VOLUME 6 NUMBER 2 AUGUST Page 1. Newsletter of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc PO Box 43 Marleston SA 5033

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1 VOLUME 6 NUMBER 2 AUGUST 2014 THE SALVATION ARMY AT MELLOR PARK. A place to rehabilitate recently released prisoners who would otherwise be left to their own devises in an often inhospitable community - this was the forward thinking plan of the Salvation Army in July The establishment of the Prison Gate Brigade Home on the former Lockleys Estate made use of a rambling residence containing twenty rooms situated in one of the most picturesque spots in the colony, surrounded by magnificent old gums and other trees of dense foliage and the walls covered with an abundance of ivy and other creepers, keeping the house beautifully cool in summer. Opened by Commissioner Coombs in October 1890, and under the control of Ensign Burfoot, the property had once been the seat of Sir J. Hurtle Fisher. The building had bow windows and glass doors and low gabled roofs, all of the rooms opening off one long passage. Attached to the building was 17 acres (42 hectares) of good rich land which was cultivated by the 17 inmates who had planted onions, potatoes and a flower garden. The work was carried out solely by the inmates who also looked after stables, pigsties, cow bails, fowl run and other accommodations suitable for a farmer or market gardener. A long avenue of trees led to the entrance of the property. Inside, the dining room was on the right, furnished with a table capable of seating 30 persons, which ran the whole length of the room, and further down the Prison Gate Brigade home and farm c1900. long passage were the officer s quarters and several dormitory bedrooms each having five beds. A large kitchen and also a sitting room made up the comfortable facilities of the house. Sadly the life of this revolutionary project was rather short lived, as, by 1904, an outbreak of swine fever caused the Salvation Army to relocate the inmates to a new facility in Whitmore Square. Prior to the Salvos taking over the property, John White Mellor had lived there using it as a virtual bird sanctuary as he carried out his interests as a very capable ornithologist. His frequent observations of birds nesting there were reported in journals like The South Australian Ornithologist and The Emu. He was a constant supplier of bird notes to many journals. In more recent times the house was converted to flats and later became the Serene Nursing Home, whilst the land between the house and Henley Beach Road was vested in the West Torrens Council to become the Mellor Park Reserve. Page 1. Sketch of Lockleys Salvation Army Prison Gate Home. Prison Gate Home c now Serene Nursing Home. Newsletter of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc PO Box 43 Marleston SA 5033

2 A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT. What a successful month celebrating S A History s About Time was during May! With many local activities and a myriad of events throughout the state, this period of history indulgence is becoming bigger and bigger each year. The attendance at our exhibition in which we focused on the decades from the 1950s to 2000, was very well attended and attracted many comments and several requests for copies of the photos displayed. We are now preparing for a special display in May 2015 featuring our range of West Torrens maps, charts, subdivisions, posters and development plans, subject to a grant becoming available to facilitate the copying of these fragile documents. Interest in our society is coming from many sources including students researching for theses and other projects and also from local residents and businesses looking to record the history of their involvement in our district. The large collection of photographs of West Torrens serving personnel during World War 1 assembled by Helen Prettejohn has started off our period of research into the Anzac Centenary celebrations on a particularly high note and this will continue for at least the next five years. I never cease to be amazed by the chance opportunities we get to source additional information for our files. While recently holidaying in Streaky Bay our member Rob Goldsmith happened to see two very interesting photographs relating to West Torrens tucked away in a corner of the local National Trust museum in that town. One shows a West Torrens Football Club A&B premiership team of 1927 and the second depicts the Underdale Football Club of So you never know where you might find some gem of our past hiding in a remote area (or even in a cupboard or drawer in our own homes)! West Torrens Football Club A grade team lost first semi-final to South Adelaide 4.13 to B grade premiers defeating Norwood 16.7 to 6.8. John Andrewartha. Page 2

