Farrell Flat Accommodation, Hotels, Tours & Information

Farrell Flat

Set in the rolling hills of the Clare Valley, Mintaro is one of those rare Heritage classified towns where time stands still in the architecture and fabric of fine old colonial buildings. Many of the listed buildings, which include cottages, council chambers and town mews, display the top quality slate hewn from local quarries since 1853. The slate is also exported for paving and for the base for snooker table tops. But when it comes to exports, nothing surpasses the magnificent Georgian mansion Martindale Hall. Built in 1879 by Edmund Bowman for an English bride-to-be who jilted him, Martindale Hall became known to cinema-goers round the world as the exclusive school for girls in the haunting Peter Weir film Picnic at Hanging Rock. There's wine to be sipped and ale to be drunk at the community's social hub, the evocatively named Magpie and Stump where they have been pulling beer since 1851. The licence has outlived a series of name changes and interior design which is currently based on English village pub style.