Munno Para West District Council Office – 9 Adelaide Road - Hidden Secrets.
<Transcript>
If you live in Gawler you’ve probably driven past the little building on the corner of Adelaide Road and Twelfth Street a thousand times but never given it a second thought. Currently, the building is Creative Outdoors Display Centre, previously it has been used as a second-hand store and a tax agent, but none of these were its original purpose.
Bound in the south by the Little Para River, and in the North by the Gawler River, The District Council of Munno Para West Was formed in 1854, a year after the District Council of Munno Para East was formed. The council included the towns of Virginia, Smithfield, Penfield, Angle Vale, St Kilda and Gawler Blocks. Gawler Blocks were later to be known as Gawler South and removed from the District Council of Munno Para West in 1899.
The District Councils of Munno Para East & West were united to become the City of Munno Para in 1933, with some sections going to the Town of Gawler, and others going to the District Council of Salisbury, the rest were merged with the Munno Para East Council.
The building that stands today was originally built to be a chapel in 1855, however, it was bought in 1861 to become the District Council of Munno Para West’s head office, whilst the District Council of Munno Para’s East office was in Murray Street Gawler – you may recognise it as the building currently next door to Elders.
<End Transcript>
Since publishing this video, I have been informed that this small building was the home of a family of ten during the 1950/60s. It has also been used as a computer store (information supplied by Robby Cummins), a sex toy store, and a second-hand store. In March 2019, Creative Outdoors ended their lease at the location. It now sits empty awaiting its next use.
In 2021 - the location is now a Real Estate Agent: Raine and Horne
In 1954, the South Australian branch of the Australian Electric Traction Association was formed. The A.E.T.A advocated for the retention and expansion of electric transport systems.
In 1957, the South Australian branch of the A.E.T.A. formed the SA Branch Australian Electric Transport Museum. Later they incorporated as the Australian Electric Transport Museum (SA) Inc.- now better known as the Tramway Museum at St. Kilda.
In 1958, the site of the former St Kilda Primary School became the storage home of Trams No. 1, 111, 192 and 42. In July 1962 the museum opened as a static display.
In 1972, the Salisbury Council, via government grant, built the tram line from the museum to St Kilda Beach, with volunteers building the overhead system. The tramway was officially opened in March 1974, with Tram No.1 leading the procession, the same tram used to open the Adelaide tramway in 1909. The museum currently has 26 trams, 5 trolly buses, two-horse trams, a horsebox and lots of displays showcasing Adelaide’s tramway history! The museum is run entirely by dedicated volunteers. T
he Tramway Museum is located on St Kilda Road, St Kilda, on the way to the St Kilda Playground. The facility is wheelchair accessible.
Trams leave the museum for St Kilda Playground every half hour. Your admission into the museum gives you unlimited tram rides for the day, with three different trams running consecutively every session.
The museum is open every Sunday from 12 noon until 5pm.
-end transcript.
Information sourced from the Tramway Museum website.
Barabba was a township that sat between Hamley Bridge and Mallala on the Adelaide Plains. It was settled circa 1860, with Mr Henry Hobhouse Turton considered the first settler in the area. Originally the section of Barraba where the school and town sits was called Aliceburgh, named for Governor William Jervois' daughter Alice. This section of the town was settled by the McCabes, Hallion, and Roberts Families. The Barabba primitive church opened in 1877 with its final service held in 1967. Barabba post office operated from 1877 until 1971 from the Barabba School. The church has long since been demolished, and the schoolhouse was destroyed during the Pinery bushfires in 2015. #Barabba#history#SouthAustralia
The mid-north town of Terowie sits 220 kilometres north of
Adelaide, in South Australia. It is an important landmark town in the state for
its many historical buildings. Terowie Train Station opened in 1880 when the broad-gauge
railway line from Adelaide reached the town. The first train arrived on
December 14, 1880, carrying Sir William Jervois, Governor of South Australia Not long after, a narrow-gauge line from
nearby Peterborough was extended to Terowie station. Terowie railway station,
from then on, was used to unload goods from the broad-gauge line, onto trains
on the narrow-gauge line, to move goods through the state, and interstate.
The Adelaide to Red
Hill railway line was extended to Port Pirie in 1937, taking away some of Terowie’s
train traffic.When Leigh Creek Coalfields opened, traffic through Terowie increased again, but this line was soon
made obsolete with a new Stirling to Maree line opening in 1957. The Port Augusta
to Broken Hill line was converted to a standard gauge, which saw railway lines
north of Terowie converted to broad gauge in1970, making Peterborough the breakpoint of gauges and rendering Terowie obsolete.
