HERITAGE LIVING | SOUTH AUSTRALIA EDITION 03
AUGUST 2015
Our first store, 1840
Celebrating 60 years
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n this issue we celebrate the first 60 years of the National Trust of South Australia.
We survey the formation of the Trust and its growth into the largest in Australia as measured by branches and properties, and anticipate how it will secure its future into the next 60 years. We include a visual timeline of the Trust’s major milestones, and a list of the 246 South Australians who were the Trust’s founding members. In this issue too, Heritage Living looks to its own future. It will be bigger, it will come in glorious colour, and it will sharpen its focus on the Trust’s dedication to preserve and protect our natural and cultural as well as built heritage. We will cast our net wide to bring you a broad range of writers on key heritage issues.
DR DARREN PEACOCK CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Since taking on the role of CEO in January, I have been fortunate to meet many of our members and volunteers and to visit National Trust places across the state. From Mt Gambier to Port Lincoln, from Burra to Berri, I have been privileged to see the magnificent work and some of the amazing places that demonstrate the success and enduring spirit of the Trust and its many supporters. In Adelaide, we have some major new developments with the opening of the former Z Ward at Glenside Hospital under the National Trust’s care through arrangement with the building’s new owners, Beach Energy. From November at Ayers House we will be hosting the Miss Fisher costume exhibition from the hugely popular ABC-TV series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. This year we also mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the National Trust of South Australia. A birthday party will be held at Beaumont House on Sunday October 11 to celebrate 60 years of effort and achievement in protecting, preserving and promoting South Australia’s heritage. Everyone is invited to come along and enjoy a fun day in the beautiful grounds of Beaumont House, with live music, food and wine. Auctioneers Theodore Bruce will host an antiques roadshow event where you can have a treasured item professionally assessed and valued. Congratulations and thank you to all the people who have supported the National Trust in South Australia for 60 years. Your enthusiasm and dedication have achieved many remarkable things. Happy birthday! I look forward to seeing you at our celebration in October.
Our magazine will have a regular column of advocacy in which we argue the importance of heritage to all South Australians. We will put the living into Heritage Living with features on lifestyle matters such as food and drink and the people who make them. We will honour the eucalyptus sprig in our logo by bringing you a regular column on significant trees in South Australia – and not just eucalypts either. You will discover more about special places such as our nature reserves and heritage gardens. Because we know our members love to visit the properties of Trusts in other countries and interstate, we will showcase some of them in every issue. For now, let us celebrate 60 often turbulent, always interesting, years of achievement by the National Trust.
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Contents 4
Saving our heritage: Repatriation General Hospital
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Living heritage: Linden Ladies
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Special Places: Fraser Reserve
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Special Places: Passport to Burra
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Celebrating: 60th Anniversary feature
15 6o years of milestones and achievements 17
16 Special Places: Sissinghurst Castle, Kent 17 Special Places: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary 18 Conservation Appeal: St Francis Xavier Cathedral
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19 In the garden: Remembering the ANZACs 20 60th AGM of the National Trust of South Australia 21 In the kitchen: Rose petal jelly
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23 Events: Out ‘n’ About 24 Events: Blades of Glencoe
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Saving our heritage
Heritage At Risk Repatriation General Hospital, Daw Park PETER LANGHANS
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he threatened closure of the Repatriation General Hospital at Daw Park by the state government has generated intense opposition throughout the community. The most outspoken group have been returned servicemen, who see the state government as abandoning a commitment made in 1995 to maintain the “Repat” for veterans and war widows, particularly in relation to special veteran medical services. In April this year, a group of veterans took to maintaining a continuous protest in front of Parliament House on North Terrace until their issues have been addressed, and have collected tens of thousands of signatures for their petition. There has been strong opposition from the medical profession too, who foresee the net loss of hospital beds that will occur when the Repat’s wards are closed and replaced by significantly fewer beds at the state’s major hospitals.
Then there is the impact on the heritage-listed buildings on the site, which were recognised as being of cultural importance to the community and were listed to protect them from being lost in the ongoing upgrading of the hospital. The Repatriation General Hospital was purpose-built as a military hospital and commenced operation in 1942 as 105 Adelaide Military Hospital, initially with 170 beds. The architect was Louis LaybourneSmith. The original layout of the single-storey buildings on the site was symmetrical about an axis running north-south from the Daws Road entrance. The interconnected long ward buildings feature distinctive semicircular “solariums” at each end. After the end of World War II, the military hospital was transferred to the Repatriation Department and became known as the Repatriation General Hospital (Daw Park).
While a few buildings had been listed as local heritage places in 2005, the SA Heritage Council in December 2013 confirmed three consolidated sections of the site as a State Heritage Place. Items include the four Central Administration Buildings at the Daws Road entrance, Wards 1 to 4, the SPF Hall, the Chapel, Peace Garden, former mortuary (now the Museum) and former post office. However, some time in 2014, the former post office was torn down. Moreover, in its plans for redevelopment of the site, the state government has only promised to retain the chapel, the museum and the Peace Garden. This puts into question the permanence of State Heritage Places. It seems that legislation we thought was designed to protect State Heritage Places in perpetuity isn’t as watertight as we are led to believe. Sources Record of State Heritage Place: 26305, South Australian Heritage Council (approved by South Australian Heritage Council on December 13, 2013); Peter Last, The Repat: A Biography of Repatriation General Hospital (Daw Park) and A History of Repatriation Services in South Australia, 1994; Transforming Health: The Repatriation General Hospital (fact sheet), Department for Health and Ageing, Government of South Australia, March 2015.
ABOVE The Main Administration Building, designed in the American colonial style, is one of four heritage administration buildings that date from 1942. CENTRE The former mortuary is now the Museum, which is open at various hours for visitors. TOP The Chapel features altars at each end, Catholic and Protestant, with pews that fold to face either direction. Beautiful stained glass windows depict themes relating to the service of our defence personnel. RIGHT A poster outside Parliament House expressing strong opposition from protesting veterans. Photos: Peter Langhans
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LIVING HERITAGE
Linden Ladies PAM TAMBLYN
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rees on the National Trust Register of Significant Trees are often nominated because of their association with our heritage. Some are linked to eminent citizens or locations, but others to the less well known. Two linden trees in Long Gully, Belair National Park, are of the latter kind. They are also on the Belair National Park Significant Tree Register, a project undertaken by the Friends of Belair National Park from 2001 to 2006. The linden, Tilia cordata, is a large attractive tree that is not commonly grown in Australia. It is known as a linden in Europe, but as a lime in England. “Lime” and ‘”linden” have the same root – “lin”, an old term for the tree in old English, German and Swedish. The famous Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus based his professional name on a venerable linden on his family’s property. The Belair lindens are connected to Harriet Cook (1854-1943), whose father was in charge of the Government Farm (forerunner of the National Park) from 1874 to 1884. Harriet left a vivid description of her family’s life on the Farm. The Cooks saw and heard the navvies building the railway through the Farm, watched sly grog carts with their cargo of barrels and assorted females go by, and even thrilled to a gruesome murder at one of the railway camps. The siblings loved to spend time in the spot now known as Long Gully, called then Violet’s Paddock after the resident friendly mare. Harriet’s sister Edith was a gifted student and taught from the age of 14. She married Samuel Hübbe, who left her with five children to raise after his death in the Boer War. Helped by Harriet, who never married, Edith opened the Knightsbridge School, which earned a high reputation during her tenure as Headmistress. Edith died in 1942, Harriet in 1943. In April 1944, the remaining sister, Katherine, approached the Commissioners of the Park for a commemorative planting of three lindens in the sisters’ old stamping ground, Long Gully, as the tree was Harriet’s favourite. The Board stipulated one tree. Further lobbying gained one for each of the recently departed ladies. An accompanying tablet proposed by the Knightsbridge Old Scholars was vetoed.