3 FATHER & SON AT 2 WARS. A West Torrens father and son with connections to a pioneer Reedbeds family were represented in both World War l and World War ll. Vivian Arthur John Brittain, born 6 May 1898 at Magill S A, son of George and Eliza Brittain (nee Bird) of Avonmore Ave Norwood, was employed, prior to enlisting in World War l, as a mason. He joined up on 4 August 1915 and embarked on 12 January 1916 for France. Wounded in action on 5 November 1916, he returned to Australia on board the TSS Karoola, arriving 23 August Following his discharge on 25 February 1918 he lived in Lockleys, marrying May Charlotte Butterfield at the Brooklyn Park Methodist Church on Vivian Arthur John Brittain. 15 May May was the daughter of Henry George and Julia Butterfield (nee Hill) of Fulham. Vivian died 17 November 1957 aged 59 years. Jack Vivian Brittain, son of Vivian Arthur John Brittain and May Charlotte Brittain (nee Butterfield) of Brooklyn Park was born on 11 January 1922 at North Norwood. He was educated at the Adelaide Technical High School and the Adelaide University where he took a bachelor of engineering degree. On enlistment 3 February1941 he had been employed as a draughtsman by the Municipal Tramways Trust. He served as a pilot officer in the Royal Australian Air Force 5th squadron doing his elementary training at Parafield and Point Cook. He received his wings on 24 July 1941 and his commission as pilot officer on 17 September in the same year. He was posted to a fighter squadron and had been doing reconnaissance and Memorial window installed in Brooklyn Park Methodist Church. searchlight co-operation when he was tragically Pilot Officer Jack Brittain RAAF. killed in an air accident near Laverton Victoria on 21 March 1942 aged 20 years. A stained glass memorial window to his memory was installed in the Brooklyn Park Methodist Church with the inscription In Loving Remembrance of p/o Jack Vivian Brittain R.A.A.F. who gave his life in the service of our country on 21st March 1942 age 20 years. Erected by Sunday school & friends. At the time of his death Jack was the fiancé of Miss Rhonda Sedgwick of Lockleys. The window is now in family hands. From notes provided by Helen Prettejohn. TSS Karoola. Page 3

4 BEFORE THE AIRPORT WAS AN AIRPORT - Part 2. (Continued from Volume 5, No.3 pp. 4-5). From the time of European settlement the only parts of the airport site offering any hope for significant profit were relatively small portions of its northern and eastern fringes (the latter near Marion Road) where there was higher ground less vulnerable to inundation. Market gardening, in particular the glasshouse cultivation of tomatoes, dairying and to a lesser extent pig farming were carried out in these areas. In the late 1940s the government s valuer described about seventeen properties on the airport site as grazing land; there were also fifteen market gardens, three orchards and two piggeries. There was, in the eastern sector, land suitable for horse agistment. For several years Market gardens east of airport development Richmond Park stud, for example, used part of the site as an extra holding area for its stock. Among the landowners and lessees of the airport land in the mid-1940s were the Ancell, Costa, Charlick, Harris, Iles, Marles, Milledge, Pearson and Starr families. The largest owner was Joseph Lorton who, with others, owned 220 acres (c. 89 hectares) in the western sector of the airport land (sections ). In addition there were at least two rudimentary private trotting tracks on the property, one owned by Western Trotting Speedway Company. As well, just over 110 acres (44.5 hectares) in the north and south of the site were owned by the Kooyonga and Glenelg Golf Clubs respectively. The West Torrens council also had its 10-acre (c.4.05 hectares) refuse depot in the western portion of what became the airport land. The future airport was also home to a variety of fauna such as hares mostly escapees from the nearby Birkalla coursing ground rabbits a useful food source for struggling local families as well as snakes, lizards and an array of insects. Seagulls, plovers, larks and various migratory birds were to be found in abundance together with a few peacocks. The whole site was an exciting playground for local children where many adventures could be had. The area had also been useful to the Kaurna people with evidence of a range of indigenous artefacts which were uncovered during the construction of Land ready for development the airport. Marine shells were found, evidence of the site (and most of the western suburbs) being under water during the Pliocene Epoch. Levelling airport site in The main work in constructing the airport involved filling in and levelling the site. About 2.6 million cubic metres of sand were moved for the preparation of the runways, for example, while, in some places, up to 2.4 metres of fill was required. Preparation of the site also involved diverting the Keswick and Brownhill Creeks to the south, redirecting power lines, water mains and sewerage pipes, and closing off Morphett and Rosetta (Richmond) Roads. (Both roads were little used). In the event the federal government outlaid about 283,100 on land acquisition for the airport, including just over 17,400 to one owner, R.D. McEwen of Toorak Gardens (probably the largest individual payout). The government s spending on airport land was more than double its original estimate of 133,100; the sandy waste had proven to be much more valuable than some had anticipated. The total cost of constructing the airport was 1,902,927, (slightly over the 1.6 million originally forecast). Geoffrey Grainger. Page 4

5 ANDERSON POTTER IN BROOKLYN PARK. Born in Bairnsdale, Victoria in August 1875, James Anderson Potter spent a couple of years after leaving Camberwell Grammar School as a student architect in Melbourne. Dissatisfied, he then worked for several years with gardening company F.H. Brunning of Melbourne. After coming to Adelaide in about 1895 he worked for three years for nurserymen Messrs C.F. Newman and Son of Rundle Street. In 1899 he began a partnership with Carl F. Heyne, the son of prominent local nurseryman E.B. Heyne, called Heyne, Potter and Co.. The two ran a florist and gardening business in Rundle Street and nurseries in Botanic Street and Palm Place, Hackney. By 1904 the business had become so prosperous that it operated two shops in Rundle Street (at 17 and 252) and Anderson Potter s brothers Frank and William had been invited into the business. Frank later took over 252 Rundle Street and the Botanic Street nursery under the name F.A. Anderson & Co.. In 1906 James Anderson Potter became sole proprietor of Heyne, Potter and Co. and the name was changed to J. Anderson Potter in February 1916, probably as a response to the anti-german feeling then rife in the community. (Heyne s Nursery continues to trade at Norwood to this day). Business at 17 Rundle Street thrived and in 1909 Anderson Potter moved to larger premises at 49 King William Street. He also retained the four acre (c.1.6 hectare) Palm Place nursery where he and his family lived. He married Ethel nee Treloar in September 1902 and they went on to have children Dorothy ( ) and Robert (Bob) ( ). Ethel was the sister of Ike Treloar who broadcast horse racing on Adelaide radio for many years. In July 1914 Anderson Potter bought a property of a little less than nine acres (c. 3.6 hectares) on the south-western corner of Henley Beach and Marion Roads, Brooklyn Park. Closing down the Hackney nursery, he established a plant nursery on the Brooklyn Park site which he called the Brooklyn Nurseries. Despite occasional flooding (e.g in 1917 and 1923) the business flourished. The family home was also on the site. Anderson Potter s King William Street premises, managed by brother William, became one of Adelaide s premier florists with James focusing on the nursery side of the business. Anderson Potter decorated for many of Adelaide s major civic occasions including Sir Lavington Bonython s mayoral ball in about 1912 and James later received an inscribed gold watch in recognition of his Henley Beach Rd & Marion Rd corner with Stanford contribution to such occasions. He was also Mowers on the former Anderson Potter site. for several years vice-president of the South Australian Nurserymen s and Seedmen s Association and on the committee of the Adelaide Carnation and Picotee Society. James Anderson Potter died suddenly in July 1927 but his wife, assisted by her children, carried on the King William Street shop and the Brooklyn Park nursery. Ethel Anderson Potter was an outstanding florist in her own right, winning many competitions. (Rastus the cat was a constant and dignified presence in the King William Street shop in the 1920s and 1930s; she would gaze disdainfully from her basket among the plants at anyone who dared enter her domain). Mrs Anderson Potter died in April 1958 and two years later her executors sold most of the Brooklyn Park site to the SA Housing Trust; a large block of flats, Holbrook, was built on the site soon after. (Holbrook was the maiden name of Bob Anderson Potter s wife Lemorna, whom he had married in March 1937). The flats remain today. Brooklyn Nurseries, now run by Dorothy and Bob Anderson Potter and the latter s daughter Helen, continued to operate on a small site on Henley Beach Road around the corner from the flats. The nursery operated for a few years after Bob s death in August 1968 but the site was eventually sold to private developers and is currently occupied by fast food outlets. Dorothy Anderson Potter worked on in the King William Street florist shop for several years. The shop closed in 1975 and was incorporated within Saundersons Florists of 155 Marion Road, Richmond where it continues to trade at that site. Geoffrey Grainger. Page 5

