Background
The barn is approximately 185 years old and the walls are clad in long planks or “shingles” of split stringy bark timber. These are 50mm thick, up to 500mm wide and up to 2.4 metres long.
The barn is 7 metres long, 4 metres wide and almost 7 metres from ground level to the roof apex.
In 2024 a young local family living in the centre of the town advertised this barn for sale on Facebook marketplace. Their new house is located at the rear of an old house. The barn had belonged to the original property but a land sub-division left the barn stranded on the new title. It was inconveniently located and subsequently offered for sale.
There was considerable interest from potential purchasers. Some wanted to re-erect it on their farm or at a cellar door, others wanted the wood for firewood! The Community Association was fortunate to secure the purchase aided by the sellers’ good grace, their sense of community and appreciation of the historical value. We reiterate our thanks to the Holding family of Hahndorf.
Progress to date
Once purchased, Hahndorf volunteers worked to a tight time line to carefully dismantle the barn. Each component was labelled to identify location and over 100 photographs taken inside and out help to confirm the location of each piece of timber and iron. Before dismantling a local architect carefully measured and drew a plan to aid reconstruction.
The barn is now safely stored under cover awaiting reconstruction. We are working closely with Mount Barker District Council which has supported the project from the very start. The Community Association and Council researched potential sites in the township and agreed that a position in Alec Johnston Park was ideal. Council recently voted to allow the barn to be erected in that location and work is being done on a Development Application and to seek suitable contractors.
