The town of Clare is located in South Australia in the Mid North region, 136 km north of Adelaide. It gives its name to the Clare Valley wine and tourist region. At the, Clare itself had a population of 3160 as part of an urban area with 3327 people.
History
The first European to explore the district was John Hill, who in April 1839 discovered and named the Wakefield River and Hutt River. In early 1840 the first European settlers arrived in the district, led by John Horrocks. The town itself was established in 1842 by Edward Burton Gleeson, and named after his ancestral home of County Clare in Ireland, although the town was first named Inchiquin after Gleeson's property. Lake Inchiquin is now the name of a reservoir located to the north of the town, near the golf club. The layout of the town's road system was apparently designed by a draughtsman in Adelaide, without any knowledge of the local geography. There are several roads in Clare that end abruptly at a cliff face, only to continue again at the top of the cliff. The District Council of Clare was established in 1853 and was joined in 1868 by a corporate municipality, the Corporation of Clare. The corporate town seceded from the district council to provide dedicated local government to the township but re-amalgamated with the district council in 1969. A railway line was built from Riverton to Clare in 1919 and on to Spalding in 1922. It closed in 1974 and the tracks were removed in the 1980s after damage caused by the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983. The alignment now carries the Riesling Trail walking and cycling trail. In 1997 Clare and the surrounding district became a part of the much larger District Council of Clare and Gilbert Valleys for the purpose of local governance.
The town today
As one of the larger towns in the region, Clare is an administrative and service centre for the surrounding area. It has two supermarkets, many other specialty stores, two public and two private schools, three hotels, two motels, a caravan park, race course and showground. Clare has become recognised for its 'experiences', including the Riesling Trail walking and cycling route from 9 km north of Clare to Auburn, on the former railway alignment, so named as it weaves past vineyards and wineries, and continuing to Riverton as the Rattler Trail. The Riesling Trail also makes up a small section of the popular, Mawson Trail which stretches up to the Flinders Ranges. Clare is the starting point of the Lavender Federation Trail which traverses the eastern side of the Mount Lofty Ranges past the Barossa Valley through to Murray Bridge. The Clare Valley wine region continues within the same line of hills as the famous Barossa Valley, and also produces some excellent wine.
Governance
Clare is governed at the local level by the District Council of Clare and Gilbert Valleys. Clare lies in the state electoral district of Frome and the federal electoral Division of Grey.
