A proposal to showcase the dairy history of Port Elliot, which runs back more than a century, has won the seaside town the crown as SA's Legendairy capital.
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The Dairy Australia competition asked people in each of Australia's eight dairying regions to nominate for the title, and gain the chance to receive funds for an initiative in their community.
The Southern Fleurieu Historical Museum Society's plan to build a permanent dairy exhibit won the town the title, and $2500.
Nominator and immediate past president at the museum, Colin Ekers, a former dairyfarmer, said part of his inspiration came from seeing celebrations of his former breed association, the Holstein-Fresian society, which marked its centenary in Australia in 2014.
He said the dairy industry in Port Elliot, and surrounding regions, stretched back even further and he thought it seemed fitting to commemorate this.
The town built its first milk processing factory in the 1890s.
Museum assistant secretary Rick Pocklington said the strong history of dairy in the region was reflected in many of the town's residents.
"The concept of Port Elliot as the dairy capital of SA is from the perspective that when old dairyfarmers give up the farm, this is where they come to live," he said.
Mr Ekers said many of these were members of the musuem, including himself, a former stud breeder from Mount Compass, and president Deane Perry.
Mr Perry said the running of the museum also acted as an outlet for former farmers who were used to keeping active and could switch their skills to restoration and sharing the history of older farm implements.
"For people who come off the farm in retirement it gives them a sense of purpose and a sense their skills can be recognised in an appropriate manner," he said.
The group plans to close in the verandah on the side of their main shed, to set up a specific dairy section reflecting the history of the industry in the region.
They have already received support from the Mount Compass Cup, Encounter Bay Rotary Club, Victor Harbor and Port Elliot Lions Club and the local Port Elliot Show Society to cement the floor.
Mr Ekers said some of the goods they planned to display included a horse-drawn milk delivery truck, a milk separator and milking stalls.
The group is also working out ways to showcase a small milk laboratory.
An audiovisual display complete with digitised historical images is another item on the agenda.
Mr Pockington said they would be working with those in the know, as well as the SA Dairyfarmers Association, to complete the display.
He said the group had collected a wide range of dairy memorabilia, much of it sourced from the local region.
The former Southern Farmers donated trailer loads of goods, including signs, photographs and ribbons.
Memorabilia from milk supply cooperative Amscol, which closed in 1986, is also on display.
The Port Elliot initiative also has a chance to win a further $7500 in the national competition.
Other winners include Stanhope, Vic, in the Murray dairy region; Meeniyan, Gippsland, Vic; Peterborough, western Vic; Comboyne, NSW; Monto, Qld, subtropical; Smithton, Tas; and Northcliffe, WA.
