On June 21st, 1858, the people of Oakbank opened their very own school in the Main Street, funded and built by the community. The school was closed in 1938, but the building was in continual use by the Girl Guides, Boy Scouts and other ventures through the education department. It was saved from demolition in 1974 and 1 year later, the Oakbank Kindergarten was established and has been running successfully ever since. To celebrate the occasion, past and present pupils were invited to afternoon tea on Sunday, June 22nd, 2008, 150 years on!

In the colder months, what is better than curling up under a blanket, watching a movie and eating a biscuit with a steaming hot cuppa? This recipe is to make a biscuit that is substantial, flavoursome, easy to make (although a little time is needed) and not too sugary.

Biscotti literally means ‘twice baked’ - baked in a log, and then sliced and baked again. It is an Italian biscuit invented solely for the use of dunking in Tuscan wines. They are a very hard biscuit, barely any moisture, giving it a large shelf life. They were used in the Italian army rations, much like the Anzac biscuit.

Everyone loves history, whether it be local gossip, an obscure link in a family tree, wartime legends and famous battles, convicts and settlers, architecture or just a good historical novel! Well for all those history buffs, up until Sunday, May 25th, the History Trust of SA is holding its 5th annual SA HISTORY WEEK with a great variety of places to visit, state-wide.

We didn’t manage to get to all of them, but the ones we did see were a real treat. The Marble Hill Ruins, Mount Lofty (pictured right) are still a rather grand structure, even after the Black Sunday bushfires in 1955. It is easy to imagine the grandiosity of the purpose built Governor’s summer residence with the 360 degree view and huge stone walls that still remain. The tour, run by the Friends of Marble Hill, is interesting and thorough and you can even have coffee and cake in the old stable house.