6 Preparations underway for construction of K Mart, Anzac Highway Kurralta Park Kelvinator foundry Everard Ave. Keswick Page 6

7 Sea scouts at Mellor Park Lockleys with Governor Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey KCMG Holder Memorial Sunday School reunion 1983 Wilfred Mader conducting. Page 7

8 Extracts from the files of the West Torrens Historical Society A FORGOTTEN METHODIST CHURCH. Alfred Chapman ( ), a pioneer farmer of Henley Beach Rd New Mile End (later Torrensville) and earlier at Mile End, cultivated land on Section 98, Hundred of Adelaide in the vicinity of today s Hayward Ave. In his obituary in the Australian Christian Commonwealth (the newspaper of the South Australian Methodist Conference), he is remembered by the superintendent of the Holder Memorial Sunday School for the cheery words with which he (Mr Chapman) greeted me, and which always appealed to me as a child. There were not many places of worship in the district at that time, and in order to meet the spiritual needs of the scanty population, religious services were held in a shed at the rear of what was then known as Cope s store. Members of the Bowden Bible Christian Church (including the late Mr Joseph Ashton) came over to conduct a service each Sunday, and later a church was built at the corner of Jervois and Ashley Streets (south west corner). Our late brother (Mr Chapman) closely identified himself with the cause there, and until the building was closed in 1902 as the result of Methodist Union, he, with his late wife and mother, proved themselves most reliable helpers of the Church. The building was erected in 1879 to the plans of Mr E Gould of Hindmarsh. It was 30ft long by 21ft broad and 17ft high constructed of Glen Osmond stone. The foundation stone was laid by the mayor of Hindmarsh, Josiah Milton on 6 September The site of the Jervois St Church An active congregation met there regularly with two services each Sunday and there was a strong Sunday School. It was known after church union in 1901 as the New Thebarton, Jervois Street Methodist Church. In 1902 the decision was made to amalgamate with the Methodist Church on Henley Beach Rd at Torrensville (now the Panarcadian Hall). Unfortunately the West Torrens Historical Society has no photograph of the old Jervois St Church. OUR NARROW LANES. In recent years many of the narrow lanes in Thebarton and Mile End have been converted from dusty, weed infested areas to useful, sealed access roadways and in some cases housing developments have taken place utilising otherwise deep backyards which had remained unused. A typical backyard toilet ( Dunny ). The Night Cart. The night cart. In the days prior to deep drainage, these lanes provided access for the night cart operator who regularly emptied the night soil from the adjacent toilets which lined the rear fences of the houses. A typical example is Fisher Place in Mile End. Page 8

