Marryatville, South Australia facts for kids

Marryatville is a small suburb about 4–5 kilometres (2.5–3.1 mi) east of Adelaide's central business district, in the local council area of City of Norwood Payneham St Peters. Comprising low- to medium-density housing, two large schools, a church and several shops, it also has two creeks running through it. The first European settler on the land was George Brunskill in 1839, with part of the land purchased and laid out as a village in 1848 by James Philcox.

First Creek

First Creek runs through the suburb, originating from the hills. Floods in November 2005 overflowed First Creek’s banks heavily. Many houses and Marryatville High School became flooded with debris and soil from upstream. There were no fatalities from the flood but it did cause considerable damage to some houses and Marryatville High School's grounds. Loreto Marryatville also suffered some damage with the library being flooded.

History of notable properties

Eden Park

"Eden Park" c.1925.

Brunskill built the first home for the family shortly after arrival in 1839, on land later owned by Sir Edwin Smith, on the site of the present Loreto College, then another cottage on the present Dudley Road, and finally the most elaborate of all, a house which they called Sandford, on the site of the current Eden Park. A huge Norfolk pine planted by the Brunskills still stands. Brunskill ran a brick-making business and grew crops such as wheat and kept cattle, while Sarah tended to pigs. He was a businessman in the city. The Brunskills sold up when they moved to the Barossa Valley in 1857, when they also subdivided and sold more land to the church.

Sandford passed through several hands before being purchased in 1899 by Thomas Roger Scarfe, brother of George, one of the founding members of the Harris Scarfe department store. Thomas was also a member of the firm. He found the two-storey home unsuitable for his needs and built the grand Victorian mansion now known as Eden Park, designed by architect Alfred Wells. Thomas lived there until his death in 1915, with his widow staying on until her death in 1942.

The house, garden and about 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land were bought by the state government, after which it was used as a residential home and then a school for nurses (Gleneden School of Nursing), before becoming SA Health's conference centre. In 1993 it was acquired by Marryatville High School and since then has been used as a campus for final year students.

The Acacias

The large house on the corner of present-day Portrush and Kensington Roads (and now part of Loreto College), known as The Acacias, was built in 1874-5 by Dr J.M. Gunson to the design of renowned builder and architect Michael McMullen. The land was originally part of land grant to George Fife Angas, Henry Kingscote & Thomas Smith, all founding directors of the South Australian Company. After several other owners, Gunson purchased the land in August 1874, built the house on a terrace above First Creek and developed the gardens.

Gunson sold the house to Sir Edwin Smith in 1878, who greatly extended the home, including a verandah & balcony imported from Glasgow and a large ballroom, to the designs of architect Thomas English (who also designed the new premises of Kent Town Brewery in 1876 for Smith).

In December 1920 Loreto Convent bought the house on 5.25 acres (2.12 ha), opening at that location in February 1921. Further conversions have been undertaken by the school over time.

Hackett's Nursery

Hackett's Nursery, shadehouse, c.1900

The smallest street, now Hackett Terrace, was formerly named Sun Street, the name deriving from Hackett's Nursery, a family concern created by brothers Elisha and Walter Hackett in the 1850s. Elisha Hackett cultivated the garden of his house in Sydenham Road, creating the nursery, and in 1854 persuaded his brother Walter, who had gone to Victoria in 1851, to join him in business. Walter, after his marriage, built a house in Marryatville designed by architect George Abbott in about 1866. The plot was bought from Brunskill, and was described as a long strip of land, formerly part of a paddock used as a shortcut by Burnside people going to St Matthew's Church. There were several wells, and the property had to be locked against bushrangers, who were active in the area. Walter first planted fruit trees, but as the nursery grew, the fruit trees were removed. More than 100,000 roses as well as shrubs and trees were grown and sold; there were also glasshouses to house begonias, maiden-hair ferns and other house plants, and a shadehouse for palms, tree ferns and staghorns. Native plants were cultivated with care. Walter's sons, first John and then William, lived in the house after their father moved to Brighton, but Walter travelled up each day to work in the nursery until his death in 1914.

In 1917 the nursery was sold to a limited company, E. & W. Hackett Limited, with William continuing as director for three years. In the same year the business bought a 6-acre (2.4 ha) plot in the Millswood Estate for over £20,067 to accommodate the nursery, which drew glowing praise in a 1923 newspaper article and continued to do business there until 1952.

Images for kids

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  George Brunskill, c.1850