heritage living | south Australia edition 01 | february 2014
City Of Adelaide Heads Home Inside this issue
2 Beaumont house garden open day
5 yallambee heritage at risk
9 avenues of Honour
10 the trading ketches of SA
Opening of the Beaumont House Garden It was a fine sunny day for the opening of the Beaumont House garden under Open Gardens Australia on Sunday, 29 September. Over 500 people attended. The garden has never looked better. It was a great credit to the gardener, Alex McLachlan Kambuts, and to the enthusiastic, hardworking volunteers. Of special note was the Wigandia, a rare plant from Central America. Its purple blooms were dazzling. A steering committee chaired by Council member Robyn Wight successfully organised the event. Her committee was greatly assisted by the experience and knowledge of gardening consultant Merilyn Kuchel. BankSA generously provided a marquee that became cover for morning and afternoon teas. There was a strong demand for tours of the house, ably conducted
by members of the Burnside Branch. There were plant, cake and other stalls. Visitors were impressed by the ‘found object’ sculptures of Indiana James. A ‘sausage sizzle’ was provided by Edwardstown Rotary. A raffle attracted many as its exciting prize was a large wheelbarrow loaded with an irresistible array of useful garden items and treats for gardeners. Three hundred tickets were sold and a delighted Nicky Downer of Mount George was the lucky winner. Another highlight was the presence of the Scotch College Highland Pipe Band. They rehearsed in the olive grove, then marched down the drive and played their stirring music on the northern lawns. They were a great success.
Money raised on the day went partly to Open Gardens Australia for administration and partly to the Trust for upgrading the watering system of Beaumont House. LEFT Scotch
College Highland Pipe Band performing in the Olive Grove Photo: NTSA.
TOP to bottom Aviary
and herb garden. Photo: Merilyn Kuchell. Wigandia, rare in SA, in bloom. Photo: Chris Perriam. NTSA gardener Alex McLachlan Kambuts with his mother. Photo: NTSA.
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Perspectives
Norman Etherington AM NTSA President
President’s Report I am continually astonished by the energy, enthusiasm and accomplishments of our regional branch volunteers. The Trust’s network of local museums is a priceless resource that can be turned to many purposes. Tourism offices and services are often rudimentary or non-existent in South Australia’s historic towns and hamlets. Heritage protection and advisory services are even rarer in the bush. It occurs to me that every National Trust branch should think of itself as the heritage sentinel for its district. Each museum and Trust property could aim to be a first port of call for information on tourism and local heritage places. Our Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee is always on the lookout for information about buildings that may qualify for listing on our Register of Classified Places. The best possible sources of information are volunteers who know their towns like the backs of their hands. We are also interested in learning about heritage places that are at risk of deterioration or destruction. They need to be added to the rolling Heritage at Risk list featured on the Trust website. Lately the Cultural Heritage Committee has taken up the task of scanning fifty urban conservation studies carried out in the 1970s and 1980s by what was then called the Urban Conservation Committee. Many of the historic buildings recommended for recognition in those studies have since been altered, restored or lost. When the digitisation of the studies has been completed, we will need information on the precise location and current status of those buildings. Rural and regional branches can expect to be contacted by the Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee for any information they can supply about the designated urban conservation areas. Our branches can also assist the ongoing work of the Trust by liaising with local history associations to furnish more details on local heritage places. Information about places listed in the early years of the Trust Register is often scant. As we implement our programme of making the Register online we will be constantly in search of more and better documentation on distant historic buildings. Finally, is it my pleasure to welcome Dr Darren Peacock to the Trust in the role of Executive Officer, taking responsibility for strategic initiatives in the online, IT and education areas.
Willunga was founded in 1839. In 2014 the township will celebrate its 175th Anniversary. The theme of the celebration is Willunga: Past, Present and Future. In addition to recurring events such as the Willunga Almond Blossom Festival in July 2014, projects highlighting Willunga’s history will be undertaken, such as the Reflections of Willunga, which will record oral and pictorial memories of Willunga from current and past residents, both old and young, creating an archive to be added to the collection of the Willunga Branch, and a book and DVD for sale to be launched at the Willunga175 Grand Finale on 31 December 2014 in the grounds of the Courthouse Museum. Further information is available from www. willunga.com/175.
Future of heritage forum:
Planning to protect and promote Adelaide’s heritage Adelaide’s built heritage provides invaluable infrastructure and amenity for residents and visitors alike. The 30 Year Plan for Metropolitan Adelaide promises protection for areas of established character and heritage, but does not specify measures to implement that promise. In planning for the future of our city, how do we ensure that our heritage assets are properly protected and effectively utilised to maintain their ongoing contribution to the life and prosperity of the city? An invited panel of elected representatives from state and local government will discuss how we protect built heritage within future planning processes and offer their policies and strategies for securing a sustainable future for Adelaide’s built heritage. Organised by the National Trust of South Australia. Thursday, 20 February 2014 Doors open at 5.30 pm for 6pm start. Bradley Forum, Hawke Centre, University of South Australia North Terrace
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Then and Now
Marble Hill Part 3 Brian McMillan
| Vice President NTSA
On Black Sunday, 2 January 1955, the Governor1, his family and staff were in residence at Marble Hill. “Early in the afternoon, the nearest fire seemed some distance away but as Sir Robert George, the Governor, and Mr Penney, the caretaker, watched, the wind changed and the fire came racing towards Marble Hill. They were able to get everyone out of the house but as the fire was across the drive they were unable to get away. They all, the Georges and staff, sheltered under the bank at the head of the drive with wet blankets and towels over them. It was nearly two hours before anyone could get through to them, and they were lucky to be alive and unhurt.
public several times per year and undertook some maintenance. On 16 May 2008 The Advertiser reported:
The house was completely gutted and all furnishings were lost, as well as personal belongings.”2
“The historic Marble Hill mansion will be restored under a deal between the Government and private developers.
