South Australia’s History Festival takes over WeekendPlus and showcases their top picks in regional South Australia.

Barossa Valley - Exploring Menge’s Island and Cave          

Guided tour presented by Bernard O'Neil

Led by historian Bernie O’Neil, this walking tour traverses the State Heritage-listed site where Johannes Menge (1788–1852), South Australia’s pioneer geologist, mineralogist and educator, resided from 1839 to 1842.

Cost: Adult - $10, Child – Free
Bookings required by phone or email. Bernard O’Neil, 0411 154 801 (text only), bernard.oneil@adelaide.edu.au

1 and 21 May, 1.30pm-3pm
Jacob’s Creek Visitor Centre, Barossa Valley Way, Rowland Flat

Clare Valley & Mid North – Reimagining the World of Print Prior to the 1900s

Special event presented by Peterborough History Group

Experience our historic Print Shop with its original working machinery, artefacts and related printing equipment and ephemera still in place. The first newspaper was printed in 1887 and the business closed in 2001. Come and try your hand at printing on our 1887 Hopkinson & Cope proof press to create your own poster. Wheelchair and pet friendly.

Cost: Adult - $5, Child - Free

Every Saturday in May, 10am-3pm
Peterborough Print Shop, 7-11 Jervois St, Peterborough

More info: Peterborough Visitor Centre, 8651 3355, pborohistory@hotmail.com

Fleurieu Peninsula – Keith Conlon's Horrible Histories of Adelaide

Performance presented by Festival Fleurieu

Our previously genteel vision of Adelaide’s history will be shattered as Keith Conlon lifts the lid on our darker past. Expect mirth, musical interventions and audience involvement as he flushes out famous follies, infamous incidents and macabre moments in our past. A horrible hoot, with pianist Kerin Bailey as his partner in grime.

Cost: $25
Bookings required by phone or email. Fleurieu Coast Visitor Centre, 8558 0240, cooee@visitfleurieucoast.com.au

21 May, 7.30pm-9pm
Normanville Hotel, 46 Main Rd, Normanville

Fleurieu Peninsula - Great Gorge Walk: Serenity Emerges From Light’s Vision

Guided tour presented by Rob Malone

Gather at Garnet Kelly Reserve and enjoy a guided tour of the 2km Great Gorge Walk. Travel back to 1858 and hear James Quinn, the land holder at the time, talk about the lengthy delays in creating the new road south. Travel back farther to September 1836 and follow the footsteps of Colonel William Light’s survey party.

Cost: Free

28 May, 2pm-4pm
Meet at Garnet Kelly Reserve, 6790 Main South Rd, Normanville

More info: 8558 3644, info@flec.com.au

Fleurieu Peninsula – More Wicked Ways!  

Performance presented by Willunga Branch, National Trust of SA

Join us at the historic Willunga Courthouse Museum to learn more about the heinous past of Willunga and the surrounding area. Discover the stories of the shocking criminal cases that have been all but forgotten. Listen to characters from bygone days as they relate their experience of crimes, criminals and the mounted police who pursued them.

Cost: $5 pp
Book online: historyfestival.sa.gov.au/4039

21 & 22 May, 3pm-4.30pm
Willunga Courthouse Museum, 61 High St, Willunga

More information: Paddy O'Toole, 0412 347 280, willunganationaltrust@gmail.com

Flinders Ranges & Outback – Gladstone Cemetery Walk

Guided tour presented by Gladstone History Group

Come and hear stories of some of the pioneering families from Gladstone and surrounding areas, including people who worked the farms, railways and sheep stations. Your tour guide will be historian, author and cemetery consultant Monty Smith. Please dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes.

Cost: Free
Bookings essential by phone.  Roz Fordham, 8662 2186

6 May, 10.30am-11.30am
Gladstone Cemetery, 101 Cemetery Rd, Gladstone

Check out the other History Festival content in WeekendPlus: