Images: Provided.
Collingrove, home of the Sporting Car Club of South Australia (SCCSA)’s famous hillclimb since 1952, has long been a destination for motorsport enthusiasts.
But the club has unveiled plans to open the gates to a much wider audience.
The vision is to turn the 180-acre property into a multi-purpose regional events precinct, while keeping the hillclimb at its heart.
“We’ve been running the Hillclimb itself as a racetrack for a little over 70 years, but we haven’t utilised any of the other land on the site,” Chris Frith, SCCSA president told Glam Adelaide.
“The Hillclimb itself only takes up probably 25% of the 170-odd acres that we have, and we’ve decided to open that up to other activities.”
The club’s plans include music festivals, car shows, food and wine events and family festivals, while the site could also accomodate outdoor cinemas, night markets and caravan and camping shows.
And its most striking feature could become one of its biggest attractions.
The hillclimb rises almost 70 metres and overlooks the surrounding Barossa landscape, with the property surrounded by rolling grazing country.
“The hill sort of forms a natural ampitheatre, and you could have stages on the flat ground and have people on the hill watching a concert or a movie,” Frith said.
“On a beautiful summer’s evening it would be quite something.”
The view over the Barossa is one of the location’s biggest advantages, he added.
“It is all part of grazing land around the Barossa – it’s all rolling hills and cattle. It’s very picturesque.”
It is a very different vision for a property that, despite being in one of South Australia’s most visited wine regions, has largely been hidden from the broader community.
“We’re trying to offer more for the community because at the moment it’s a little bit locked away unless you’re involved in motorsport,” Frith said.
The hillclimb course has already been completely resurfaced and extended by about 300 metres, taking it from 750 metres to more than a kilometre.
A new clubhouse is also planned with the Sporting Car Club having received a $100,000 South Australian Government grant towards the project.
The club hopes to complete the clubhouse in about 18 months, alongside carports, new toilet facilities and a sealed access road.
“The club rooms will make a big difference,” Frith said.
“It’s been a thought process within the club as to how we can make the most of the property, and not just appeal to people that are passionate about motor sports.”
But Frith added that the redevelopment is not about moving away from its motorsport roots.
“The Hillclimb community is still our bread and butter. We support that hugely,” he said.
“With the upgrades that we’ve done and are working towards, we can host bigger and better events.”
Collingrove Hillclimb
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