Rupanyup - A Town With a Pulse

Leaving South Australia and heading over the border to Victoria, we passed many vineyards. We didn't realise that there were so many vineyards in South Australia. We set up for a few nights at Rupanyup Memorial Park, about 40km north-east of Horsham - $10 a night for power and water, and it has toilets, dump point and bbq's close by. It is walking distance to town. Yet another tiny town full of historic buildings.

Rupanyup was originally known as Karkarooc, then Lallat, and is located on the Dunmunkle Creek. European settlement began with the Warranooke Pastoral Run about 1845 It was first surveyed in 1873, and by 1876 it had become Rupanyup, Aboriginal for 'branch or tree hanging over or near water'. After the railway came to Rupanyup (1887) flour mills were established and three reinforced concrete silos – believed to be the first reinforced silos in Australia – were built in 1909. Today the silos are part of the Silo Art Trail. We didn't realise we were so close to the art trail – Rupanyup is the first, or last depending the direction one is going, of the trail that goes for over 200kms and passes many tiny towns. The painted silos represent the areas history. We only went to two, although we met other caravaners who were finishing the trail after staying in some of the towns overnight. The Rupanyup silos were painted by Julia Volchkova and depict a young footballer and a young netballer.