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Crafers is the first township located along the South Eastern Freeway in the Adelaide Hills on route from Adelaide. Visitors to Mount Lofty Summit and Cleland Wildlife Park most times arrive via Crafers. The small settlement includes hotel, restaurants/cafes post office, shops and service station. Many residents commute to Adelaide each day.
The small hamlet has a colourful history. In the early days the area was known as “The Tiers” where a number of woodcutters worked. In the 1800s the local inn, the Sawyers Arms, run by David Crafers was the scene of a siege between lawbreakers and the police. It seems that during the offenders escape they got as far as the Sawyers Arms, but the warmth and good liquor got the better of them.
Apparently they were easy to arrest a few hours later.
During the summer of 1983, Crafers was hard hit by the Ash Wednesday bushfires Many homes adjacent to bushland on the western side of the township were destroyed. Luckily a change in the weather prevented more devestation.
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