The village of Penwortham was founded by settler, pioneer and explorer,
John Horrocks (22 March 1818 – 23 September 1846). Horrocks arrived in the colony of South Australia on his 21st birthday, 22 March 1839, less than three years after its
proclamation by Governor
John Hindmarsh. After meeting
Edward John Eyre, who told him of potentially good farmland to the north of
Adelaide, John Horrocks and a servant, John Green, set off to find the area Eyre had described to him. Horrocks settled in a region that he believed to be along the
Hutt River and named his establishment
Hope Farm. Later in 1839, the first stone cottage of the settlement was commenced and, in 1840, Horrocks and his servants built stone stables for horses, which were then very rare and valuable in the new colony. For a short time, this was the only inland
European settlement north of Adelaide and
Gawler. The following year saw the completion of an inn,
The Derby Arms, which was built to accommodate the many new travellers passing north through Penwortham. The year after that (1842), the first foundations were laid for a flour mill, which did not see full operation until 1856, when all its working parts finally arrived from Europe. 1842 was also the year that the first foundation stone was laid down for the beginning of the manor house at
Hope Farm. Horrocks died in 1846 as a result of a hunting accident at
Lake Gill, just north of the present day city of
Port Augusta. By that time, Penwortham had become quite an established town and included a butcher, general store, tailor, school and blacksmith. The next year (1847), an unofficial post office began operation, with the local publican, James Bleechmore, acting as postmaster. In 1851, building began on St Mark's
Anglican Church. Completion of St Mark's occurred in 1855, with the installation of a bell, turret and porch. A new era of transport and industry began in 1915, when the construction of the
Riverton to
Spalding railway line passed through the town. It brought about many changes, and included the demolition of the manor house at
Hope Farm, as this was in its direct line. By now, the main industries in the town and surrounding farms were fruit, dried currant and dairy production. These continued until just after the
Second World War, when competition from the
Riverland meant that a viable industry in the Clare Valley was untenable. As a result, the pre-war advent and post-war continuation of the fledgling wine industry began to flourish in the region. The
Riveton to
Spalding railway closed in 17 April 1984 following track damage between
Sevenhill and Penwortham. The track was removed in 1989 and the Riesling trail now follows the original alignment. A monument was built and unveiled on 22 September 1946 commemorating the life, exploration and untimely death of the town's founder, John Ainsworth Horrocks. It was built by Gordon Ross and William Robins and now stands by the side of
Main North Road, near St Mark's Church. ==Name==