9 TOBACCO GROWING IN WEST TORRENS. John White of Fulham farm was the first to grow tobacco in South Australia. He brought out a French expert to manufacture the tobacco. Later, Chinese gardeners grew tobacco in the Lockleys area. In 1910, Mr J W Mellor presented to the Adelaide Botanical Club, a sample of tobacco leaf he had grown on his Reedbeds property. Chris Brice from newspaper report of EDWARD MEADE ( Ned ) BAGOT. Edward Meade ( Ned ) Bagot ( ) was a pioneer South Australian pastoralist, stock agent and mining entrepreneur. Born on 13 September 1822 at Rockforest, County Clare, Ireland, the third son of Captain Charles Hervey Bagot and his wife Mary (nee MacCarthy), he was educated at Dr King s school in Ennis, near Limerick. He migrated to South Australia with his family aboard the Birman, arriving in December The following year the family settled at Koonunga where Bagot gained pastoral experience. In 1843 he became an accountant at the new Burra mine and later became a director of the South Kapunda mine in He also ran a general store and butchery in Burra. From the mid- 1840s he established a number of soon-thriving pastoral properties throughout South Australia, including Murthoo (1846) and Ned s Corner (1854) - both runs on the River Murray - and the 885 hectare (c acres) Beefacres estate on the River Torrens, about eight kilometres east of Adelaide (1853). By the mid- 1870s Bagot had accumulated pastoral leases covering an area of over 1178 square kilometres (c. 460 square miles). To stock these properties he imported horses, cattle, pigs and other livestock, gaining valuable knowledge of the industry. In 1860 he set up a stock and station agency in Kapunda - Bagot and Company, which thrived over the next few years. (In October 1888, two years after Bagot s death, the firm, then being run by Bagot s eldest son George Wall Wall Bagot, merged with that run by James Shakes ( ) and John Lewis ( ) to form Bagot, Shakes and Lewis, a major South Australian stock and station agency for decades). Bagot was active in a range of local agricultural organisations, in particular the Royal Horticultural and Agricultural Society. He was also a connoisseur of light wine, frequently acting as a judge at wine shows. He had a passionate interest in thoroughbred horse racing and breeding and imported several thoroughbreds from New South Wales and bred many winners, most notably Don Giovanni, sire of Don Juan, winner of the 1873 Melbourne Cup. He also owned Cowra, winner of the Adelaide Cup in and indeed was at the forefront of the organisation of early horse racing in South Australia, being secretary and treasurer of the South Australian Jockey Club in the 1860s. The club was based at the Thebarton racecourse from 1861 on land (part section 48, Hundred of Adelaide) which Bagot and others had acquired under a 21-year lease. The S.A.J.C. encountered financial difficulties and folded in 1869; horse-racing ceased at Thebarton. Bagot is also credited by some as having laid out the Morphettville racecourse. He later filled the position as finishing judge at Morphettville. Edward Meade ( Ned ) Bagot. Continued Page 9

10 Edward Meade ( Ned ) Bagot continued from page 9. Bagot s blunt but genial personality, enormous energy and reputation for integrity made him a popular figure in business and racing circles. He was instantly recognizable with his tweed coat, cord breeches, top-boots and broad flat-rimmed top hat. One observer described Bagot as having an engine-like personality [he was] a moving force of great potency in the racing world, as well as in the pastoral life of the province. So strong was his individualism that there was no resisting him, not that he was arrogant, but wisdom lay inside his big, manly skull. Bagot was responsible for the construction in of part of the Adelaide to Darwin Overland Telegraph line. His portion of the line, from Port Augusta to the Macumba River, north of Lake Eyre, covered a distance of about 805 kilometres (c. 500 miles), for which Bagot and his party were paid 38,000. In July 1869 he established a very profitable boiling down works on part of the former Thebarton racecourse. In its first five months of operation the works handled over 85,000 sheep and produced 520 tons of tallow for shipment to England and also produced a popular meat extract known as Bagots. The works was eventually closed in 1876 after complaints from surrounding residents and the council regarding the foul smells emanating from it. In the early 1870s Bagot took up a 575 square mile (c. 149,000 hectares) pastoral holding, Undoolya, stretching from the MacDonnell Ranges east to the Ross River in the Northern Territory. In 1873 he sold his River Murray runs and invested heavily, and disastrously, in Northern Territory gold mines. The failure of the investment by 1876 forced him to sell most of his remaining pastoral properties. He retained ownership of the Thebarton tannery and boiling-down works however, and in 1875 added wool-washing and fellmongery to the business. On 1 August 1853 Bagot had married Mary, (nee Pettman), (died1855). They had one son. On 30 July 1857 Bagot married Anne, nee Smith; they had six sons and six daughters. Bagot disappeared suddenly and mysteriously in late July The case aroused enormous Plan of Thebarton racecourse drawn in 1937 by Mrs L Hines. public interest and extensive searches for him were launched by police and friends. Eventually his body was found in a quarry at Yatala on 2 August. The most common explanation for his disappearance was that he had apparently fallen while alighting from a horse tram at North Adelaide. In a dazed condition he had then wandered out of the city, eventually falling about nine metres (c. thirty feet) into the Yatala quarry. Bagot s wife, four of his sons and five of his daughters survived him. As evidence of his public popularity, Bagot s funeral cortege to the North Road cemetery comprised two hundred carriages, including those of the governor and the chief justice. The Legislative Council adjourned for the funeral, while in the House of Assembly the attorney general (Sir John Downer) commented that Bagot was a perfect model of what an Englishman ought to be. The Adelaide Advertiser also deeply regretted his passing, noting that there is perhaps no South Australian colonist more generally known than he was [he was] a man whose career and character have stamped him as an ideal colonist [he was] universally esteemed, even worshipped, by those with whom he came into contact. Geoffrey Grainger. Page 10