In 1967, the property was vested in the National Trust of South Australia. Restoration work began in 1973. By 1979, the tower and a couple of rooms in the main building had been rebuilt, though not exactly as they had been before. Reconstruction ceased. The site was closed to the public in 1992, and the administration of the site was vested in the Department of Environment and Heritage.
The multimillion-dollar restorations will incorporate a museum which will feature the history of the property and its relevance to the state. Environment Minister Gail Gago said a heads of agreement for the 22ha site in the Hills had been signed with Adelaide businessman Edwin Michell and his wife, Dr Patricia Bishop.
In 1994 the Friends of Marble Hill reopened the site to the
She said they were landowners in the district and had “considerable passion” for the restoration of heritage properties. Ms Gago said while the agreement could lead to the sale of the property in the future, a key condition was that future public access to the site for at least seven days a year was assured. She said no subdivision would be allowed once the property sale went through. The site's heritage values would have to be protected. “This is a good outcome that will see the ruins of Marble Hill substantially restored to its former beauty.” Ms Gago said. She met the Friends of Marble Hill last night to inform them of the Government's decision ....”. 1 2
above
Black Sunday 1955, fire ravaged Marble Hill. Photo: Joyce Collection NTSA
Air Vice Marshall Sir Robert George KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, MC (1896-1967) Governor 1953 to 1960 Marble Hill, South Australian Vice-Regal Summer Residence 1879-1955 (National Trust of South Australia 1973)
Diary date On Sunday May 25th there will be a fire engine rally at Beaumont House. Keep the date free. And watch this space for more detail in the next issue of Heritage Living.
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Then and Now
Heritage at Risk: Yallambee, East Terrace, Adelaide Peter Langhans
| NTSA Councillor
top Yallambee
This impressive two-storey nineteenth century bluestone and brick mansion at 252 East Terrace stands largely screened from view by a huge leafy tree in its well-kept front garden. It has been put up for sale by its owner, a nearby private hospital, and is now at risk as the property does not have any heritage protection. The original St John’s parsonage was situated on this site at the corner of East Terrace and Gilles Street, and commencing in 1864, the parsonage was enlarged by the addition of a new adjoining rectory designed by Ibbetson, a civil engineer. It is suggested that the Yallambee house that lies at the northern end of Ibbetson’s combined allotments may be the house that he built.
The house has had many owners and occupants, and the size and shape of its allotment has changed over the years as a result of numerous transfers of adjoining land. This makes discovering the history of the house challenging, and the task is still ongoing. The land was part of Town Acres 583 and 584, originally owned by early colonist Osmond Gilles, who was Adelaide’s first Colonial Treasurer. His landholdings in early Adelaide were the most extensive of any single owner at the time.
The property was eventually sold in 1882. Although it has not yet been clarified who built Yallambee, it is known that the house had a series of owners, among whom was Thomas Noakes Stephens (1849 1930), the government Collector of Customs, who occupied the house
The origins of the house at No 252 are not clear. In 1860, Gilles gifted land on the southern side of the Yallambee house to the nearby St John’s Church. The minister, Reverend Denzil John Holt Ibbetson (1823 -1871) subsequently purchased the land and some adjacent parcels.
house. Photo: Peter Langhans
from the early 1900s, and purchased the house in 1914. He was perhaps one of the longest residents of the property. During his occupation with his sister and her niece, Yallambee was the setting for a series of elegant parties described in the Adelaide newspapers of the day. Stephens died in 1930, and following the death of his niece and beneficiary Nellie Roberts, the house was bequeathed to St Johns Church in 1949. The property was sold to James Horatio Nelson Watt, gentleman, in 1951 and held by him until 1960. It appears to have been leased and used as a guesthouse for some of this period, and its most recent use has been as medical consulting suites. There is now the opportunity for this historic Adelaide house to be protected and restored as a stately family home, perhaps to once again host elegant parties as it did 100 years ago.
Do you know any more about the history of this house that could help make the case for heritage protection? Please email or contact us with any information you have.
