Ardrossan And District Historical Museum

When Ardrossan folk talk of the sea they look to the land. And amidst the agricultural machinery in the Ardrossan Museum you will see why. At ports like Ardrossan, Yorke Peninsula's wheat and barley harvests were loaded onto the ketches and coastal steamers, their destination the markets of Britain and Continental Europe.

Ardrossan Museum is located in the former factory of C.H. Smith who was a well-known South Australian manufacturer of agricultural machinery and developer of the Stump Jump Plough. This plough has legendary status in South Australia's history and is at the heart of the Ardrossan Museum's displays.

It was only by ploughing with this specially designed plough - which literally 'jumped' over the mallee tree stumps left in the ground after falling - that farmers could sow a full paddock. With the arrival of this plough, grain production increased so did the need for ports, ships and trade routes.