BACKGROUND Linden
tree in Autumn, Belair National Park. National Park Significant Tree Field team surveying one of the Lindens, 2004. Photos: Jenny Skinner
INSERT Belair
The two lindens can be found about 70 metres apart on the southern side of the Long Gully Oval. Still youthful, they produce dainty flowers in spring, heart-shaped leaves in summer and striking golden canopies in autumn.
For more information about these and other significant trees visit: www.nationaltrust.org.au/sa/significant-trees and www.trusttrees.org.au
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Special places
Fraser Reserve, Southern Fleurieu Peninsula JANET PEDLER
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ucked in amidst a sea of dairy-farming land, Fraser Reserve lies on the steep hills above the southern coast, 11km west of Waitpinga. Midway between Victor Harbor and Parawa, it can be reached from Fraser Rd south of Range Rd.
Covering only 6 hectares, Fraser is a triangular parcel of land straddling a steep-sided tributary of Waitpinga Creek, and is packed with priceless perched bog and swamp vegetation. Donated to the Trust in 1964 by Mr J.G. Fraser, it was made freehold by NTSA in 2006 and is covered by a natural Heritage Agreement. Despite its limited views to the coast, the reserve is stunningly beautiful. From the low stringybark and pink gum woodland and tall, dense wet-heath understorey, to the shaded, fragrant atmosphere and dampened sounds in the Blechnum fern swamp along the creek line, it is breathtaking in the richness and variety of its vegetation. The reserve conserves rare and declining plant associations in the Mt Lofty Ranges, including areas of tall prickly tea-tree and redfruited saw-sedge with understories of ferns and sedges. More than 173 species of trees, shrubs, ferns, rushes, sedges and herbs have been recorded in this reserve, including 35 species of conservation significance. The reserve harbours a wealth of bird life and other native vertebrates, including the swamp rat and eastern water skink. Many of these species can only exist in perched and creek line bog habitat such as this. More species are being identified. The first pocket of coral fern (Gleichenia microphylla) was found in 2013 and the secretive and endangered Bassian thrush (Zoothera lunulata) was spotted in the dense understorey this year. The greatest ongoing threat to the reserve habitat is invasion by aggressive weed species such as blackberry, bridal creeper, buckthorn and coprosma. Blackberry has recently invaded from the northern end of the reserve and has been uncontainable until now. While the battle is not yet over, the spread of blackberry down the creek line has been halted through a partnership with the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Natural Resources Management Board. Funding of contractor work and collaboration between contractors, Board and NTSA staff and volunteers trialling innovative blackberry removal techniques has made this possible.
TOP Rocky
creek line clad with Blechnum fern and Woolly Tea-tree. Dr Russ Sinclair, marvelling at a giant, old stringybark tree. RIGHT A newly discovered patch of coral fern. Photos: Janet Pedler Natural Heritage Officer, NTSA BOTTOM Volunteer
For more information about this and other National Trust nature reserves in South Australia, go to: www.nationaltrust.org.au/sa/natural-heritage
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Special places
Passport to Burra The discovery of copper near the Burra Burra Creek in 1845 gave rise to Australia’s first great mining rush. By the time gold was discovered in Victoria in 1851, the settlement on the creek known as Kooringa, 160 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, was Australia’s largest inland town. Burra’s “Monster Mine” yielded more than 50,000 tonnes of copper metal between 1845 and 1877. With copper now selling for more than $7 per kilogram, a similar discovery today would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
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he legacy of Burra’s early history is extraordinarily well preserved in the mining and engineering structures that remain, as well as a diverse range of living quarters used by the miners and their families. In recognition of its outstanding and nationally significant built heritage, the entire township was designated as a State Heritage Area in 1993. It remains one of the best preserved 19th-century mining towns in Australia. It is also known around the world as the home of the Burra Charter, which outlines principles for the conservation of places of cultural significance that have guided Australian and international practice since their adoption in 1979.
The Burra Heritage Trail includes 50 heritage places around the township and covers around 11 kilometres. It is managed by the National Trust in partnership with the Regional Council of Goyder. Nine of the sites on the trail can be accessed by using the Burra Passport, available from the Visitor Information Centre. By purchasing a passport, visitors are provided with a key that allows them to enter the nine sites and view them at their leisure, perhaps over a weekend, as there is so much to see in this remarkable town just two hours from Adelaide.
This month a new edition of the Burra Heritage Trail and the Burra Passport will be launched with updated information - a perfect excuse to get up to Burra and discover or rediscover one of South Australia’s premier heritage experiences. TOP TO BOTTOM Bon
Accord Mine Photo: NTSA Redruth Gaol Photo: NTSA Peacock’s Chimney Photo: NTSA Miners’ dugout Photo: NTSA BELOW Morphetts Enginehouse Photo: NTSA
The Burra Burra Branch of the National Trust was established in 1962 and has been the custodian of a range of heritage places, including the Bon Accord Mine and Museum, the former Redruth Goal, Malowen Lowarth Cottage, the Enginehouse Museum, the Market Square Museum (complete with old-fashioned lolly shop), Peacock’s Chimney, and former Miner’s Dugouts, where whole families once lived in cave-like dwellings dug out from the clay banks along the creek.
For more information about Burra and the Burra Passport, contact the Visitor Centre, 2 Market Square, Burra, Phone (08) 8892 2154 or 8892 2555 Email: burravisitorcentre@bigpond.com www.visitburra.com
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Celebrating 60 years and beyond
Foundation members The inaugural meeting of the National Trust of South Australia was held at the Institute Building, North Terrace, Adelaide, on 7 March 1956, following the establishment of the Trust by legislation passed in December 1955. The foundation members at that time are listed below. ABBIE Professor AA ABBOTT The Hon Mr Justice ALEXANDER CL ALEXANDER Mrs CL ALEXANDER DJ ANDERSON LM ANGAS Sir Keith ANGAS RF ANGEL Miss H APPS BGF ASHBY AK ASHBY Miss Alison ASHTON JT AUSTIN HH AUSTIN Mrs HH AYERS Mrs JK AYERS Miss LL AYERS Mrs Sydney BAGOT JH BAGOT Miss ME BAGOT WH BAKER Miss H BANK OF ADELAIDE BARRETT Sir Arthur BAXTER LA BARR-SMITH TE BEHRNDT Dr AC BENEKE Miss TE BERRY DW BLACKBURN Professor RA BLEBY GEH BOLTON GJH BONNIN Dr J Mark BONYTHON CW BONYTHON EG BONYTHON JL BONYTHON JR BONYTHON Sir Lavington BOOTH E Stirling BORROW TC BRADFORD Mrs L BROOKS EA BROOKS HG BROOKS ME BRUER LG BULLOCK RG BURNARD DF BURNELL AR BURNELL Dr Mary CASSON Mrs MR CHATTERTON Mrs MJ CHEESMAN JD CLARE HD CLARKE GT CLARKE LE CLELAND Professor JB COLLEY CL COLLINS RJ CONRAD AG COOPER HM CORBIN CW CORNISH Mrs RB COTTON BCT COWAN Sir Darcy