Patron List as at 13.1.2014 Sir George Kingston Patron $5,000 and above Mrs. Joan Beer Cavill Power Products Pty Ltd Prof Norman Etherington AM and Prof Peggy Brock Mrs. Anne Jolly Mr Hugh MacLachlan & Mrs. Fiona MacLachlan OAM The Hon. Rod Matheson AM QC & Mrs. Leonie Matheson Mr H. Edwin Michell Dr Patricia A Michell Mrs. Susan Morgan Mr Robert (Bob) Piper AO &
Mrs. Margaret Piper Pitcher Partners Lady Porter Mrs. Eve Shannon-Cullity Mr Ian Wall OAM Mrs. Pamela Wall OAM Mrs. Marion W Wells Edmund Wright Patron $3,000 - $4,999 Mr Alastair & Mrs. Janet Angas Mrs. Margaret Bennett Mrs. Rosemary de Meyrick Mrs. Skye McGregor Mr Antony & Mrs. Mary Lou Simpson
Colonel William Light Patron $1,500 - $2,999 Mr Michael Abbott AO QC Mr Michael Boylan & Mrs. Deborah Morgan Mr Clive Brooks Mrs. Kali Hunter Constantine Mr Robin & Mrs. Helen Greenslade Mr Richard Harvey AM & Mrs. Cecily Harvey The Hon. Dr Diana Laidlaw AM Mrs. Margaret Lee Mr Skip & Mrs. Lilly Lipman
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Mr Ian H Lloyd Mr John P Maddern Mr Peter Morgan The Hon. Dr. Kemeri Murray AO Mr John Phillips Mrs. M P Schroder Mrs. Sue Tweddell Mr Cedric Wells OAM Mr R J Whitington QC Mrs. Pamela Yule
Awards
2013 National Trust Award recipients MOCATTA AWARD ROD MATHESON Rod became a Foundation member of the Trust in 1955 and has been a member ever since. He was a member of the Council from 2005 – 2009, and was a vice President in 2008/9. He has served on the Audit, Finance and Governance, the Fundraising, the Magazine and the Cultural Heritage Committees, and was Chair of the last mentioned for 3 years. He Chaired the so called ‘ A New Beginning Appeal ‘ which successfully raised the necessary funds to authorize the move of the State Office from rented city premises to the Trust’s own premises at Beaumont House, and to renovate the House. He was a driving force behind the Patron’s Dinner at Ayers House last February when the Patron’s Appeal was launched, raising more than $140,000. In the last 3 1/2 years, he has worked on Wednesdays in the Beaumont House garden, and has raised funds to pay a qualified gardener and in other respects to improve the garden. He is currently Chair of the CEO’s Beaumont House Garden Committee. All who know Rod acknowledge and appreciate his high levels of industry and generosity for the Trust, and the Trust is delighted to present him with the Dr Mildred Mocatta Award for 2013, the highest award given by the Trust.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS KEN HEINRICH Ken has been an active member of the National Trust since 1972. He was elected Treasurer of the then Central Yorke Peninsula Branch in 1974 and continues to hold that position for the Maitland Branch. He has been involved with the organisation of many Branch events, such as a series of Farm Field Days and Branch open days, and helped with the relocation of the Maitland Museum in 1979 to the current location at the Maitland School. He has provided much hands-on work over the years, helping with the construction of a Blacksmith shop at the museum and erecting monuments and plaques to mark school and church sites in the district. For some years he has been instrumental in the Branch winning the First Prize in the Maitland Christmas Lights Competition. Ken has made major contribution to the Maitland branch in many areas and is a worthy recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for 2013. ALISON DOWLING Alison has been a member of the Trust for 49 years. She has served on the Kingston Branch Committee for over 30 years as Secretary or Treasurer She was one of the inaugural members of the Kingston Branch at its formation in 1964. She has worked as a guide in the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse since it opened in 1976; she had hands on community involvement with the campaign to
ABOVE left Rod top Ken
save the Robe Customs House from demolition, the establishment of the local Pioneer Museum and was involved with the relocation of the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse to Kingston. She continues to provide valuable knowledge to the in Branch collections. Alison has made a major contribution to the activities of the Kingston Branch and is a worthy recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for 2013. ROEN LYNN Roen has been a member of the National Trust for over 30 years and has served on the Penola Branch Committee as Chairman and Vice Chairman. He has been involved in the preservation and restoration of cottages in Petticoat Lane since 1973. He has been active in advocacy work in Penola keeping his eye on buildings potentially at risk. Roen worked with branch members doing research and he was a major contributor to the interpretative sign project funded by the Branch and Wattle Range Council. In 2008 Roen received a Wattle Range Council Citizen of the Year Award for his contribution as a leader in the district, which included his outstanding work for the National Trust. He received an Honour Award in 2004. He attends regional meetings regularly. Although he has retired as Chairman, Roen continues to serve on the Branch Committee Roen’s work as a volunteer has been highly valued for many years and he is a worthy recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for 2013.
Matheson recipient of the Dr Mildred Mocatta Award for 2013. Photo: NTSA Heinrich from the Central Yorke Peninsula Branch receiving his Distinguished Service Award from President Norman Etherington AM. Photo: NTSA
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Awards
HONOUR AWARDS BRIAN BARBER
MRS LOLA BENNIER
Brian has been a member of Trust for over 27 years and active in Whyalla Branch since 1985. His interest in the history of shipping in the Spencer Gulf and early horse drawn vehicles led to his first act of support for the Whyalla Branch, providing horse and cart transport to the ketch Falie in 1986 as part of the re-enactment of early coastal trade during the SA Jubilee 150 celebrations. Brian has provided funds and labour to set up the museum particularly its collections of horse drawn vehicles and equipment and the blacksmith shop.
Lola has been a member of the Trust for 36 years, and has played a leading role in the development of the Camellia Garden at Stangate House since its inception in 1977.
