Annette Humphries accepting the Walking Award on behalf of the National Trust of South Australia – Hahndorf Branch, awarded for the upgrade and promotion of Pioneer Women’s Trail. 2018 Award: Special Recognition Award – Group/Organisation
The Pioneer Women’s Trail is a unique historic trail that honours the German pioneer women who during the 1840s to the late 1850s regularly walked along the old Peramangk trails with their produce to sell in Adelaide. Leaving the village of Hahndorf at midnight they walked to Adelaide 35km away, stopping at 4am at Beaumont to rest. Their homeward journey included provisions and two bricks each to build a church.
In 1980 six members of the Hahndorf Branch of the National Trust of South Australia followed a map produced in 1841. The first commemorative walk along its full length took place in 1980, the trail was officially launched in 2007. The Hahndorf Branch has been instrumental in establishing, maintaining and promoting the trail. Recently they have upgraded the trail with a new logo, new waymarkers and new printed maps. Each May they organise a public walk to walk the 26km trail.
The Hahndorf Branch of the National Trust of Australia is primarily concerned with conserving the unique history and heritage of Hahndorf, which was settled by German migrants in 1839, including The Pioneer Women’s Trail.