COWAN GD CRAWFORD AS CRAWFORD JD CROMPTON L CUDMORE Hon CR DAVIDSON ES DAVIDSON RL DE CRESPIGNY RGC DEELEY CC DOWNER AR DOWNER TE DUMAS Sir Lloyd DUNCAN – HUGHES JG DU RIEU DT DUTTON G DUTTON Mrs G DUTTON Mrs HH DUTTON JH DELAND CC EWENS LT FINNIS HJ FISHER C H FORWOOD F FRY Dr K GILBERT Miss D GILBERT W GILES HO’H GILES W O’H GILFILLAN Dr W GLYN Dr RM GOOCH WH GOSSE JE GOSSE Lady GOSSE RC GRASBY EC GREGERSON Dr G GREY F Millward HAGGARD VD HAMILTON Dr Ian HAMMOND J HARDY Miss M HARFORD BB HARFORD Mrs BB HARGRAVE LMS HAWKER MS HAYWARD EW HICKS Sir Stanton HOCKING BDW HOLDEN JR HOPKINS Neil HOPKINS Maj Gen RNL HOPKINS Mrs RNL HOWARD J HUDD Lady HUSTLER Dr HF HUTCHINSON C HUTCHINSON Mrs C HUXLEY Professor LGH IFOULD P IFOULD Mrs P IRWIN JC IRWIN RN JACKMAN HM JACOBS RE JAY Dr HM
JEWELL-BAKER Miss M JOHNSON RL JOLLY Mrs EE JONES Dr A Britten JOSE Dr IB KEMPE H KIDMAN WS KOLLOSCHE HE KRANTZ Dr S KYFFIN THOMAS Miss K LAMSHEAD MR LAW SMITH CG LAW SMITH Mrs CG LAWSON A Keith LAYBOURNE SMITH G LAYBOURNE SMITH Mrs G LEWIS Mrs Lance LEWIS RB LEWIS Mrs RB LIGHTFOOT L LINDON Dr LCE LINDSAY HA LUCAS M de N McFARLING DG McFARLING Mrs DG McGREGOR HW MacINTOSH Dr RM MacLACHLAN BH McLACHLAN Ian McTAGGART IR MAITLAND JA MAKIN Dr FH MATHESON RG MATTERS CW MATTERS Dr RF MAWSON Sir Douglas MAYO Dr Helen MELROSE Hon AJ MELROSE Mrs RT MILNE FK MILNE Mrs Roy MONFRIES FE MORE W St B MORE Mrs W St B MORGAN The Hon Sir Edward MORGAN Lady MORICE JPS MORPHETT GC MORPHETT HC MORTLOCK Mrs JT MOULDEN AM MUECKE Ian MUECKE Mrs I MURRAY John MURRAY J Elliot MURRAY J Stanley NEEDHAM RW NEWLAND Sir Henry NEWLANDS DJ OWEN SMYTH G PAINE Sir Kingsley PARKER GL PARKER John
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PARKER Mrs John PARSONS GB Angas PEAKE – JONES K PENNYCUICK Dr SW PLUMRIDGE H PORTER RE POWELL S PRAITE RGL PRICE Dr A Grenfell PRICE KB PROCTOR B St J RANKINE Mrs J Albyn REED The Hon Sir Geoffrey REID AN REID Malcom P REID Mrs McGregor REID EHG RITCHIE Miss IEB ROBERTSON B ROEDIGER WV ROGERS Miss MN ROSS The Hon Justice B ROSS EA ROWE AP RYMILL Sir Arthur RYMILL HW SEPPELT JR SHANNON DR SHANNON HH SIMPSON A Moxon SKIPPER SH SLEEMAN Dr JG SA ASSOCIATED BREWERIES SOWDEN Lady SUTHERLAND Dr D’Arcy SWIFT Sir Brian SWIFT Lady SYMES Major General GW SYMES Mrs GW SYMON Miss LK SYMON OJL TAYLOR Dr RHG TAYLOR Mrs RHG TENNANT A TINDALE NB TUCKER Dr HN TURNBULL Mrs JJ TURNER DC VON DOUSSA WL VERCO Dr RL WAITE Miss Eva WAITE Miss OD WALKLEY Gavin WELLS CB WELLS Mrs CB WELLS GH WENDT AK WEST AA WILKINSON Keith WILLS KA WILSON KC WOOD RK
Celebrating 60 years and beyond
Beginnings The National Trust of South Australia celebrates its diamond jubilee this year. Incorporated in 1955, it was the second in Australia following the New South Wales Trust formed 10 years earlier.
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The act establishing the South Australian Trust drew on an act of the Westminster parliament, the National Trust Act 1907, rather than the NSW act. The Westminster act conferred powers on the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty, a not-for-profit association formed in 1895. The 1907 Act and its amendments cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The National Trust for Scotland was not incorporated until 1931. As its historians Carol Cosgrove and Susan Marsden make clear, the South Australian Trust’s genesis “was not an easy one”. Many people assisted in its formation, but especially influential was Geoffrey Clarke MP. In 1948 he suggested to the government that it should form a National Trust in South Australia. Premier Thomas Playford initially rejected the suggestion. Clarke raised the issue again in August 1949, stating that he had found a tremendous body of public support for such a Trust. He argued that it should be modelled on the British Trust. In 1951 a group of Adelaide residents formed but did not incorporate the National Trust for South Australia. Their main concern was the destruction of flora and fauna in the Adelaide Hills. They received a setback when Playford announced in November 1951 that he planned to form a state Trust, but he did not proceed owing to the differences of opinion amongst supporters of a Trust. In 1955 a separate National Trust of South Australia was incorporated. It was called “the National Trust of South Australia for the Preservation of Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty”. On a trip to England, Playford saw for himself what excellent work the National Trust did there. He held a conference in August 1955 attended by representatives of the two Trusts, where he told them that he would put through a special act of parliament to establish a National Trust. His bill became law in December 1955. Statutory incorporation had the particular benefit of giving the Trust exemption from state taxation except water rates. The National Trust’s list of Foundation Members (see opposite) included 246 men and women. One of those founding members, the Honorable Rod Matheson, who remains a dedicated Trust member today, recalls, “I had just returned from England and had been impressed by what the National Trust was achieving there. I was pleased to become one of the founding members of the South Australian Trust”. The inaugural meeting of members was held on 7 March, 1956 and the first meeting of the Trust’s governing body “the Council” was held on 27 March. Sir Arthur Rymill was elected the first President and Major General Symes agreed to be Honorary Secretary.
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ABOVE Act of Parliament establishing the National Trust of South Australia.
Celebrating 60 years and beyond
The first 60 years The catalyst for the establishment of the Trust in its present form was the revocation in 1955 of a government proclamation to declare a bird sanctuary in the Coorong. Duck shooters protested, and won – temporarily. Supporters of nature reserves and grand country homes came together in a grand alliance.
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o one could dismiss them as riff-raff, lefties or softheaded do-gooders. They included John Langdon Bonython from the family that had run the Advertiser newspaper for more than a century and Douglas Mawson the Antarctic explorer. Its sponsors were the Hon Sir Edward Morgan, Sir Keith Angas, MajorGeneral George Symes, Walter Bagot, CC Deland, and Hurtle Morphett. The first president, Sir Arthur Rymill, had served as
ABOVE Gain’s drawing of Major-General George W Symes in uniform during World War Two. Photo: NTSA
ABOVE Historical re-enactment at Ayers House. Photo: NTSA RIGHT First property registration on the National Trust’s Heritage list, Ayers House on North Terrace. Photo: NTSA
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Lord Mayor and was prominent in conservative political circles. The Trust benefited enormously from the generosity of idealistic individuals. Lacking the tax incentives that have made the National Trust Britain’s largest landowner, the South Australian movement depended on altruism. Nineteen of the first 21 properties acquired by the Trust in the first decade of its existence were nature reserves, most of which had been donated by private owners.