He has taken on several projects to repair engines, including a working crusher and a diesel plant that powered searchlights used at the Hummock Hill Gun Emplacements during World War 2. He continues to research the history of the local area and has spearheaded major efforts of the branch to acquire items from the surrounding Nicolson pastoral properties following their take over by the military. Brian’s contribution to the Whyalla branch has been extensive and the Trust is pleased to present him with an Honour Award for 2013.
She has served on the combined Garden and National Trust Committee since it started 33 years ago, with part of that time as secretary. She has been a regular volunteer in the garden for 30 years where her knowledge and expertise have been invaluable. Lola continues her interest and commitment and is currently involved with updating the garden's camellia catalogue. Lola has been of enormous value to the Trust at the Mount Lofty branch and the Trust is pleased to present her with an Honour Award for 2013. MARCUS BERESFORD Marcus Beresford is a member of AIS Branch He joined the Council in 2010 as Regional Representative for the Southern Hills Region, and then he was elected to council serving until 2012. He was on the Interim Management Board holding the Communications and Fundraising portfolio. His committee involvement included the Cultural Heritage Advisory and publications where he, provided numerous articles, book reviews and photos for NTSA Magazine 'Heritage Living', He chaired the Natural Heritage Committee and worked as a tour guide in Natural Heritage Reserves A prolific writer, Marcus produced many papers and reports including nominations of buildings for Heritage listing. His most significant recent work was for some of the
Left Brian TOP Lola
buildings at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He undertook major research into the history of the Nurses Home at Glenside and assisted with its entry and acceptance for provisional listing as a State Heritage Item. He undertook extensive research for the compilation of items for the Heritage at Risk program Marcus researched and wrote the "Living Heritage Vision 175" Discussion Paper and contributed to other conferences and seminars as a representative of the NTSA. The Trust is poorer for Marcus’s departure from the Council, but is delighted to present him with an Honour Award for 2013. DAVID SHOWELL David has been a member of the National Trust for 28 years. He was Whyalla Branch secretary for nearly 7 years participating in organisation of events beginning from the reenactment of the visit of the Failie during the Jubilee 150 celebrations and the Tea & Damper Days which helped to raise the profile of the Mount Laura Homestead. He moved to Renmark in 1992 where he has been instrumental in winning many substantial grants including one to print precious glass negatives. He has become a major fundraiser for Olivewood, orchestrating major community fundraisers in Renmark over several years. . He attacks all projects with enthusiasm and commitment and it is with great pleasure that the Trust presents him with an Honour Award for 2013.
Barber from the Whyalla Branch receiving his Honour Award from President Norman Etherington AM. Photo: NTSA Bennier from the Mount Lofty Branch receiving her Honour Award from President Norman Etherington AM. Photo: NTSA
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Honour awards cont'd
CERTIFICATE OF APRECIATION AWARDS
JOAN WALKER
LYN HARTE
A member of the National Trust for over 20 years, Joan has been Kingston Branch Treasurer for this period and played a leading role in the successful completion of grants for the upkeep of Cape Jaffa Lighthouse, she led the way when the GST was introduced. She is a volunteer guide in the lighthouse and is prepared to climb to the top of the lighthouse, some 38 metres from the ground. She has taken a leading role in all Kingston Branch projects, with support from her late husband Les, who was also a stalwart of the branch.
Lyn is a member of the Willunga Branch Committee and is responsible for catering. She manages visitor participation in mock trials at the Courthouse Museum and acts as a museum guide. Lyn helps organise the wedding bookings at the Willunga Courthouse and is involved in the School Visit program at the Basset Boys' Schoolroom.
Joan has been a major contributor in this small branch and it is with pleasure that the Trust presents her with the 2013 Honour Award. DONALD MCDONALD Donald has been a member of the National Trust for 42 years and a member of the Willunga Branch Committee for 10 years. He is responsible for OH&S issues and maintenance. Donald was a foundation member of Willunga Branch in 1969 He has bravely taken on the onerous and extensive task of liaising with the City of Onkaparinga Council, Heritage Architects and builders/ maintenance workers about any repairs and maintenance to be carried out at the Branch properties: the Courthouse Museum, the Slate Museum and the Bassett Boys Schoolroom. He is the Branch "go to" person and carries out all his voluntary activities, including that of tour guide, promptly, cheerfully and effectively.
Lyn has an important role at the Branch and undertakes the mundane but essential tasks at the Museum. She is generous with her time and talents and is a worthy recipient of this Certificate of Appreciation. JUDITH LAMB Judith plays a vital support role in all activities of the Branch: weddings, school visits, museum guide and has also become involved in innovative ways of in fundraising for the Branch. Judith is a key member of the team at Willunga and is also a worthy recipient of this Certificate of Appreciation. DR TED SANDERCOCK Ted provides the History Talk when such is required in the course of a group visit to the Courthouse Museum and the Slate Museum. Making history come alive, and ensuring that its significance is appreciated, is a skill that is important to the success of a museum visit. His role is important to the successful implementation of Willunga’s program of visits. He provides his time generously whenever needed.
