‘A nightmare’: The picturesque Adelaide Hills pioneer town at a crossroads
Hahndorf is famous for its 19th century architecture but angered locals say it is being destroyed by another looming relic from the past. Hahndorf Community Association chair Shirley Howe fears governments are ‘ignoring’ the biggest threat to her beautiful home’s future.
Imagine a time in the not-to-distant future when a family of tourists venture into the Adelaide Hills to visit the famous pioneer town of Hahndorf, sample its wares and enjoy the heritage architecture and beautiful natural surroundings.
But instead, the family spends hours in traffic, dodging pedestrians and other cars and trucks driving through, not finding a park and then turning around in frustration and returning to their hotel in Adelaide.
“Have you heard about Hahndorf,” they will tell anyone who will listen.
“Don’t bother.”
This nightmare for the state’s tourism sector will be a reality in the near future, unless something changes.
The State Government is heavily promoting its infrastructure spending across Adelaide but in Hahndorf major infrastructure shortfalls remain unaddressed, with the town apparently cut adrift from government priorities.
Hahndorf’s core problem is severe traffic congestion, driven not only by tourism but by an unavoidable bottleneck in the local road network that forces local and regional traffic through the town’s main street.
You might like
So severe has the problem become, Hahndorf will be the laughingstock of the nation’s tourism sector unless it is addressed with significant and targeted infrastructure.
The state’s most popular regional destination, visited by well over a million tourists a year, will descend into irrelevance.
Even today, the choking traffic damages the tourism experience, hurts the state economy and imposes daily costs on the Hills population, with thousands of vehicles using the town as a conduit to the Southeast Freeway and other Hills destinations.
The State Government itself estimated in 2022 that unnecessary through‑traffic in Hahndorf accounts for around 30 per cent of all traffic — more than 3,500 vehicles a day forced to crowd-out the main street with tourists.
Yet no plan exists to remove this load from the main street, through a bypass, interchange, or alternative route. For a government that describes itself as pro‑business, the inaction is surprising. Hahndorf generates more than 70 per cent of total tourism revenue in the Adelaide Hills.
Frustration among locals and business owners has become so acute that hypothetical protest actions have been floated—from Barcelona‑style tactics to discourage tourist numbers, to a “citizens’ toll booth” to raise funds directly for infrastructure, or even a protest march onto the Freeway to demand action. While these remain theoretical, they reflect genuine community exasperation.
Part of the frustration is knowing that solutions have been identified.
From 2020 a project specifically aimed at removing through‑traffic from Hahndorf’s heart was consulted on, planned and funded, following decades of local advocacy.
Stay informed, daily
However, after the 2022 state election the incoming Labor Government cancelled the project.
The government later banned semi‑trailers from Hahndorf, diverting them onto secondary roads such as River Road. Although this improved the town’s ambience, it has not alleviated congestion or road safety concerns.
Today the government’s position is to “wait and see,” pointing to the Verdun interchange upgrade several kilometres away. Meanwhile, unaddressed infrastructure issues undermine the town’s attractiveness to tourisms, from a major parking shortage, forcing tourists into residential backstreets to forcing walkers on the Pioneer Women’s Trail to cross the Onkaparinga River over a narrow bridge with no shoulder or footpath — an unsafe and baffling situation for visitors.
Despite briefings to the Premier and the Ministers for Transport and Tourism since 2022, the State Government has announced no significant plan to address these problems.
Hahndorf’s stagnation reflect broader concerns that the Government’s first‑term priorities have concentrated on Adelaide at the expense of regional areas.
Two South East Freeway interchange upgrades in Mt Barker and Verdun—initiated and funded under the previous State and Federal Liberal Governments—were cancelled by Federal Labor in 2023 then reinstated in 2024, with construction only recently underway. Beyond these, there have been no new arterial roads, ring roads, or interchanges committed for the region, despite Mt Barker’s rapid population growth.
Is this good enough for a government tipped to remain in power for several terms?
Should not governments plan and invest in infrastructure according to need, rather than which party represents a local electorate?
Yes recent regional media reporting showed that the Adelaide Hills received only 2.9 per cent of the State Government’s new transport infrastructure spending, despite comprising 4.6 per cent of the state’s population. In dollar terms, that equates to more than $300 million in the current term of government.
Not addressing the major problems facing Hahndorf, an economic centre generating about $130 million in tourism revenue annually, makes no sense for a government keen to grow the state’s job base and economy.
Unless proper targeted infrastructure is put in place to divert through-traffic, among other pressing issues, Hahndorf will descend into complete paralysis.
At some point in the near future no solution could arrive fast enough to save Hahndorf.
And this government will be blamed for killing the goose that laid the golden egg.
Shirley Howe is chair of the Hahndorf Community Association.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