Celebrating 60 years and beyond
At about the same time architects discovered previously unsuspected virtues in the built heritage of the metropolitan area and country towns. Many of them became active in the Early Buildings Committee, which developed the first system of listing historic places deemed worthy of attention and preservation. Techniques of building that had fallen into disuse were studied, revived and promoted through Trust-sponsored restoration projects. Gradually the Trust’s vision expanded beyond early buildings to include the study of areas of special character, technical achievement and architectural excellence regardless of period. The Register of Classified Places begun in the 1960s was the first ever devised in the state. In the decades immediately after World War II it became increasingly clear that the character of regional South Australia was undergoing momentous and permanent change. Little towns that had until recently viewed themselves as beacons of progress and the epitome of the pioneer spirit found themselves engulfed by revolutions in agriculture and transportation. Mechanisation transformed family farms into agribusinesses. Longhaul trucking made many rail lines uneconomic.
The Trust in South Australia stands apart from the Trusts in other states by virtue of the large number and energy of its local branches, most of which date back to the 1960s. The first four local branches outside Adelaide were formed in towns along the Murray, a sign of the central place of the river in the history of South Australia. Over the decades branches have built up a collection of artefacts without parallel in other states. Trust branches have also taken up the challenge of maintaining old schoolhouses, courthouses, rail and police stations no longer required
Whether the Trust would merely study and list or, alternatively, would engage in public advocacy on behalf of threatened places was put to the test in the 1970s. Its very success in calling attention to notable buildings had changed opinions in the broader community. The demolition of two iconic places in Adelaide – the ES&A Bank and the South Australian Hotel – was accompanied by an outpouring of regret and dismay. When it emerged in 1971 that the architectural firm of Trust president Dean Berry was designing an office block to displace the ANZ Bank, there was an almighty kerfuffle. The richly textured and ornamented bank was the handiwork of 19th century architect Edmund Wright, whose legacy was prominently recognized in the Trust’s Register.
Country people responded to these changes in different ways. Some strove to make their towns look modern in order to attract investment and business. Others dedicated themselves to preserving visual reminders of ways of life and work that were passing away. Those were the people who founded local museums and historical societies linked to the National Trust.
TOP
Sanderson Reserve, Hallett Cove, donated from the George Sanderson Estate. Photo: NTSA Members of the Young Trust restoring the Willunga Courthouse. Photo: NTSA
ABOVE
by the government. The Trust now has branches at all points of the compass whose museums display everyday objects of practical use to pioneering families. Typically, women members curated household objects while the men tinkered with tools, tractors and horse-drawn vehicles.
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Celebrating 60 years and beyond
As a result of the outcry within and outside the Trust, a new president was installed. More significantly, the state government of Premier Don Dunstan stepped in to acquire the bank henceforth to be known as Edmund Wright House. Over the next five years the government brought in the first legislative framework for the protection of heritage places. The foundation of the State Heritage Register was none other than the Trust’s own Register built up by the Early Buildings Committee. Even as state and local government moved forward with unprecedented programs to identify and protect significant heritage places, the Trust expanded its vision. It conducted 50 urban conservation studies in regional areas and began adding 20th century buildings to its Register. By the 1980s the oversight of finances, local branches, nature reserves, register committees and public advocacy exceeded the capacity of the volunteers who had sustained the Trust to that point. The momentous decision was taken to employ a paid director and support staff. While this professionalised the organisation it gave rise to an ongoing fiscal challenge. The Trust’s most enduring test in protecting our heritage is how it pays for the work it does. Membership fees were never enough. Both state and federal governments made modest recurrent contributions to the Trust’s operating costs, and the federal government reserved much larger sums for distribution as grants for capital expenditure. Still, income never matched costs. In 1992 the Trust began to divest properties it could no longer maintain, selling them where they owned them outright or returning them to the state government. Divestment of some property was necessary but unpalatable.
ABOVE ANZ Bank Building (Edmund Wright House) in 1968. Photo: G Prosser, Photographic Committee, NTSA
The new century brought a brief Indian summer of state government funding. In the period 2004 to 2010 state government grants to maintain the 40-odd state owned properties managed by the Trust were sizeable, approaching though never meeting the real cost of maintenance. Then in 2010 they ceased entirely. The Trust is now almost as bereft of state and federal support as it has ever been. Citizens who are passionate about heritage have proved themselves over time to be remarkably resilient, and so they remain. In 2013 the Trust for the first time invited people to contribute on a sustaining basis as Patrons; the response from long-time supporters exceeded all expectations. The current president wrote the first cheque and others followed with contributions exceeding $300,000.
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Even more important, the Trust Council made a decision that bequests and other large gifts would never again be used to fund current operations. From a base of $550,000 in 2012, investment funds have grown to over $2.5m. The Trust has also embarked on programs to make its core portfolio of historic homes generate more income. For all that, the Trust’s work rests finally on its volunteers. In the year 2013-2014, for example, volunteers contributed 116,603 hours to Trust activity, an in-kind contribution worth $2.6m. Taken together, these initiatives provide a solid platform for the next 60 years.
Celebrating 60 years and beyond
Into the future Great institutions endure by building on strong foundations. So we may expect the Trust to continue doing what it has done best: conserving the properties in our care for the enjoyment of future generations; calling attention to places worthy of preservation; educating the public about the processes that create historic environments, towns and neighbourhoods; and displaying artefacts of material culture that speak to us of bygone times and ways of life.
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ur number one priority will be keeping the Trust alive by building an endowment that will sustain our work even if all other sources of financial support run dry. No substantial gift, bequest or sale of property will be used to fund current operations. The investment fund will therefore grow towards a target of $5m by 2017. From that point onward half of each additional dollar received from returns on investment will be reinvested so that the endowment fund will reach $10m by the Trust’s 70th anniversary in 2025. That wise investment policy will inspire long-time supporters to build the endowment with their gifts and bequests. While continuing to hope that state government support for heritage and history revives, the Trust will be realistic, stepping in when government fails to keep up with public demand for registration and promotion of heritage places. The Trust will be adept and creative in the use of new media and technology. As a result it will do more good work at less cost. It will use these tools to reach new audiences. Visitors to South Australia will turn to Trust websites for information about heritage places. Our Register of Classified Places will be the portal people use to find everything they want to know about historic buildings and areas of special environmental interest. The Trust will use new technology to bring our network of local branches closer to each other and to state office. It will build relationships with unsung heroes of heritage conservation in the private sector: historic country houses, B&Bs, inns, pubs and wineries. It will develop online access to the collections held in Trust properties and local museums. The Trust will be increasingly recognised as the virtual Museum of South Australia, with access to collections distributed across the state. As previous generations of volunteers pass from the stage new recruits will step into their shoes, and the work will go on.
ABOVE The new Willunga Walks mobile app provides digital self-guided walking trails through the heritage township of Willunga. Photo: Jessica Cronin.
Sources Carol Cosgrove and Susan Marsden, Challenging times: National Trust of South Australia 1955-2005, Adelaide 2005; Kerrie Round, ‘The National Trust of South Australia’, The Wakefield Companion to South Australian History (ed. Wilfrid Prest), Adelaide 2001; South Australian Parliamentary Debates.
THIS SURVEY OF THE PAST AND THE FUTURE OF NTSA WAS WRITTEN (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) BY: ROBERT DARE, NORMAN ETHERINGTON, SUSAN MARSDEN AND ROD MATHESON.
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National Trust of South Australia: 1955 The National Trust of South Australia for the Preservation of Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty registered as a company on 11 July 1955. The National Trust of South Australia Act is passed by the Parliament on 8 December 1955.
1895 The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty established in the United Kingdom by Octavia Hill,(right) Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley.
Major-General GW Symes, right.
1895
1955
1956 First local area branch established in Renmark.
1959 First National Trust plaque at Watiparinga nature reserve, below.
1961
1961 NTSA establishes its register of historic buildings, (above) the first formal listing of heritage places in South Australia.
1972 After
1965 Australian Council of National Trusts established. First building purchased — Overland Corner Hotel in the Riverland, below.
