the

Mid North The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains and south of the Far North and the outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the souther ...

region of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, between the towns of

Sevenhill The Australian monastic town of Sevenhill is in the Clare Valley of South Australia, approximately 130 km north of Adelaide. The town was founded by members of the Jesuit order in 1850. The name, bestowed by Austrian Jesuit priest Aloysius ...

and

Mintaro Mintaro is a historic town in the eastern Clare Valley, east of the Horrocks Highway, about north of Adelaide, South Australia. The town lies at the south-eastern corner of the Hundred of Clare, within the Clare Valley wine region. Established ...

. Running northward through the locality is the Hill River itself, discovered and named by

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand's New Munster province, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in ...

in 1839 after John Hill, discoverer of the nearby Hutt River. Following earlier pastoralism, closer settlement in the area began in the early 1850s, with the arrival of Irish

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

migrants, including the Barry, Sullivan, Erwin, and Rochford families who were all from

Glendalough Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead min ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

. The first white child born at Hill River was claimed to be James Erwin, in 1853. Polish Hill River was also established in the 1850s south of the Hill River settlement, around the church of St.

Stanislaus Kostka Stanisław Kostka, S.J. (28 October 1550 – 15 August 1568) was a Polish novice in the Society of Jesus. He was born at Rostkowo, Przasnysz County, Poland, on 28 October 1550, and died in Rome during the night of 14–15 August 1568. He is sai ...

by Polish Catholic immigrants. These included Dr Anton Sokolowsky (d.1862). The former church now houses a museum of Polish migrants to South Australia. Several well-known wineries exist in the Polish Hill River area, including Pikes, Pauletts, Wilson Vineyard and Little Brampton Wines. Grossett Wines also source grapes from this area. A circuit from the '' Riesling Trail'', the ''Father Rogalski Loop'', provides a walking and cycling entry to the Polish Hill River region.

References

Irish-Australian culture Polish-Australian culture Towns in South Australia Mid North (South Australia) {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub