Beerenberg Foundation

Foundation Mission

To conserve and celebrate Hahndorf’s cultural, built and natural heritage.

Why a Foundation?

The Paech family identified a need to establish a clear focus for Beerenberg’s philanthropic activities, whilst ensuring an effective and accountable means of giving. A foundation is also an active tribute to the founders of Beerenberg that will exist in perpetuity and unite generations of Paech family members in a common cause.

As a family business with rich local heritage and a strong bond with the Hahndorf district, they are dedicating their charitable efforts to conserving the town’s unique heritage.

Foundation Structure

The Beerenberg Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Beerenberg Pty Ltd. It is a private charitable trust, being a privately controlled trust established solely for charitable purposes.

The Foundation is bound by a legal trust deed to continue carrying out the mission of the foundation in perpetuity. The trust has the power to make grants to charitable organisations and to apply funds for its own charitable programs. The Foundation must make decisions solely for the public benefit and without regard to the commercial interests of Beerenberg Pty Ltd.

The Foundation has an Advisory Committee, consisting of:

the directors of Beerenberg Pty Ltd;
a representative of the Flinders Trustees Group; and the
Director of the Foundation - an employee of Beerenberg Pty Ltd assigned to the Foundation and reports to the directors of the trustee.

The Advisory Committee meet quarterly and make decisions via consensus on projects to be funded.

The foundation accepts funding applications for projects from charitable or community organisations. Applicants need to meet eligibility criteria and complete an application form. Applications are accepted all year round but assessed quarterly by the Advisory Committee.

Project funding is at the absolute discretion of the Advisory Committee.

The Beerenberg Foundation was launched on 29th April 2010.

Sally Paech Thumbnail

Sally Paech, Director, Beerenberg Foundation

Project Profiles

The Windows and Doors project - Hahndorf Academy

In July 2010, we are funding the 'Windows and Doors' project at the Hahndorf Academy. This beautiful 153 year old heritage building has had multiple incarnations throughout its history, including a school, hospital, dentist and a betting shop, among many others.

The Foundation is funding a series of vintage-inspired signs created for each room, accessible to the Academy's 80,000 visitors each year. Each sign will detail the room's uses over the building's lifetime, including fascinating anecdotes that bring its history to life for the visitor.

Above: Rene Strohmeyer (left) and Hahndorf Academy Director Melinda Rankin. Rene is the artist charged with the task of researching and designing the room signs to "help us fall even more in love with" the Academy.

Pioneer Women's Memorial

The Hahndorf Community Association and the District Council of Mount Barker have designed a monument to honour the endurance and pioneering spirit of the women and girls of Hahndorf's early Germanic settlers.
Erected in Hahndorf's Pioneer Memorial Gardens, the Beerenberg Foundation is proud to have part-funded this important project.

The memorial tells the story of the extraordinary feats of the pioneer women.

Revegetation of the Hahndorf District

The Beerenberg Foundation has provided funding to assist the local Landcare group, Trees Please! Inc. to collect seed from local native tress and shrubs, raise seedlings and plant them in the Hahndorf area. The group do most of their work at 'The Cedars', the former Hahndorf home of celebrated artist Hans Heysen, still owned by the Heysen family.

Above: Robin, Penny, Trevor and Paul (and Kate the dog) - 'Trees Please!' volunteers at The Cedars.

Hahndorf Heritage Building Signs

The Beerenberg Foundation provided funding to the Hahndorf Community Assocation Inc. to create and install ten heritage signs on State Heritage buildings along Hahndorf Main Street.

Each sign conveys the history of each building and raises visitor’s awareness of the cultural and social background of the town’s original 1839 settlers.

An example of the signs that outline the brief history of selected buildings along the Main Street.

Heritage Walkway Signs

The signs, co-funded by the Beerenberg Foundation, provide a cultural appreciation and historical perspective about the life of the early pioneers who settled the township of Hahndorf.
Placed along the Heritage Walkway adjoining the St Paul’s Lutheran Homes, the signs give an understanding of how Hahndorf was settled, the hardships the early pioneers had to face and how they blended with the indigenous Peramangk people.

The Heritage Walkway and interpretive signs along the path.

2012 Adelaide Hills International Sculpture Symposium

Held in April 2012, this inaugural symposium saw eight internationally acclaimed sculptors work over 20 days at The Cedars in Hahndorf to create eight totally unique stone sculptures. They are to be permanently placed in hills locations, including this stunning piece below by Australian sculptor Craig Medson, which will be placed on the lawns of the Hahndorf Academy. The Beerenberg Foundation made a donation towards the cost of creating this sculpture. We know many local people are looking forward to driving and walking past it for years to come, remembering how they saw it being created from a what was just a huge chunk of stone.