1967
1972
substantial restoration, Ayers House, above, is opened to the public. Publication of the National Trust Register of Historic Buildings, left.
1964 National Trust Headquarters is established at Ayers House.
1973 First National Trust plaques attached to historic buildings. Former Z Ward at Glenside saved from demolition.
1975
1967 Beaumont House
donated to the National Trust by Lilian Bennett/Brock, above. Marble Hill ruin, former Governor’s residence destroyed by fire in 1955, handed to NTSA.
1979 Adoption of the Burra Charter
for the conservation of built heritage.
1978 1977 1975 Cape Jaffa
Lighthouse dismantled and re-erected in Kingston, above.
South Australian Heritage Act.
First City of Adelaide Plan.
1976 Collingrove homestead, right bequeathed to the NTSA by Ronald Fife Angas.
HERITAGE LIVING | 14 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Milestones and achievements
2014
2015
2013 National Trust
patrons program established.
2014 Former Z Ward
2015 Mortlock
at Glenside hospital is opened to the public for the first time in 40 years, above.
2012 Members and Branches rally to support the Trust through fundraising appeal.
chandelier restoration project is unveiled at Ayers House by His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AO, Governor of South Australia and Patron in Chief of the National Trust, right.
2010 Cessation of State
Government funding for National Trust operations.
2009 State Office relocated to Beaumont House.
2009 2003 Overland
2002 Farm
Corner wetlands conservation project is launched in the Riverland, above.
2005 NTSA celebrates 50-year anniversary.
Shed at Kadina opens.
2001 National Trust Heritage icons program launched. Balfour’s frog cakes, below.
2003
1998 Launch of National Trust endangered places list.
1998 1998 Encounter 1991-92 Campaign to save
Adelaide’s East End Markets, above, achieves a balance of conservation and development.
1982
1992
1990 Cessation
of NTSA Heritage register.
1992 Introduction of honour awards for NTSA volunteers. 1993 Heritage Act proclaimed. Declaration of Burra, above, as a State Heritage area.
1982 Launch of NTSA Register of Significant Trees. Above: Cazneaux’s Tree, Flinders Ranges.
Coast Discovery Centre opened at Victor Harbor.
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Special Places: National Trust UK
Sissinghurst Castle, Kent ROBERT DARE
Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, a showpiece of the National Trust, is the most famous private garden in Britain. It didn’t invent colourthemed plantings or interconnected garden rooms, but it made them staples of modern domestic gardening. Its intimacy is its most enduring achievement – it is a garden we think we could have made ourselves. By visiting it we can indulge the fantasy that someday and somewhere we might. Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson made the garden. She got her hands dirty planting and weeding. He did not. She cultivated the network of gardening correspondents with whom she exchanged ideas and plants. He was mostly elsewhere. We tend to think of the garden as hers, but it would not exist in its present form without Harold’s creative imagination. Harold and Vita bought the rundown property in 1930. Acquiring it helped Vita to salve the pain of being prevented by entail from inheriting the family mansion Knole. It was a challenging way to ease the hurt. The house had never recovered from being first a prison and then a workhouse. The rest of ABOVE Sissinghurst BELOW Sissinghurst
the site was a junk heap. The house and grounds needed lots of money the couple did not have. Harold immediately got to work anyway, with pencil and ruler rather than spade and rake – “I do not like weeding in any case,” he said later. He planned what Vita called “outdoor rooms” on three long axes, and wrestled with the “vista problem” of how to “join, frame and integrate” the garden’s parts. He solved the problem. Vita admired and envied his “natural taste for symmetry, and ingenuity for forcing focal points or long-distance views where everything seemed against him”. Soon both were making enough money from writing to bring Sissinghurst to life. By 1932 the
house was habitable. Vita now had the resources to colour their garden in the subdued palettes and informal plantings that have so influenced gardeners ever since. The broad structure of the garden was complete by 1937; what remained for Vita to do was fill it in. As we can all see, she excelled at that task. Harold later commended the National Trust for its work in preserving places of historic, artistic and natural significance from “the speculative builder and other agents of destruction”. Thanks to the Trust, we can continue to admire and enjoy his and Vita’s extraordinary creation at Sissinghurst. Sources Nigel Nicolson (ed.), Harold Nicholson. Diaries and letters 1930-1939, London 1966; Jane Brown, Vita’s other world: a gardening biography of V. Sackville-West, Harmondsworth 1985; Harold Nicolson, Comments 1944-1948, London 1948; Nigel Nicolson, Portrait of a marriage, London 1973.
Gardens. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Castle, Southeast Gardens. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
For more information about Sissinghurst and other National Trust places in the UK visit http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst-castle-garden/
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Special Places: National Trust Queensland
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary GOLD COAST
National Trust members enjoy free entry to more than 300 places across Australia. In this issue we introduce Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary as the latest property to join the National Trust family.
C
hanges in state legislation in July 2014 saw the largest of Queensland’s 12 National Trust properties, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, move toward National Trust branding. A heady mix of native wildlife, lush coastal rainforest, vibrant Aboriginal culture and adventure covering 27 hectares, it was set up by beekeeper and flower grower Alex Griffith in 1947 to stop the local lorikeets destroying his blooms, and eventually became known as the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary. Donated to the Queensland National Trust in 1976, it was renamed in 1995.
The ropes course is immersive, fun, exciting – and safe. Tarzan swings, cargo nets and a giant flying fox challenge the agility and daring of both children and adults. Visitors also have a chance to see inside one of Australia’s busiest veterinary facilities, the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital. A free community service, it cares for more than 8500 sick, injured and orphaned
Nowadays the Sanctuary treats visitors to quintessential Australian experiences – cuddling a koala, feeding wild lorikeets, witnessing breathtaking birds in free flight and seeing sheep shearing up close. Aboriginal didgeridoo and dance performances offer a glimpse into indigenous cultural heritage. For children, the much-loved character Blinky Bill and his friends come to life. They can meet marsupials and reptiles, and feed the kangaroos. Little ones are often awed to discover that one of Australia’s largest saltwater crocodiles also makes its home at Currumbin. Currumbin has also developed a nature-based adventure experience in its Tree Top Challenge high ropes course. Eighty challenges, over five separate courses, weave their way through the eucalypt and rainforest canopy, taking visitors higher and further into the spectacular natural setting.
wildlife, as well as doing vital conservation research. There are more than 13 shows, keeper talks and photo opportunities on every day, and one of the best ways to explore the Sanctuary is by taking a guided Segway tour. As a special offer to NTSA members, present your membership card for free entry to National Trust Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary valid to 31 December 2015.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is open 8am- 5pm every day except Christmas Day and Anzac Day. For more information visit www.cws.org.au or www.nationaltrust.org.au/qld
HERITAGE LIVING | 17 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Conservation Appeals
ABOVE Ian
Wakely inside St Francis Xavier Cathedral awaiting the new pipe organ from Canada.
Pipe organ’s long road to St Francis Xavier Cathedral loft JENNY BRINKWORTH
The journey of a 1927 Casavant Frères pipe organ from a church in Montreal, Canada, to Adelaide is drawing to a conclusion. It is now being installed in St Francis Xavier Cathedral as part of the current restoration project.
B
uilt by renowned organ builders the Casavant brothers in the 1920s, the organ spent its first 70-odd years in the St Jean de la Croix Church in Montreal. When the church was closed early this century, the organ was removed and put up for sale. Pipe organ specialist Ian Wakeley heard it was on the market and approached the Adelaide Archdiocese. It had been forced to remove its pipe organ to make room for the bell ringing room after the completion of the bell tower in 1996. “The Church was looking for an organ of integrity, not rebuilt many times and a suitable size for the gallery,” Mr Wakeley said.
