Mintaro is a historic town in the eastern Clare Valley, east of the Horrocks Highway, about 126 kilometres (78 miles) north of Adelaide, South Australia.

Mintaro was originally intended as a stopping and resting place for the bullock teams carting copper ore from the Burra mine to Port Wakefield.

Mintaro continued to develop as a rural service centre during the 1870s and early 1880s, when pastoral and agricultural activities boomed in the state's mid north.

[6] Prior to the European settlement of South Australia, the Clare Valley region consisted of grassy-woodlands and open grasslands providing an abundance of food for the Indigenous Ngadjuri people.

The first settler in Mintaro was pastoralist James Stein who from 1841 held occupation licences for extensive sheep runs stretching from Mount Horrocks through Farrell Flat to the Burra district.

[14] Stein subsequently established his homestead on a tributary of the Wakefield River, in a valley beneath Mount Horrocks, about three kilometres west of present Mintaro.

[18] The village of Mintaro was originally intended as a stopping and resting place for the bullock teams (muleteers) carting the copper ore from the mine to the port, and returning with coal and supplies.

As a result, Mintaro's early layout reflects the copper route, with streets aligned at 45 degrees to the north-south grid of the surveyed sections and government roads.

[20] The Burra mine closed in 1877, but Mintaro continued to develop as a rural service centre during the 1870s and early 1880s, when pastoral and agricultural activities boomed in the state's mid north.

The surrounding farming districts of the fertile Gilbert Valley were able to reap the rewards of excellent wheat and wool prices during South Australia's rural boom of the 1870s and early 1880s.

During the latter part of the 20th century some adaptation of historic buildings occurred to serve a growing demand in tourism and, in recent times, there has been increased residential development.

[21] In his 1892 booklet, Our Pastoral Industry, Sir F. W. Holder stated that the local Ngadjuri word "Mintadloo" may have over time degenerated or morphed into Mintaro.

"[22] Later, South Australian historian, Geoff Manning, citing anthropologist Norman Tindale's work, attributed the town's name to the local word mintinadlu (also rendered Mintadloo or Minta - Ngadlu) meaning 'netted water'.

[23] This was based on the fact that Spanish-speaking mule drivers (then known as muleteers) from Uruguay, Chile and Argentina transported copper ore from the Burra Mine to Port Wakefield in the mid-1850s.

[24] However, with the exception of Río Mantaro (a long river running through the central region of Peru), there does not appear to be any words similar to Mintaro in the Spanish language.

In 1856 an English stonemason, Thompson Priest, leased the slate bearing area adjacent to the site of the original discovery and mining began in 1856.

[34] Walter Lindrum, the Australian billiard player who was the world champion from 1932 to 1950, praised the quality of Mintaro slate claiming it was equal to anything he had played on.

[3] Australian tennis player, Lleyton Hewitt, installed single slab three-quarter-sized tables also made from Mintaro Slate in his Adelaide house and Melbourne apartment.

In 1911 a local syndicate, the Mintaro Slate and Flagstone Company Limited, was formed and in 1912 an area of 60-80 acres adjacent to the quarry was purchased from Sir Samuel Way, together with the Melbourne agency which had been the distributor for Victoria.

[32] In recent time use of the slate has established a niche market that includes paving, kitchen and table tops, fireplaces, flooring, verandah edging and heritage surfaces.

"[55] From 1991 to late 2014, the property was managed under lease as a tourism enterprise, offering heritage bed and breakfast accommodation, weddings, other functions and access to the grounds and Hall to day visitors.

[56][57] From 2015 the property was managed by the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, which in August 2015 received an unsolicited bid for the purchase or long-term lease of Martindale Hall, wanting to turn it into a five-star luxury resort.

[58] However, the National Trust bid to stop private developers taking control of the Hall because they wanted the estate to remain in public hands and be accessible to everyone.

[62] The first European settler at Kadlunga was pastoralist James Stein who, from 1841, held occupation licences for extensive sheep runs stretching from Mount Horrocks through Farrell Flat to the Burra district.

Stein established his homestead on a tributary to the Wakefield River, in a valley beneath Mount Horrocks, and named it Kadlunga, an Aboriginal word for 'sweet hills', after the abundant honeysuckle located there at the time.

[61] The existing bluestone was rendered during the extensions to match the colour of the new walls of locally quarried, roughly squared random-coursed sandstone, with brick quoins and surrounds to openings.

The verandah enclosed the two-storeyed section and the laundry and kitchen in the single-storey wing to the north, while the balcony almost encircles the first floor of the main body of the house.

[20] The historic centre of Mintaro contains a predominance of early Victorian buildings and other sites that contribute to its character and designation as a state heritage area.

[72] At one time, the town contained all the basic facilities needed to cater for its own population and for the surrounding area but today many of these buildings have been converted to guest accommodation.

[citation needed] Although Mintaro is primarily an agricultural community, in recent times tourism associated with the wine industry has played an increasingly important role.