Established as a farming village in 1839 by Lutheran refugees from East Prussia, Hahndorf has a long history of back breaking toil as well as the finer things in life.

Captain Hahn wrote of this beautiful country, later to be famous by Sir Hans Heysen, "my first glance fell on the beautifully formed trees, which nature had planted there as with the hands of a gardener".

Its two hotels were places for convivial company, where successes and failures of harvest were discussed, dissected, celebrated or mourned over a few drinks. Although exhorted by their pastors to be moderate in their consumption of alcohol, the villagers were all well versed in the delights of the vine.

The history of the Hahndorf Inn goes back to 1853 when Gottlob Schuetze established the Australian Arms in a long fachwerk building at No. 46 Main Street. Mr. Shuetze transferred his hotel to a single storied stone building over the road and changed the name to the Union Hotel in 1863. For many years, the Union Hotel was the scene of rollicking weddings, parties and musical evenings. Plays and learned lectures ranging from "Ancient Teutonic History" and "How to Make a Home Happy" added to the intellectual life of the conservative rural community.