The Cathedral negotiated a purchase. In 2005 Mr Wakeley travelled to Ontario to oversee the packing of the pipe organ – which includes 3352 pipes – into two large containers. “It was in thousands of pieces,” Mr Wakeley said. “It was like a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle with thousands of pipes ranging from six metres long to the size of a pencil and everything in between.” When he was sure all the pipes were there, they were shipped back to Australia and put into storage at Mr Wakeley’s Melbourne warehouse. The Archdiocese commenced fundraising for the refurbishment of the organ in 2011. Last year Wakeley Pipe Organs resumed HERITAGE LIVING | 18 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
the organ refurbishment. New casework has been constructed by a local firm. Construction company Hansen and Yuncken is overseeing the renovation of the choir loft and the installation process. That requires heavy lifting equipment and will take about three months. The organ will be positioned in the gallery either side of the rose window, behind stunning new casework and façade pipes. “It’s a massive operation,” Mr Wakeley said. “But by the end of it, the Cathedral will have a really unique instrument and one of the finest pipe organs in Australia. It will be a great asset to the liturgical life of the Cathedral and also for recitals and performances.” To donate to the National Trust Cathedral Restoration Appeal or to find out more about the pipe organ, contact Jane Juniper on (08) 8210 8223, email jjuniper@adelaide.catholic.org.au or visit the South Australian Heritage Foundation website at www.saheritagefoundation.com.au
In the garden
Remembering the ANZACs MERILYN KUCHEL
Gardens are very often used as memorials – quiet places for remembering loved ones who have died. With the recent centenary of the landing at Anzac Cove it might be an appropriate time to plant a Gallipoli garden. This will not be hard for South Australians because our climate and topography are very similar to those of the west coast of Turkey. We have hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters and the average annual rainfall is 628ml.
The Gallipoli Rose, Cistus salviifolius, is a hardy shrub that blooms in spring. Another plant native to the Gallipoli peninsula is Arbutus unedo (strawberry tree) and we have a fine old specimen growing at Beaumont House. Other Turkish plants grown here are almonds, figs, grapes, vines and olives.
I
The “Lone Pine” of Gallipoli fame is Pinus brutia (Turkish pine) which is very similar in appearance to the Aleppo pine (native to Spain and Syria) but this species has become a problem weed in Australia. The Turkish pine is much less common. The volunteers at Beaumont House have decided that to commemorate the centenary of the Anzac landing a Turkish pine will be planted to replace the tall Aleppo pine that was fatally burnt in the fire of February 2014.
t will come as no surprise, that many of the wildflowers of western Turkey are already widely used by gardeners in South Australia and in the garden at Beaumont House. The annuals that come immediately to mind are lovein-a-mist, cornflowers, alyssum, sunflower, cranesbill, dianthus and viola. Many of the Turkish bulbs, such as crocus, cyclamen, anemone, alliums, muscari and gladiolus are widely planted. Perennials found near Anzac Cove include anthemis, euphorbias, and purple and white iris.
Perhaps the best-known plant to have been brought back from Gallipoli is Rosmarinus officinalis. In 1915, a wounded Australian soldier was repatriated to an army hospital in Keswick. He brought with him a small rosemary bush and planted it in the hospital grounds. Some years ago, cuttings were taken by Avenues of Honour director David Lawry, and plants from those cuttings are thriving today at the Waite Arboretum. Rosemary is an ancient symbol of remembrance and pinned to lapels on Anzac and Armistice Days.
ABOVE LEFT Beaumont
A small but dedicated group of volunteers work in the garden at Beaumont House every Wednesday. If you can help out one or two mornings a month, phone Merilyn on 0428851582 or email volunteer@ nationaltrustsa.org.au.
House garden volunteers (left to right) Margaret Benier, Denis Watts, Sue Wyatt, Terry Smith and Alex McLachlan Kambuts, NTSA gardener. Photo: Merilyn Kuchel RIGHT The Rosmarinus officinalis plant known to have been brought back from Gallipoli. Photo: Glenn Williams
HERITAGE LIVING | 19 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
IT’S A SIXTIETH BIRTHDAY LIKE NO OTHER
NATIONAL TRUST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Sunday 11 October
11am – 5pm Beaumont House 631 Glynburn Road, Beaumont JOIN US FOR A DAY OF CELEBRATION WITH FOOD, WINE AND LIVE MUSIC IN THE BEAUTIFUL GROUNDS OF BEAUMONT HOUSE. FREE ADMISSION TO ALL MEMBERS. ANTIQUES ROADSHOW EVENT WITH
AUCTIONEERS THEODORE BRUCE (FEE APPLIES FOR ITEM VALUATIONS). FOR MORE INFORMATION PHONE (08) 8202 9200
www.nationaltrust.org.au/sa/events
60th Annual General Meeting of the National Trust of South Australia NOTICE OF MEETING SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2015 10AM TO 12 NOON
NOMINATION AND APPOINTMENT TO NTSA COUNCIL POSITIONS
Notice is hereby given that the 60th Annual General Meeting of the National Trust will be held at the North Adelaide Community Centre, 176 Tynte Street, North Adelaide, on Saturday 21 November 2015 from 10 am to 12 noon.
Nominations are now open for three positions on the Council of the National Trust and for the positions of Regional Councillor for the Yorke Peninsula and South East regions. All appointments are for two years from the date of the AGM. All nominees must be members of the National Trust of South Australia, and be aged at least 18 years. All nominations require the support of any two current members of the Trust. The closing date for nominations to general Council positions is Friday 23 October 2015. Nominations for the Yorke Peninsula Region Councillor close on 28 August and on 9 October for the South East Region Councillor. Nomination forms can be downloaded from the National Trust website at: www.nationaltrust.org.au/SouthAustralia
AGENDA 1. Introduction and Welcome 2. Apologies 3. To receive and confirm the minutes of 59th Annual General Meeting 4. Business arising from minutes 5. President’s Report 6. CEO’s Report 7. Financial Report 8. Elections to Council and Notification of Regional Councillors 9. NTSA Awards Presentation 10. Any Other Business
For more information on all Council positions contact Helen Cartmel, Executive Administrator, on (08) 8202 9213 or by email to executiveadmin@nationaltrustsa.org.au
HERITAGE LIVING | 20 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
HO W TO M AK E
Rose Petal Jelly AT HO M E
Ingredients 125 g ‘Mr Lincol n’ rose petals, picked fresh fro m roses ½ cup (125 ml) lemon juice, strained 1½ cups (375 m
l) water 2 cups (400 gram s) sugar pectin (available from health food store s and some supermarkets) Method
In the kitchen Food prepared with time, care and the best ingredients is such a vital part of our cultural heritage and a perennial source of pleasure. In each issue of Heritage Living we feature a classic recipe, drawing on treasured traditions, for our members to savour. In time for Spring here’s a new way to enjoy your garden blooms.
Rose Petal Jelly Carol Paech, co-founder with husband Grant of iconic South Australian brand Beerenberg, has always been passionate about roses and cultivates a stunning garden at their farm in the Adelaide Hills. As she tells it, in the early 1990s, she came across a recipe for Rose Petal Jelly in The Australian Women’s Weekly. She cut it out and gave it to Grant, who filed it away. Some time later, Grant came across the recipe and decided to raid Carol’s rose garden to experiment on the stovetop. The results were extraordinary – a lovely, rose-infused jelly that looked beautiful and tasted unlike anything they had produced. It was the birth of a new Beerenberg delicacy. For its jelly, Beerenberg uses a hybrid tea rose called Mr Lincoln because of its vibrant dark red colour and strong fragrance.
