Lights of Lobethal

The small town of Lobethal in the Adelaide Hills is home to what is claimed to be the southern hemisphere's largest Christmas light display. The tradition began in the mid-1940s when some of the town's business people decorated their windows in the main street with hand painted light globes. When the town's main employer, the Onkaparinga Woollen Mills, closed in the 1990s, the community decided to turn the Christmas lights into a display encompassing the whole of Lobethal to lift town morale and confidence. It is now estimated that 90 per cent of homes and businesses are decorated with lights during the period of the festival, the second Sunday of December to New Year's Eve. There are also stalls, events and live entertainment throughout the period. Each year the Lights of Lobethal attract approximately 250,000 visitors.

For further information see the Lights of Lobethal website