11 COMING EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY WEST TORRENS HISTORICAL SOCIETY MONTHLY MEETINGS at Kandahar Commencing at 7:45pm Monday August 25th: General meeting. Monday September 22nd: Special meeting. The Royal Flying Doctor Service at Adelaide Airport. Speaker John Cumming. Please bring supper. Monday October 27th: General meeting. Programme planning for Monday November 24th: Christmas Meeting. Pageants, Exhibitions, Parades, Special Meetings, Seasonal Celebrations. Please bring supper. No Meeting in December. Working Bees will be held at Kandahar from 10.00am to Noon on August 19th, September 23rd October 21st & November 18th. Website access to Local History through the West Torrens Library. The West Torrens Historical Society web-site is users.chariot.net.au/~wths/ THE West Torrens Historical Society is currently digitalising all its files in partnership with the West Torrens Hamra Centre Library. This is an ongoing project. Hundreds of WTHS files photographs, images, documents, transcribed interviews and newspaper articles are already accessible via the City of West Torrens website. To help you access these files, follow these new instructions: Go to the City of West Torrens website At the top of the Home Page click on Council and then in the drop-down box Local History then Local history collection. This will take you to the Local History page. Scroll down to Access the collection through the Library Catalogue - this will open the West Torrens Library service page. In the first search box scroll to West Torrens Library Service. Then All fields in the second box. Type in the key search word/s in the third box. For photographs, click on the webcat reference and for text or books click on view text. DISCLAIMER - COPYRIGHT Views and opinions expressed in articles in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of the articles printed, responsibility is not accepted for any errors they may contain that are out of our control. If a work of copyright has been inadvertently included and the copyright holder prefers that the work not be made available, please contact the West Torrens Historical Society and the record will be removed from general access. PRIVACY ACT A Member s or Friend s personal information collected by the Society, e.g. name, address and telephone number, will only be used for the forwarding of the newsletter and relevant information concerning the Society. The information will not be shared, sold or given to a third party without the Member s or Friend s consent. Any s received will be treated as above, however any information sent by will be at the sender s risk and the Society will not be held responsible for any unintended use or disclosure of this information. SUBMISSIONS TO NEWSLETTER Submissions to the newsletter are welcome but their publication is at the discretion of the Newsletter Committee and can be given to Members or sent to PO Box 43 Marleston SA Page 11

12 Friends of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc. Application for Membership Please post to: The Secretary West Torrens Historical Society Inc. PO Box 43 Marleston SA 5033 MEMBERSHIP FEE: $20 I/we wish to become a (member/renew membership) of the Friends of the West Torrens Historical Society Inc. I enclose my membership for Name(s):.. Address:... Postcode:. Contact Details: My own interests are:.. Phone: Signature(s): Mobile: . Please make cheques payable to West Torrens Historical Society Inc. Membership is renewable in March each year. West Torrens Historical Society Contacts: Website users.chariot.net.au/~wths/ Secretary: (08) President: (08) s: grays67@bigpond.com arthur.john.andrewartha@gmail.com Correct as at August BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE: While limited stocks last! West Torrens Suburb Names $5. A Pictorial History of West Torrens $10. (postage extra) Page 12