HERITAGE LIVING | 21 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
1. Using scissor s, cut off any tough pieces at the base of the rose peta ls (only if necessary). 2. Place petals in a strainer and rinse unde r running cold water; drai n well. 3. Place in a lar ge pan, and add lemon juic e, water and sugar. The mixture shouldn’t be an y more than 5cm deep . Stir over medium heat w ithout boiling until su gar is dissolved. 4. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simm er gently, covered, for 30 minutes. 5. Blend pectin (see packet instructions for amount required) with a little of the liquid fro m the pan and then ad d the pectin mixture to pan. Stir without boili ng until dissolved. 6. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simm er for one minute. 7. Pour into ho t, sterilised jars and seal wh en cold. Store in a cool, dark place. Makes about 2½ cups of jelly.
By becoming a member of the National Trust you will enjoy a range of discounts and other benefits, including free entry to National Trust properties around the world, as well as supporting our on going work to protect and promote heritage.
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HERITAGE LIVING | 22 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
35
Out ‘n’ About
AUGUST–NOVEMBER BEAUMONT HOUSE ¼¼ National Trust 60th Birthday Party Sunday 11 October Time: 11am – 5pm Everyone welcome. Join us for a day of celebration with food, wine and live music in the beautiful grounds of Beaumont House. Free admission to all members. Antiques Roadshow event with Auctioneers Theodore Bruce (fee applies for item valuation). For more information phone (08) 8202 9200 www.nationaltrust.org.au/sa/events BURNSIDE BRANCH
Sunday 4 October Time: 9am – 3pm Place: Old Railway Station Blanche Terrace, Moonta Enquiries: Tel: (08) 8825 1891 Email: info@moontatourism.org.au MOUNT BARKER BRANCH ¼¼ AGM with speaker Dr Darren Peacock, CEO of the National Trust of SA. Darren took up this position from 2015 and will share his experiences with us.
Tuesday 4 August Time: 1:30pm Place: Uniting Church Hall 13 Mann Street, Mt Barker Enquiries: Secretary: Triss Wales Tel: (08) 8389 9281
TEA TREE GULLY BRANCH ¼¼ Heritage on Sunday. Enjoy the afternoon as you visit three pavilions, a working blacksmith and washhouse. Take time to wander, explore and be entertained in the beautiful garden setting. Afternoon tea is available and the Gift Shop is a delight. ¼¼ Sunday 16 August: Gumeracha Spinners & Weavers. Look, listen, learn and have a go–put yourself in a spin! ¼¼ Sunday 20 September: Adelaide Hills Motor Restorers Club – Vintage stationary engines and cars on display. ¼¼ Sunday 18 October: Transport in Early Tea Tree Gully.
¼¼ Beaumont House Open day and garden tours. First Sunday, August to November Time: 2pm – 4.30pm Cost: Guided Tour $8 (afternoon tea included) Place: 631 Glynburn Road, Beaumont Enquiries: Open Day & Special Group tours – Chris Perriam Tel: (08) 8362 3036 Email: perriamci@bigpond.com.au
MOUNT LOFTY BRANCH
BURRA BRANCH
¼¼ Talk: Guest speaker: Denzel Murfet on Endangered Native Flora: Middleton to Watson’s Gap. Thursday 13 August
VICTOR HARBOR BRANCH
¼¼ Annual General Meeting. Talk: Guest speaker Councillor Michael Scott. Thursday 10 September
¼¼ “Meet and Greet” Afternoon with Guests South Coast Family Group. Thursday 17 September
¼¼ National Trust Craft Fair. Something for everyone. Food, tea & coffee available too. Explore the Old Gaol while you browse the stalls. Saturday 31 October Time: 10am – 4pm Sunday 1 November Time: 10am – 3pm Cost: Adult $3, Children under 12 free Place: The Redruth Gaol, Tregony Street, Burra Enquiries: Tel: (08) 88922583, (08) 88922743 MOONTA BRANCH ¼¼ Moonta Station Markets. Fun for the whole family. Station Markets are held twice a year and have a wide range of stalls, including bric-a-brac, jewellery, crafts, fresh produce, plants, homemade cakes and produce, clothing, fashion accessories and much more. The Tourist Train runs all day from the station and the road trams also provide trips out to the Moonta Mines Sweet Shop and Museum.
¼¼ Early Spring and camellias in bloom! Cornish tea in the house. Sunday 23 August Time: 1pm – 4pm Place: Stangate House, 3 Edgeware Road Aldgate Enquiries: Lyn Radzevicius Mob: 0418 803 971 or enquiries@stangatehouse.org.au PORT ELLIOT BRANCH
¼¼ Sunday 15 November: Heritage on Sunday. All Heritage on Sunday events: Time: 1pm – 4pm Cost: Adult $5, Conc $4, Children Free Place: Tea Tree Gully Heritage Museum 3 Perseverance Road, Tea Tree Gully Enquiries: Tel: (08) 8251 3499, www.ttgmuseum.on.net
¼¼ Annual General Meeting and Afternoon Tea. Thursday 20 August
¼¼ Talk: Guest speaker Bevan Daniel, Life on the Farm. Thursday 8 October
¼¼ Talk: Fred Van Gestel reading and photos of Una Martin’s 1976 trip from Victor Harbor to Yankalilla. Thursday 15 October
¼¼ Annual Musical evening, enjoy the Fleurieu Male Choir. Thursday 12 November
¼¼ Talk: Pat Uppill on ‘The Shetlands. Thursday 19 November
All Port Elliot Branch events: Time: 8pm Place: RSL Hall, The Strand, Port Elliot. Cost: $2 donation. Enquiries: Tel: Gretchen (08) 8555 0232, Lorraine (08) 8554 2024
All Victor Harbor Branch events: Time: 2pm to 4pm Cost: $2 Place: Old School Building Torrens St Victor Harbor Enquiries: Tel: (08) 8552 4440 brimai@bigpond.com
TO LIST YOUR EVENT EMAIL: publications@nationaltrustsa.org.au
HERITAGE LIVING | 23 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Blades of Glencoe DANIELLE GRIDLAY, ABC RURAL Reproduced by kind permission of ABC.
At the historic Glencoe Woolshed near Mt Gambier on the long weekend in March a team of hardy shearers stepped back in time to show enthralled visitors the back-breaking labour that once allowed Australia to ride on the sheep’s back. TOP Richie
Foster’s blades glide through the fleece. Photo: Racquel Mostello LEFT Richie Foster is mentor to Katelynn Clark and many other blade shearing enthusiasts. Photo: Racquel Mostello TOP RIGHT Three of the ten women blade shearers. Photo: Julie Eustace CENTRE RIGHT: Rebecca Clayton’s day job is breaking in racehorses. Photo: Julie Eustace BOTTOM RIGHT Glencoe Woolshed. Photo: Laurie Dacy
HERITAGE LIVING | 24 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
T
here are 50 shearers at work in one of South Australia’s oldest and largest woolsheds, but you have to strain to hear anything of their work. There are no handpieces in the 36-stand shed, no hydraulic press, no music blaring from speakers. The clock has been wound back more than a century, to 1863, when shearers sharpened their handheld blades on rock and back-aid frames had not even been thought of. Pressers use brute strength to shove 160kg worth of fleeces into a standard wool pack. More than 2000 people file past the silent shearers, drawn to the Blades of Glencoe event for a glimpse of Australian life in a time when sheep production propped up the nation. Glencoe woolshed, which was heritage listed 25 years ago, was never converted to mechanical shearing and is largely preserved in its original 1863 state.
Boss shearer Richie Foster, of Apsley, was in charge of organising 50 capable blade shearers for the re-enactment. They came from four states and many were trained up by the veteran shearer especially for the event. Despite the back-breaking work, the travel required to take part and no pay for their efforts, the volunteers expressed a passion for their industry that is difficult for others to understand. Mr Foster’s entire existence revolves around competing and teaching blade shearing. “The doctors told me 33 years ago my back was finished, but yeah, you have to toughen up,” Mr Foster said. “I shore 300,000 by 1982 (in 17 years) and then they told me I was finished. I’ve shorn another 33 years and another 450,000.” “I’ve got floodlights in my woolshed and I train and train … 64 [years old] and still improving.”
