Petticoat Lane, the oldest residential part of Penola, allows you to wander through historic timber and stone cottages, which retain much of the charm and character of yesteryear. Red gum kerbing as well as rose and lavender plantings enhance the lane’s character as an example of days gone by. Petticoat Lane is a State Heritage Area.

Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia’s first Saint, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods founded the religious order, The Sisters of St. Joseph, in Penola on the 19th March 1866. In 1867 the Woods MacKillop Schoolhouse was established for the children of the district. Saint Mary of the cross MacKillop taught in this historic building. The Mary MacKillop Interpretive Centre was opened in 1998. 
Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop Interpretive Centre 
Portland Street, Penola. Phone: 08 8737 2092 
Historic displays including Father Julian Tenison Woods. 
web www.mackilloppenola.org.au    


Another prominent figure in Penola’s history was Scottish born John Riddoch. Settling in the area in 1861, he had a profound impact on the district. His crowning achievement was the establishment of the Penola Fruit Growing Colony in 1890, renamed Coonawarra in 1897, signalling the birth of Coonawarra’s internationally renowned quality wine. The two-story mansion “Yallum Park” was completed for John Riddoch in 1880 and many of the early buildings in the district were opened or had their foundation stones laid by the man of vision. He was a local Member of Parliament for many years and the Riddoch Highway is so named to acknowledge his contributions.

Yallum Park - a Victorian mansion was built by John Riddoch in the 1880s. It was purchased by the Clifford family in 1910. The building still has original wallpapers and furniture and is open to the public by appointment at the Tourist Information Centre. John Riddoch's other claims to fame in our area is the Coonawarra Fruit Colony. He recognized the abundance of under ground water, Mediterranean type climate and Terra Rossa soil all combined to provide excellent fruit growing conditions.
Two thousand acres of Yallum Estate were surveyed and cut into blocks of 10 to 30 acres. Blockers were charged 10 pounds an acre and were given 10 years to pay at 5% interest. Riddoch planted about 250 acres of his own with both vines and fruit trees.
In 1891 Riddoch commenced building his own cellars. Today these are a landmark known to us all as Wynn's Coonawarra Estate.

It wasn't until the mid 60s that other companies like Penfolds, Mildara and Rouge Homme recognized Riddoch's acumen. This gave new confidence to small growers and from 200 hectares of vines in 1964 Coonawarra has grown to 4,450 hectares in 1999. When Owen Redman opened his new winery in 1969 his was the first Cellar Door in Coonawarra there are now 21 with more on the drawing board.
Penola is centrally situated - being 50km from Mt Gambier, Naracoorte and Millicent and only 61kms from Casterton, making it an ideal destination for visitors who wish to explore and discover the many diverse attractions our region has to offer.

The Penola & District Local History Collection is housed in the Visitor Information Centre, and provides an extensive collection of Penola’s early history, offering both professional and amateur historians the opportunity to research the many interesting facets of Penola’s early days.

The People...

Scottish born Alexander Cameron, a pastoral pioneer who squatted the area in 1845, founded Penola in 1850. Paving the way for future generations he built the first timber dwellings and was known by his contemporaries as the “King of Penola”. A John Dowie bronze statue of Alexander Cameron in Church Street commemorates his achievements and those of his fellow pioneers.  

Father Julian Tenison Woods Missionary Priest Julian Tension Woods was born in London in 1832. His mother was Anglican and his father a Catholic. One of eleven children, from the age of 18 he had explored a religious life. His formative years were spent in London and later in France.

He entered the Passionist Order for a short time and later studied with the Marists. Responding to an invitation from the Bishop of Hobart, Julian arrived in Tasmania in 1855. Unhappy with his work he soon crossed to the mainland and took up studies with the Australian Jesuits at Sevenhill in South Australia’s Clare Valley. He was ordained a priest in Adelaide in 1857.

Within months he was sent to work in the Penola district of south east South Australia. His parish was vast, 56 000 square kilometres, and their their living conditions were very primitive…no roads, no water, and no sanitation. There were only three towns in the parish – Penola, Mt Gambier and the port of Robe. The rest of the population was scattered throughout the bush. Julian rode about 30 or 40 miles a day and after experiencing heat, exhaustion and thirst, he learnt to ride at night and in the early morning. Julian saw at first hand the desperate needs of the people, especially the children.

Scientist Julian was not only a gifted missionary priest and cofounder of the Sisters of St Joseph but an eminent scientist, popular lecturer and a friend of the leading Establishment figures of his time. His interests covered geology, palaeontology, botany, zoology and botany. Julian’s reputation as a scientist was well established before he met Mary MacKillop. His first scientific paper on the metamorphic rocks of South Australia was published in 1857. This was followed by three more geological papers and a book called ‘Geological Observations in South Australia.’ 

In 1888 he won the medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales for his paper on Australian molluscs. The same year he was awarded the prestigious Clarke Medal for distinguished contribution of Natural Science. He died in Sydney on 7 th October 1889.

Famous colonial poets, Adam Lindsay Gordon, William Ogilvie, and Penola born John Shaw Neilson, left behind a legacy of poetry inspired by their experiences of rural life in this district.