Ted is a valued member of the team at Willunga and is also a worthy recipient of this Certificate of Appreciation. RENMARK PARINGA COUNCIL The Council has not only been supportive of Olivewood for decades in their official capacity supplying banners, bins, chairs and other facilities on request, but has also helped with building problems, interpretation of By-Laws, grant applications and suggestions for the development of the Orchard and Museum management COSTA This firm has been associated with Olivewood for over a decade providing a work force, machinery and a market for the citrus from the orchard at a reduced rate or as a donation. Without the mentorship of this community-minded company Olivewood's orchards would not be a viable business. ALVANOS EARTHMOVING PTY LTD at Renmark This Company has given valuable assistance to Olivewood at Renmark over many years providing labour and equipment at a reduced rate. They also donated sand and metal for the construction of pathways. The Trust appreciates community involvement in our properties and is pleased to present Alvanos Earthmoving Company with a Certificate of Appreciation.
The voluntary contribution of Donald is so extensive and has occurred over so long a period and is of such value to the Willunga Branch that the Trust takes great pleasure in presenting him with the 2013 Honour Award. Left to right  Willunga Branch recipients Donald McDonald receiving his Honour Award from President Norman Etherington AM, Dr Ted Sandercock, and Judith Lamb receiving their Certificates of Appreciation from President Norman Etherington AM. Photos: NTSA.
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Living legacies
Avenues of Honour: A living legacy Dr Darren Peacock
| Executive director ntsa
The arboreal Avenue of Honour has been an enduring and highly popular form of public commemoration of military service in Australia. More than any other people, Australians have chosen to recognise service and sacrifice through community plantings of memorial Avenues of Honour. The earliest recorded Avenues of Honour were created in response to Australia’s participation in the Boer War, but the majority were established during and after World War I and, to a lesser extent, World War II.
Adelaide is also home to the first known memorial planting in Australia associated with World War I. The English Oak (Quercus robur) planted in Creswell Gardens in the Adelaide Parklands just 25 days after the declaration of war between the United Kingdom and Germany may in fact be the first such memorial planting anywhere in the world. The tree was planted by Sir Henry Galway, Governor of South Australia, on 29 August 1914. During the current redevelopment of the Adelaide Oval, the War Memorial Oak has been surrounded by protective wire fencing. When the redevelopment is complete this tree will once again be a magnificent and accessible public memorial within the Parklands. In 2006 TREENET, a national research and advocacy organisation based in Adelaide, undertook a nationwide survey of known Avenues of Honour. That study identified 567 Avenues of Honour across Australia, most of which remain in some form, although some are depleted or in poor condition. Across all of the existing Avenues there are estimated to be more than 100 000 living trees. These Avenues and the trees that comprise them are typically on public land and, most often, are managed by Local Councils, although Avenues may also have dedicated local management committees.
More than half of the Avenues were planted in Victoria, but 38 have been documented in South Australia. To coincide with the Anzac Centenary, TREENET has initiated an ambitious project to ensure that all Australians who made the supreme sacrifice in serving their country are recognised with a thriving living memorial that is known, recognised and discoverable by their descendants, relatives and local communities as well as by any other interested parties. You can read more about the Avenues of Honour project at www.avenuesofhonour.org
Above War Memorial Oak in Creswell Gardens, Adelaide, planted in August 1914. Photo: Courtesy of Treenet Right Commemorative
plaque on War Memorial Oak. Photo: Courtesy of Treenet
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Since 2009 TREENET has been collecting acorns from the War Memorial Oak to produce offspring of this oldest WWI memorial tree for planting in new and restored Avenues of Honour across Australia.
On the water
The Trading Ketches of South Australia Part 1 Craig Whyte
| NTSA member
For more than 100 years trading ketches were the lifeblood of rural South Australia, linking famers in remote coastal areas to markets in Adelaide and beyond. For some families it was a way of life passed from generation to generation; vessels, too, were passed from father to son. Ketches, traditionally, were twomasted sailing craft, fore-and-aft rigged. Many of those used in South Australia had been built in Tasmania for the Derwent River trade. They had flat-bottomed hulls, ideal for shallow water and for beaching in an upright position, the same feature required for trade in the Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf where most of the small, remote ports had no jetty. Here, ketches were beached, loaded, then refloated on the incoming tide. Where there was no good tide, each sack or item of cargo had to be loaded into dinghies and rowed to shore.
were used to ferry firewood from cleared land to the growing town of Adelaide. Later, grain, wool, salt and gypsum were carried. Thus the rural economy was built on the graft of ketches and their crews, long before the development of road and rail.
The history of South Australian trading ketches is almost as old as the colony itself. In the early days of land clearance, ketches
Ketches were crewed by a skipper and one, perhaps two, young deckhands. A skipper would take charge of a vessel leaving port, but once at sea he might pass the helm to a 14-year old deckhand and retire to his cabin. For a lad seeking adventure and, ultimately, a life sailing larger vessels, the ketches provided solid experience. For many ketches grain formed the bulk of their freight. Heavy grain sacks were originally transported by horse and dray then lifted manually by a pulley system. Later, hoists were motorized. On the Hecla, 500 to 600 sacks were shifted by a deckhand driving the motor, but stacked by hand below deck by a skipper who knew how the weight distribution would affect the vessel’s trim. The Leillateah carried a payload of 84 tons, 1400 bags of barley or wheat, a higher number for oats, which were lighter. One ketch traded solely with Pine Point on the Yorke Peninsula, where the skipper worked single-handedly to load 700 bags of grain, each one shifted and stacked manually. In the next issue, I will delve deeper into the hard but rich lives of the ketch crews.
