Ariah Park Village Only 20 minutes and a hundred years away Just 20 minutes west of Temora is the charming village of Ariah Park which seems to exist in another era and at another pace. A village that grew up where the railway tracks and travelling stock routes crossed, its streets are lined with timeless peppercorn trees that provide languid shade for its town centre, which has changed very little since the height of its prosperity in the roaring 1920s. Even the clocks seem to tick slower here, in rhythm with ‘Ariah Park Time’ that creates a welcome change of pace to the pressures of big city living and hectic lives.
‘A town of wowsers, bowsers and peppercorn trees’ Ariah Park was once known as this for its eclectic social mixture of those frowning on pleasure and progress and those enjoying the new fangled automobiles (and petrol bowsers to fuel them) their wealth afforded them, all decorated with luxuriantly aromatic peppercorn trees. Coming into existence in 1850, in a district first settled by big grazing interests, the village of Ariah Park really sprang to life with the arrival of the railway in 1906 which connected it to the main Southern rail line via Temora. The village was officially recognised the same year and soon began to flourish. The peppercorn trees were planted in 1917. One year earlier Ariah Park took a special place in the development of the Australian grain industry when, for the first time anywhere in rural Australia, a shipment of wheat was loaded in bulk for rail transport to the seaboard. Not surprisingly, the still standing silos followed shortly after, being built in 1919. A bronze statue of a wheat lumper added in 2016 provides a fitting memorial to the community’s role as the birthplace of bulk grain haulage in Australia.
The Federation style Ariah Park Hotel has been untouched for over 100 years. The tile work of the hotel’s interior preserves the sense of prosperous expectation in which the village was established. A convivial highlight of any visit to Ariah Park is to drop into “Second Glance” a quaint community centre located in a restored billiard room complex. It’s where both visitors and locals can meet over a friendly cuppa, share community information and buy a curiosity from the ever changing array of bric-a-brac and old wares available. It’s open most days from 10am - 1pm. The development of both the ‘Echoes of Ariah Park’ museum and ‘Second Glance’ brings the heritage of the district to life and adds a new dimension to the Ariah Park experience, a glimpse of 1920s living tucked away in modern rural Australia.
Eating in Ariah Park At the Ariah Park Bowling Club you’ll find Benny’s Chinese Restaurant. Benny’s and the Ariah Park Hotel are open for meals Thursday - Sunday. The White Rose Café is open 7 days.
Camping In The Past The quiet and secure Ariah Park Camping Ground is situated in the south-west corner of the Ariah Park Recreation Ground and has 24 powered sites and another 30 unpowered sites. Fully self-contained motorhomes and caravans are welcome, while there is a small charge for the hot showers and powered sites. Toilets and tap water are adjacent to the sites. Please note that fire buckets are allowed in season, and dogs are allowed if on a leash.
For more information about us visit www.ariahpark.com.au Temora - Down to Earth 30
