Historic SA homes you can explore
Old houses are like museums – they provide a window to our cultural past.
We open the doors to four historic South Australian homes you can add to your travel plans.
1. Carrick Hill – Springfield, Adelaide
Anyone born after the mid-1990s may not know of John Martin’s, a popular Adelaide department store that served South Australians until it closed in 1998. The iconic Christmas Pageant, which parades through the CBD each year, was initiated by John Martin’s Director Edward (Bill) Hayward in 1933.
In 1935, Bill married Ursula, the daughter of one of the state’s most wealthy and philanthropic families, the Barr Smiths.
Ursula’s father gave the couple 40 hectares of land at Springfield as a wedding gift and they set about designing a 17th-century style manor house.
During their engagement in the UK, they picked up fireplaces, doors, wood panelling and even an oak staircase from the demolition sale of a Tudor mansion known as Beaudesert.
Carrick Hill was built around these treasures between 1937 and 1939.
Ursula passed away in 1970 and Bill Hayward died in 1983. They had no children, so in an act of generosity the property was bequeathed to the State Government for all to enjoy.
Wandering the corridors and rooms of this magnificent mansion, it’s easy to forget you’re in a 20th-century home and not a 400-year-old English manor.
All the rooms are fully furnished, and much of the couple’s extensive collection of artwork and sculptures are on show. There are also some fascinating domestic items on display including a sturdy AGA cooker, a telephone intercom system, and an impressive collection of silverware, cutlery and crockery.
Outside, the well-maintained formal garden is popular for picnics, weddings and other functions.
The licensed café and outdoor marquee provide superb views across the suburbs to the sea.
2. The Cedars – Hahndorf
Seven-year-old Hans Heysen emigrated from Germany to Australia with his family in 1877. He was a serious painter by 14, and in his early 20s undertook further art studies in Europe, before returning to Adelaide in 1903.
Following a couple of successful exhibitions in Melbourne, he bought a 15-hectare property with a house, just out of Hahndorf. To protect the local eucalypts, he eventually bought the surrounding land, giving him a total holding of 61 hectares.
At a time when environmentalism was rare, Hans Heysen not only understood the need to preserve the natural world, but he also had the artistic skill to capture its beauty.
His property, named The Cedars, doubled as Heysen’s studio and home from 1912 until his passing in 1968. It’s still owned by the Heysen family, who’ve opened it for public viewing.
A self-guided tour of the grounds leads to spots where Hans enjoyed painting, and on-site copies of his artworks reveal his interpretation of the scene before him.
Organised tours include his purpose-built studio among the trees, and his fully-furnished home, which is filled with his paintings and drawings.
3. Martindale Hall – Mintaro, Clare Valley
Stunning from every angle, Martindale Hall is a masterpiece of architecture and workmanship.
Although, when you’re motoring up the long, conifer-lined driveway, it’s a little odd to see a Georgian-style mansion sitting in the middle of the Aussie bush.
Edmund Bowman Junior, the son of wealthy graziers, commissioned the construction of Martindale Hall, and to ensure the job was done correctly he imported 50 skilled tradesmen from the UK.
Unfortunately, Edmund fell on hard financial times and the property was bought by the Mortlock family (of Mortlock Library fame) and has since been bequeathed to the State Government.
There are 32 rooms, including several underground, but due to modern fire-safety regulations, the below-ground rooms aren’t accessible to the public. The rest of the house is open for viewing.
When people talk about how the other half lives, this is what they mean.
Martindale Hall still holds many of the Mortlock family’s possessions, including an impressive collection of books and a full-size snooker table in the library.
Complete with a Chinese Foo Chow lacquer cabinet – once owned by Lord Kitchener – a collection of opium pipes and a dugong skull, the smoking room is renowned for its eclectic artefacts, gathered during the family’s extensive overseas travels.
In its heyday, the property even had a cricket pitch where a visiting English 11 entertained guests.
In 1975, Martindale Hall was the fictional Appleyard College in the Peter Weir-directed thriller, Picnic at Hanging Rock.
4. Bob Hawke’s house – Bordertown
The late Bob Hawke was Australia’s 23rd Prime Minister, serving from 11 March 1983 to 20 December 1991. He led the Labor Party to four consecutive election wins.
Bob Hawke was born in Bordertown in 1929 – the only PM born in South Australia – and lived in Farquhar Street until his family moved to Maitland on Yorke Peninsula in 1935.
You might be an ardent ALP supporter or just a fan of the bloke who quipped, “Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum,” after Australia won the America’s Cup in 1983.
Either way, there’s an opportunity to enjoy a night or two in the house where Bob spent his early childhood.
The home is available for accommodation rental, and in homage to the Hawke family, it contains memorabilia, including books, photographs and trophies relating to their lives.