TOP In
their heyday: ketches at Port Wakefield. 70 year-old winner of the 1936 ketch race held to celebrate 100 years of South Australia. BOTTOM LEFT Ketches under sail. Bottom Right An inspiration to artists. Photos courtesy of South Australian Maritime Museum. Centre Adonis,
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On the water
City of Adelaide Returns: A reminiscence Craig Whyte
| NTSA member
Growing up in Glasgow’s south side, seeing the old sailing ship beside the railway bridge was the highlight of the train trip into town. “That’s the Carrick,” Mum would say, nodding as though the name should mean something. But back then all I knew about the Carrick was that she was a bit like a pirate ship and she, like me, belonged to Glasgow. “Dad and I went to a dinner dance on board,” Mum told me, seemingly cementing our connection. Now, neither the ship nor I belong to Glasgow (the ship never truly did) and by the time you read this, both of us will be residents of Adelaide. The Carrick is, in fact, the City of Adelaide, renamed by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2013, a return to the name she bore while shipping hundreds of migrants to South Australia between 1864 and 1886. Today, more than a quarter of a million Australians could be descended from her passengers.
tirelessly to produce a feasible plan for the 150 year-old clipper to make one final voyage to Port Adelaide. Companies across South Australia donated expertise to create a custom-built cradle on which she would sit during shipment. In 2010 the Scottish government determined that CSCOAL offered the best option for the conservation of a ship significant to both nations’ heritage.
For me, as for many, the ship’s return is of personal significance. As an Education Presenter at the Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide, specialising in migration, I will have a ‘real life’ migrant ship to point to, one that made the voyage no less than twenty-three times. Not only that, I will have part of my Glasgow childhood beside me. * Clipper Ship City of Adelaide Ltd
As the City of Adelaide departed Europe in November 2013 aboard the German freighter Palanpur, the President of NTSA, Professor Norman Etherington, issued a press statement applauding the ‘City of Adelaide’ project and calling for the creation of a maritime precinct at Port Adelaide with the clipper as its centerpiece.
I last saw the City two years ago on a trip back to Scotland. “Where’s the clipper?” I asked the young bloke in the Scottish Maritime Museum’s café. He pointed vaguely upriver before returning to his work. I went out behind the café and, beyond a high wire fence, alone on a bleak riverbank, sat the City of Adelaide. It was an undignified resting place for the older of the world’s two surviving clippers – the younger is the Cutty Sark – and it might have been her last were it not for the vision and tenacity of a South Australian community group. Recognising her place in South Australia’s social history, as well as her outstanding maritime heritage, *CSCOAL was formed to bring the City of Adelaide ‘home.’ With the clock ticking towards her demolition, the group worked
Main image City Insert Carrick
of Adelaide at Port Augusta (1880) where she loaded with South Australian grain for her return to Britain.
(City of Adelaide) at Glasgow. The River Clyde was her home for nearly 70 years. Images supplied courtesy of CSCOAL.
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Out ‘n’ About february / MARCH Ayers House Museum Adelaide Fringe 2014 Program A huge line up – with a great deal of variety has been pulled together for the 2014 Adelaide Fringe season. All tickets are available for purchase through FringeTix some will be available at the door – unless sold out �� Black in Fashion Exhibition From the curators of ‘Frisque’ (2013) comes ‘Black in Fashion,’ an exhibition of black in dress, interior design and popular culture and subculture from 1860 to the present. From grief to glamour, formality, the exotic, the erotic, the occult and the alternative, black is back at Ayers House Museum! Saturday 15th – Wednesday 26th February Time: During Museum opening hours and Fringe performance times Place: The Loft, Ayers House Museum, North Tce �� Boom, Bust and Love Solstice Singers - songs from 30’s and 40’s Sunday 16th February Time: 6:00pm – 7:00pm Place: Ayers House Museum State Dining Room �� MaXimal – Scott Sneddon Personal, funny and poignant, comedian and poet from Brisbane Tuesday 4th – Friday 7th, Tuesday 11th – Friday 14th March Time: 7:30pm – 8:30pm Place: The Loft, Ayers House Museum, North Tce �� Amanda Porter – The Situation 28th February, 1st and 2nd March Time: 7.30-8.30pm Place: The Loft, Ayers House Museum, North Terrace �� Striptease - Death Comes at the End Mystery, Murder and Madness [Out of Print Book Club – Independent Artists] 19th, 21st, 22nd, 26th 28th February, and 1st March Time: 7.30-9.00 pm Place: Ayers House Museum State Dining Room
