About 3 kilometres to the south of Ardrossan and toward the sea is the old Parara homestead. This was one of the many properties owned by the pioneering Bowman brothers. They commenced grazing sheep at Enfield and Dry Creek and expanded until they owned a good deal of the grazing land in the State.
The township of Bowmans was named in their honour and it was Mr. Edmund Bowman who had Martindale Hall, near Clare, built. This is a beautiful example of Georgian architecture and has now been presented to the Adelaide University.
The B.H.P. company bought portion of Parara for the deposit of Dolomite there.
Two small copper mines worked in the vicinity, one the Parara mine and the Hillside mine were among the richest on the Peninsula.
The name "Parara" is the aboriginal and means "middle."
Parara Homestead c.1914
