This site is a TOURISM HOTSPOT.
Tolmer Park consists of lovely old red gums and sweeping lawns alongside the Tatiara Creek.
The interpretive signs and walk in the park will give you a brief history of the Bordertown area, and the picturesque park has several red gum artworks and outdoor tables and chairs.
Overlooking the park is the Morning Loaf Bakery - built around the old police station. Alongside, the old gaol has been converted to the toilets. Well worth a visit.
THE HISTORY
Tolmer Park is named after Police Commissioner Alexander Tolmer who instigated the gold escort route between Mt Alexander (near Castlemaine in Victoria) and Adelaide. The Dukes and Western Highways run close to this original route.
In the early 1850s South Australia was on the verge of bankruptcy as so many men headed for the goldfields in Ballarat. Police Commissioner Tolmer instigated a series of escorts to bring the gold safely back to Adelaide to replenish the States' coffers (there being bushrangers around at the time). A total of 18 escorts were conducted between February, 1852, and December, 1853 - none of the gold was lost and the economy of the State was saved.
When surveying the route, Commissioner Tolmer was advised by the local Aboriginals that the area had a reliable source of water so it was at this site that the police depot was built and Bordertown now stands. The town was surveyed and the first blocks of land sold in 1852.
The site was originally called The Half-Way Point and then renamed the Border Town until it was finally changed to Bordertown. The South Australian/Victorian border was not officially designated until the early 1900s.
Tolmer Park is part of the original paddock which housed the horses.
Image courtesy of Simone Richardson.