�� Rich Batsford - Classically Chilled Piano 20th, 27th, February, and 6th, 13th March Time: 7.30-8.30 pm Place: The State Dining Room, Ayers House Museum, North Terrace �� Damian Callinan and Tim Overton in - Out of Print Book Club Location: 22nd, 23rd February, 1st, 2nd, March Time: 2.00-3.00pm, 4:30-5:30pm except 23rd February, 4:30-5:30pm �� A Palette of Possessions – Hayley Brennan A show about finding happiness in adulthood Friday, 7th March Time: 6:00pm – 7:00pm Saturday 8th & 9th March Time: 7:30pm – 8:30pm Place: The Loft, Ayers House Museum, North Tce �� Classical Guitar – Jonathan Prag Sunday 9th March Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm Place: Ayers House Museum State Dining Room Enquiries: (08) 8223 1234 or ayershouse@nationaltrustsa.org.au
Victor Harbor Branch
april Burnside Branch �� Beaumont House Open Day Sunday 6th April Time: 2.00pm–4.30pm Place: 631 Glynburn Rd, Beaumont Cost: $8.00 Enquiries Chris Perriam email:perriamci@bigpond.com
Victor Harbor Branch �� Talk: Goolwa History, Anthony Presgrave Thursday 17th April Time: 2.00 pm Place: Old School Building, Torrens St, Victor Harbor Enquiries: Val Yelds (08) 8552 4440
may Burnside Branch �� Beaumont House Open Day Sunday 4th May Time: 2.00pm–4.30pm Place: 631 Glynburn Rd, Beaumont Cost: $8.00 Enquiries: Chris Perriam email:perriamci@bigpond.com
Victor Harbor Branch
�� Talk: Norman Etherington NTSA State President Thursday 20th February Time: 2.00 pm Place: Old School Building, Torrens St, Victor Harbor Enquiries: Val Yelds (08) 8552 4440
�� Talk: Working with Local Aboriginal Community, Mary Ann Gale Thursday 15th May Time: 2.00 pm Place: Old School Building, Torrens St, Victor Harbor Enquiries: Val Yelds (08) 8552 4440
Burnside Branch
Hahndorf Branch
�� Beaumont House Open Day Sunday 2nd March Time: 2.00pm–4.30pm Place: 631 Glynburn Rd, Beaumont Cost: $8.00 Enquiries: Chris Perriam email:perriamci@bigpond.com
�� Pioneer Women’s Trail Sunday 18th May Enquiries: Annette Oien email: jerseyflower@hotmail.com
Victor Harbor Branch �� Talk: Demolished Buildings of Victor Harbor, Fred Van Gestel Thursday 20th March Time: 2.00 pm Place: Old School Building, Torrens St, Victor Harbor Enquiries: Val Yelds (08) 8552 4440
Heritage living | 12 | south Australia
Mount Barker Branch �� About Time SA History Festival guided walks along the main street, government and church areas Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th May Time: beginning at 1pm Place: The walks will start at the Commonwealth Bank at the top of Gawler Street Mount Barker Enquiries: Don Goldney (08) 83675006
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: admin@nationaltrustsa.org.au www.nationaltrust.org.au/sa
Eric Heapy Chief Executive Officer Dr Darren Peacock Executive Officer Janet Pedler Natural Heritage Officer Mario Russo Built Asset Manager Ellen Martin Finance Manager Helen Cartmel Executive Administrator Joseanne Visentin Senior Administration Officer
AYERS HOUSE MUSEUM STAFF
DESIGN
Janine Hook House Manager Functions, Weddings & Events Coordinator Jessica Sanderson Administration Assistant
Dessein T:08 9228 0661 E: tracy@dessein.com.au
COMMITTEES Audit Finance & Governance Ayers House Advisory Beaumont House Garden Collections Cultural Heritage Communications
DISTRIBUTION Heritage Living is published four times a year. PP 536155/0036 ISSN 0815-7871
NTSA COUNCIL
There are Management Committees for Roachdale & Watiparinga Reserves.
President Prof Norman Etherington AM Vice Presidents Brian McMillan Sue Scheiffers Councillors David Beaumont OAM Glennys Carse Donald Currie George Hobbs Peter Langhans
Executive Education Working Party Natural Heritage Significant Tree Regions & Branches Property Working Group
NTSA BRANCHES (46) Adelaide & Inner Suburbs, Ardrossan, Burnside, Coromandel Valley, Gawler, Port of Adelaide, Tea Tree Gully, Ceduna, Cleve, Koppio, Streaky Bay, Tumby Bay, Whyalla, Auburn, Burra, Clare, Jamestown, Port Pirie, Barmera, Berri, Overland Corner, Renmark, Waikerie, Beachport, Keith, Kingston SE, Millicent, Mount Gambier, Naracoorte, Penola, Robe, Goolwa, Hahndorf, Kingscote KI, Mount Barker, Mount Lofty, Penneshaw, Port Elliot, Strathalbyn, Victor Harbor, Willunga, Central Yorke Peninsula, Kadina, Minlaton, Moonta, Wallaroo.
Chris Perriam Nigel Ridgway Richard Stewart Marilyn Tucker Robyn Wight
Telephone (08) 8202 9200 for contact /information details.
Patron-in-Chief His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AC CSC RANR Governor of South Australia
Contributions are welcome Please send care of the Communications Committee deadline 30th of March 2014. Front cover: City of Adelaide painting by John Alcott 1938.
National Trust of SA E-News Keep yourself up to date on heritage doings in South Australia by providing your email address to the NTSA and checking this lively monthly electronic bulletin! Events and exhibitions of interest cannot always be notified because of the long lead time for printing Heritage Living. E-News aims to cover anything else topical in the heritage area. Contact Joss Visentin with your email details on (08) 8202 9200 or jvisentin@nationaltrustsa.org.au. If you do not have email you can always open a free “hotmail” email account at your local library (most have public access computers you can book to use regularly).
