T H E B AROS S A MAG | 13
A heart for community
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BY
ALICIA LÜDI-SCHUTZ
Vintage Festivals may come and
go, but there’s one face in the
crowd that has remained constant
through the decades, helping to
create the very events that make
the Barossa unique. the beer steins, some Bavarian
dancers and oom-pah music as
well as the Valley Cats - so very
local content. We are very much
focusing on something for
the people.”
Kathryn Schilling’s purpose in
life is to ensure the community in
which she and her family live is the
very best it can be and Nuriootpa
is the lucky beneficiary. Kathryn is also a driving force
behind “Busk ‘til Dusk”, an
afternoon of entertainment
for youth. Again on the lawns
of Coulthard House, this show
launches into action after the
Festival Parade with prizes on
offer for pre-registered “buskers”
aged between 12 and 25.
“I’m a Nuri girl!” Kathryn says with
pride. “I grew up in Nuri, went to
Nuri Kindy, Nuri Primary and
Nuri High.”
Nuriootpa and everything it stands
for is the reason Kathryn is one of
the first to put up her hand when
it comes to showcasing its charms
and the Barossa Vintage Festival
provides the perfect opportunity
to do just that.
“We’re bringing back the
Strassenfest!” Kathryn enthuses.
“I have great memories as a kid,
seeing Nuri main street closed and
lined with palm fronds and bands;
just the whole town coming out
and having fun in the street. Then
it moved to Tolley Reserve.
“One night we even had Marcia
Hines here, it was huge. It was just
a great event, a great idea and a
great concept.”
The traditional German “street
festival” of old will return under a
new guise, highlighting yet another
one of Kathryn’s passions.
“It’s going to be held on the
grounds at Coulthard House,”
she beams.
The Friday night event harks back
to the very heart of why the Vintage
Festival began – to bring every
corner of the community together
to celebrate the end of vintage,
whilst showcasing the region’s rich
heritage.
“We’ll have the German hats and
These are just two of many Vintage
Festival events Kathryn has been
a part of over the years.
“I can’t remember not being
involved,” she says, recalling being
an entrant in the Miss Nuriootpa
quest to find a float princess and
later attending all the events and
being “treated like a star” when
she was a Vintage Queen finalist.
“I didn’t win anything though! I
didn’t get to go on the town float!”
But that didn’t stop the vivacious
Nuri-ite from achieving her dream.
“I did years later by becoming one
of the float organisers!” she laughs.
“My favourite one was when we
went back to the old idea of when
they decorated the entire float with
fresh flowers and plants.
“Then we did a little mini Angas
Park Hotel...We wore long dresses
and Wayne Hampel and I danced
all the way from Tanunda to Nuri!”
For Kathryn, volunteering is central
to who she is and happily “blames
it” on her parents who fostered
what she calls a “sense of place”.
“When I think about my
upbringing and where it all stems
from, mum and dad were involved
in St. Petri Lutheran Church… that
was our ‘attachment’ to the town.
That whole offering where you
were baptised, you went to
Sunday School, you became
a Sunday school teacher, you
went to youth. That’s when I
started committee involvement,
there was the junior youth, then
the senior youth. It just hasn’t
stopped,” explains Kathryn.
“Mum and dad always said,
if there is something to do in
the community, you get out there
and help because that’s how you
get things done. For me, that was
naturally what you did, the way
I was brought up.”
Now in her fifties with many
hours of volunteering to her name,
Kathryn’s fascination for the town
and its history is stronger than ever.
“The whole story about the War
Memorial Community Association
and how that group of people got
together and decided, post war,
that they could do something about
building facilities and creating
a great town. I’ve been really
inspired by that movement.
I was in my mid-twenties when
I first got involved, so it’s been
thirty years now.
“I got involved because I bought a
hairdressing business in town and
I thought if I’m expecting people
to come to my business to support
me, I need to support the town
because that’s how I always felt
that it works.”
Kathryn speaks of inspirational
leaders like Coulthard, Reusch,
Dallwitz and FW Hoopmann
and describes how Nuriootpa
War Memorial Association, now
Nuriootpa Futures Association,
purchased Coulthard House from
the Coulthard family with the view
of maintaining it as a community
building.
“I’ve been wanting to maintain that
legacy. Now we are looking towards
creating that as being the People’s
Place, something the community
can use - it’s exciting.”
Along with being on the NFA
committee, Kathryn is collating an
historical archive of Nuriootpa, is
a founding member of the Bush
Chapel Committee, a long term
member of the Vine Inn Barossa
Community Hotel Board and part
of the Nuriootpa War Memorial
Swimming Pool group.
“I also check for head lice at
Redeemer every term!” she laughs.
Most recently, Kathryn has become
an elected member on The Barossa
Council and is still getting used
to the title as she expands her
unbridled passion for community
beyond the borders of Nuriootpa.
“I always felt that one day I would
run for Council. It’s always been
of interest to me.”
Her strength of character and
convictions are stirred as she
admits she had every intention
of winning the election.
“Yep, that was my goal!”
Kathryn says she’s of the age now
where she is confident in her own
abilities, even though putting
herself “out there” and asking for
votes took her out of her comfort
zone. Yet talking to people and
making connections has always
come easy.
“As a hairdresser, that’s what you
do all day – you talk!”
Kathryn retired from hairdressing
due to shoulder issues and ongoing
pain caused by Fibromyalgia, a fact
few people know about her.
“I have good days and bad days….
Sometimes people think I’m
grumpy, but I’m actually in pain.”
She says her involvement in the
community helps her get out of
bed on those tough days and she
hopes others suffering from the
same condition are inspired by
her story.