“The original architect who did the plans said this was actually a monument to fleece and prosperity,” National Trust committee member and grazier Tony Altschwager said. “The Glencoe station that this shed was built for was the first station taken up in this area. But the actual station was disbanded in 1903, so we actually haven’t seen this volume of shearing and this volume of sheep in the shed for more than 100 years.
Ian Murdoch, who drove five hours from Loxton to volunteer, has been using blade shears for more than 25 years. Today that’s very rare, but a century ago it was a skill most young men picked up. “A lot of them in the early days rode a pushbike from shed to shed,” he said. “When one shearer got sacked, they would step up and the next one would take over.” “Anyone who could shear got a job, but they got about half a day test and if you weren’t any good you got told to go and get on the end of the line again or go the next one.” But blade shearing is not just a piece of history, remembered by the older blokes. At least six young women displayed their blade shearing skills at Glencoe, and Australia’s national champion is 26-year-old John Dalla.
LEFT The keystone over the main entrance, engraved with the ‘Double L’ of the builders, Leake Brothers. Photo: Laurie Dacy BOTTOM LEFT 2,000 visitors relived the display of traditional shearing. Photo: Anelia Blackie TOP Shearers pose outside the woolshed in 1896. Little has changed. Photo: National Trust Archives
HERITAGE LIVING | 25 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Mr Dalla has travelled the world competing in blade shearing finals and was last year ranked seventh in the world, at Ireland’s Golden Shears World Championships. He too volunteered at the Blades of Glencoe event, flying into Adelaide at 11pm the night before and travelling the five hours down in time to take part. “Ever since I was 12, dad had sheep at home for me to shear,” Mr Dalla said. “I still machine shear a fair bit, but I enjoy the blade shearing a lot more. There’s not the bashing and clanging and the noise, and it’s just a lot calmer and the sheep seem to sit there a lot nicer.” So how did shearers in 1863 fill the eerie silence? Bush ballads, poetry and tall tales were passed from shed to shed, and boss shearer Richie Foster is well versed in all of it. This is one of his favourites, origins unknown: The shearer knocked on the pearly gates He looked tired and worn The keeper asked ‘what do you do?’ He said ‘a shearer, for 50 years I’ve shorn’ The pearly gates flew open As Peter rang the bell ‘Come in my boy and bring your harp, you’ve already done your time in hell.’
This amazing event was made possible through the enormous hard work of dedicated volunteers at the Mount Gambier Branch of the National Trust. Great work team!
the national trust of south australia
PUBLISHER
NTSA STATE OFFICE STAFF
National Trust of South Australia Beaumont House 631 Glynburn Road Beaumont SA 5066 T: 08 8202 9200 F: 08 8202 9201 E: publications@nationaltrustsa.org.au W: www.nationaltrustsa.org.au
Dr Darren Peacock Chief Executive Officer Helen Cartmel Executive Administrator Ellen Martin Finance Manager Janet Pedler Natural Heritage Officer Mario Russo Built Asset Manager Joseanne Visentin Senior Administration Officer
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DISTRIBUTION Heritage Living is published four times a year. PP 536155/0036 ISSN 0815-7871
Telephone (08) 8202 9200 for contact /information details.
NTSA COUNCIL
Credits Front cover:
President Professor Norman Etherington AM Vice Presidents Brian McMillan; Sue Scheiffers Councillors Glennys Carse George Hobbs Melanie Kiriacou Peter Langhans John Northwood
Cultural Heritage Natural Heritage
TOP LEFT Octavia
Hill by John Singer Sargent Photo: National Portrait Gallery, UK TOP LEFT The Gouger Epergne presented in 1838 to Robert Gouger, Esq. Colonial Secretary for the Province of South Australia. Photo: NTSA BOTTOM LEFT Wilabalangaloo cliffs. Photo: Dean Lines BOTTOM CENTRE National Trust protestors at the Hackney Tram Shed, including Frank Grindlay (centre) and Penny Ramsay (second from the right). Photo: NTSA BOTTOM LEFT Enid Robertson AM examining native understory plants on Watiparinga Reserve, 1991. Photo: Denys Slee and Associates TOP RIGHT Dr Judith Brine, Chairman of the State Heritage Committee, launched the 1988 Heritage Week from a balloon. Photo: NTSA RIGHT NTSA celebrates Australian Heritage Week with Victoriana: Old-fashioned day of play at Beaumont House. Photo: Jessica Cronin BOTTOM RIGHT Ayers House. Photo: G Gillman
Chris Perriam Kath Rayner Dr Nigel Ridgway Richard Stewart Robyn Wight
Patron-in-Chief His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AO, Governor of South Australia.
DEAR MEMBERS
NTSA Membership Offer – One or three year options for new memberships and renewals are now available. Three year memberships receive a 10% discount. Your membership payments can be made by the following methods: •
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Direct Debit: BSB 105-900 Account 138429740 (please leave details and quote membership Ref: number as per renewal notice) Online www.nationaltrust.org.au/shop/membership
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Cash, Cheque, Money Order or credit card options are still available Telephone State Office on (08) 8202 9200 with credit card details
Sponsors The National Trust of South Australia acknowledges its Principal Partner, Sponsors, Civic Partners, Corporate Supporters and Government Relationships PRINCIPAL PARTNER Santos
CIVIC PARTNERS Adelaide City Council Town of Gawler
CORPORATE SUPPORTERS Wines by Geoff Hardy Coopers Beerenberg Farms Bickfords Thomson Geer Laucke Flour Mills Theodore Bruce
GOVERNMENT RELATIONSHIPS Australian Government Department of the Environment National Library of Australia
HERITAGE LIVING | 26 | SOUTH AUSTRALIA
South Australian Government Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources SA Water History SA
Enjoy 15% OFF all Video, Audio and Image Digitisation until the end of 2015. • Digitising all formats of Slides, Negatives and Photos/Prints
before restoration
after restoration
• All formats of Video and Camcorder Tapes to DVD or Digital Video File • Audio Cassette and Vinyl Records to CD or Digital Audio File • Advanced Photo Restoration & Retouching Services • DVD Video Photo Slideshows
Digitise your memories today with this National Trust Members-only offer! Minimum charge of $30 per job. Valid until 31 December 2015.
Phone: 08 7120 9921 Visit: bigeggmedia.com.au
Shop 9, 13 - 23 Unley Road, Parkside SA 5063
At Pitcher Partners trust is more than just a word in the dictionary; it is what our business relationships are based on. With 30 years local experience, Pitcher Partners are the trusted accountants for some of Adelaide’s more well known organisations and businesses. We are a full service firm so have the resources, skills and level of care needed to meet the varying demands of doing business today and in the future. Isn’t that what you want from your accounting firm? For further information on how we can assist your business please contact: Ben Brazier: Principal Business Services T: 08 8179 2800 E: ben.brazier@pitcher-sa.ocm.au www.pitcher.com.au
Pitcher Partners including Johnston Rorke is an association of Independent firms .
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
Costume Exhibition S e r i e s 3
Costume D esign Marion Boyce
16 November 2015 – 14 February 2016 OPEN DAILY 10AM - 5PM • AYERS HOUSE MUSEUM 288 NORTH TERRACE ADELAIDE
Book your tickets in advance at www.ayershouse.missfisherexhibition.com.au Sign up to our Miss Fisher mailing list by emailing missfisher@nationaltrustsa.org.au Call (08) 8202 9200 for enquiries.