Sponsors The National Trust of South Australia acknowledges its Principal Partner, Sponsors, Civic Partnerships, Corporate Supporters and Government Relationships Principal Partner Santos
Sponsors Channel 9 Telethon
Civic Partnerships Adelaide City Council The District Council of Copper Coast
Corporate Supporters Mitre10 Glenunga SA Neutrog Australia P/L Thomsons Lawyers SA Power Networks Theodore Bruce Auctions Pty Ltd
Government Relationships Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities National Library of Australia
General Motors Holden Ltd Gestalt Fundraising Solutions
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South Australian Government Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources South Australian Tourism Commission SA Water History SA
Liquid Project
right The first Santos drill rig in the Cooper Basin. below Wilkitana
drill site.
bottom Moomba
2 March 1976. Images: Courtesy of Santos
30 years of oil from Port Bonython Kristin Weidenbach
In November 2013, Santos celebrated the 30th anniversary of the export of oil from Port Bonython. The so-called ‘Liquids Project’, which enabled oil and gas liquids to be piped from Moomba to new wharf facilities at Port Bonython, transformed the South Australian energy company from a relatively small petroleum explorer and natural gas producer, into Australia’s largest onshore explorer and producer of oil, gas, condensate and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). It was on 20 November 1983, that the tanker Arthur Phillip loaded 410,000 barrels of Cooper Basin crude oil for the Caltex refinery at Kurnell in Sydney. The tanker moored at the end of the new 2.4 km jetty— the longest in the state—which had been built in record time at Stony Point, 15 km northeast of Whyalla on the western side of Spencer Gulf. In June 1983, the South Australian government officially named the Stony Point terminal, ‘Port Bonython’ to honour John Langdon Bonython, the Santos founder and Chairman of 27 years. It was Bonython’s ambition to find oil that had spurred him to create the company back in March 1954. It took almost ten years for the first signs of success, when natural gas was discovered in the Strzelecki Desert on New Year’s Eve, 1963. During the 1960s, Moomba was built, and gas came to Adelaide in 1969. But Bonython never gave up the search for oil. Santos and its Cooper Basin partners were rewarded in the late 1970s, with a series of gushing oil discoveries in the South Australian outback. More discoveries followed and a means to get the oil and other liquids to market became an imperative.
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An indenture between the State Government and Santos and the ten other Cooper Basin partners was signed on 26 November 1981, and the Stony Point (Liquids Project) Ratification Act, 1981, passed parliament with bipartisan support on 17 December. Construction began on 15 January 1982, when Mines and Energy Minister Roger Goldsworthy started the trench for the 660 km pipeline from Moomba to Stony Point. More than 37,000 pipes, each up to 10 metres long were strung along the pipeline route. Everything about the operation was big. The world’s biggest aeroplanes flew in huge pieces of infrastructure that were then transported up the Strzelecki Track in enormous convoys. A heavy-lift ship brought a 253-tonne, 38-metre-high deethaniser column, which soon comprised the state’s largest road haul. The entire load took up about the same amount of roadway as six semi-trailers strung end-to-end and it took almost all day to drive the 30 km from the Whyalla wharf out to the site.
A pile-driving crane came all the way from Holland on its own barge to build the jetty, which would be almost a kilometre longer than the state’s longest jetty at Port Germein. Approximately 2,500 people were directly employed in construction at the peak of the project, with flow-on employment carrying the state through the world-wide recession of 1982-1983. Nine months later, on 19 October 1982, Premier David Tonkin attended the ceremonial completion of the pipeline. The first shipment of liquids—157,000 barrels of condensate bound for the Shell Refinery at Geelong—departed on 4 February 1983, only slightly more than a year after the pipeline trench-digging machine had begun heading south from Moomba.
At the time, Australian Mining magazine labelled the project one of the greatest stories of modern times, comparing the twoand-a-half year construction blitz to Australian sporting achievements such as winning the America’s Cup and Robert de Castella’s victory in the world Marathon. Today, 50,000 barrels of oil and gas liquids are piped from the Cooper Basin to Port Bonython every single day. Thirty years on, and the success of the Liquids Project continues to bear fruit for Santos and its Cooper Basin partners.
The historic first loading of a large export LPG vessel occurred on 5 September 1984, and marked the official opening of the Liquids Project.
Top to Bottom SA
Premier Sir Thomas Playford with Santos exploration team. Embarking on one of the many weekly trips from Springfield to Wilkatana to inspect early drilling activity. (just north of Port Augusta, SA). Mr John Bonython AO, Santos Chairman, the Hon John Bannon MP, SA Premier and Mr Alex Carmichael, Santos MD at the opening of Port Bonython 1985.
Background Wilkatana,1
Jan 1956. Images: Courtesy of Santos.
Building history matters to us
In 1955, three of the founders of Santos helped to establish the National Trust in South Australia. Today, as the new Principal Partner of the Trust, Santos looks forward to once again contributing to preserving our State’s history. This latest pledge continues a Santos tradition of backing South Australian community organisations and events; a commitment which last year alone reached $6 million. Like Sir Douglas Mawson, John Langdon Bonython and George Symes 58 years ago, we at Santos continue to believe that protecting our heritage and supporting South Australia’s diverse communities is well worth the effort. Because we’re not just an energy company, we’re a company with energy.