‘History, Heritage, and Hospitality’

As the name suggests this small town was settled by Prussian and East German immigrants in 1839, who were being persecuted in their native country Germany by the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm III. The town was named in honour of the Captain of their transport ship the "Zebra" which arrived in Australian waters in 1837.

The small town has managed to preserve their German heritage and have built their town to resemble that of a real German town with traditional architectural characteristics such as "fachwerk" external timber framing and steep pitched roofs. The streets are a delight to stroll with mature elm and plane trees lining the roads and all sorts of wonderful German breads and meats on sale in the shop windows. The main street of the town has some 50 historic buildings, many of them having been restored recently.
 

Today the town is a flourishing community that attracts visitors from all over the world and many Germans make the trek out to this small outpost of German culture. The town was declared a State Heritage area in 1988. You will find restaurants, motels, galleries, craft shops, handcrafts, special events and festivals, catering to the large number of day trippers from Adelaide which is only 28km away.

Sir Hans Heyson the world renown Australian artist was brought up in this town and today you can visit the house which is still owned by his family "The Cedars". The house is open most days of the week.

Check out our listing of Adelaide Hills accommodation. In addition to our listed online travel guide information, contact the local tourism visitor centre for your destination for more attractions, tours, local maps and other information.