During World War Two. A large military camp was established
close the railway station, enabling the military to move troops and ammunition
swiftly across Australia to wherever needed. The break of gauge at Terowie
meant that the town was vital for the Silverton to Burra, Adelaide to Perth
and Adelaide to Alice Springs routes. During the War, all north-bound men and
goods were transhipped at Terowie.
While changing trains on the 20th of March 1942
at Terowie U.S. General MacArthur made a speech about the Battle of The Philippines, in which he said:. “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”.
The Terowie line was reduced to a crossing loop with the
line closing in July 1988,
Today Terowie is a historical town much loved by its
residents. The train station stands as a monument to the railway workers that
opened up the outback to exploration, commerce and tourism. <End Transcript>
<Transcript>
Before European settlement, Dead Man’s Pass and the Gawler region was the
home to the indigenous Kaurna Peoples.
Known
originally to European settlers as The Para Pass, the river crossing was first
used circa 1836. Colonel William Light is recorded as having stayed at a camp
near the pass in 1837, while exploring the Barossa Valley region and attempting
to find passage through the Mount Lofty Ranges towards the Murray River.
The crossing got its name after an exploration
party returning from the Barossa ranges came across an exhausted traveller,
whom they offered respite too. Once stopped at the crossing they checked on
their new companion who had fallen asleep in the back of their dray, only to
find him dead.
Having
no tools with which to dig a grave, they placed his body upright in a hollow
tree and covered it as best they could with sticks and branches.
Not
long after, another travelling party happened across the gruesome site, and,
after taking samples of the gentleman’s clothing, encased him with clay in the
tree. The name “Dead Man’s Pass” was adopted circa 1842 as the permanent name
of the South Para River ford, in honour of the dead man found in the hollow
coffin tree.
There
are many different accounts of the finding of the dead man. No one is certain
which account is true. Perhaps there is a little truth to be found within each
version of the story.
Dr George Nott wrote of finding the dead man
in 1860 in his book: Short Sketch of the Rise of Progress of Gawler.
In his diary Colonel Light wrote: “13th January 1839. Returned to the Para. We
halted here the rest of the day. Having heard of a dead body being there under
an old tree, we examined the spot and found it. There is a mystery in this
affair as it had been kept a secret. The skull is large, and the flesh almost
entirely gone. Part of his dress remained. His trousers of corduroy seemed good
as far as his knees - under those much torn. His short on one part contained
much coagulated blood. The body was covered over again and some of his clothes
packed up and conveyed to Adelaide.”
In the book “The Story of Dead Man’s Pass” The
Honourable B.T. Finnis of Gawler wrote a story with a slight variation to
Colonel Light’s.
“Travelling with Colonel Light on one occasion before the
selection of the Gawler Survey, we camped at the Gawler River and whilst
resting there we were surprised to find a dead man buried in an upright
position and plastered with clay. No part of his body was visible except the
toes. The
wild dogs had evidently discovered the corpse and had somewhat mangled the
feet. It was evidently a white man’s burial place from the clothes. The story
that was circulated in Adelaide as to the cause of the death of this
unfortunate man originated with a party under the charge of
Mr Bernhard. It was stated that travelling to the north, having a dray with
them, on nearing the ford of the Gawler River, a man in a distressed state
rushed from the scrub west of the line of the road and fell down in an
exhausted state, perishing for want of food and water. He was taken
every care of, but died very soon after meeting this party, which precede ours
on the way north. They had buried him in this tree and plastered him in to save
his body from the wild dogs. We afterwards called this tree
“Dead Man’s Tree,” a large hollow gum tree. The dead man was supposed to have
been a sailor, escaped from some ship off Port Gawler, who had lost himself in
the scrub in his endeavour to reach Adelaide, and thus perished miserably.”
In yet
another variation, The Southern Australian newspaper on the 16th of
January 1839 published an article titled “Suspicious
case”. Which read; “The body of a man, buried some time ago in the bush to
the northward, was exhumed last week by Colonel Light and Mr Finniss whilst
those gentlemen were out on their surveying expedition, and it was found that
the shirt, vest and trousers of the deceased were stained with blood, and his
pockets were turned inside out. The clothes were brought to Adelaide for
examination by the authorities and we hope a strict investigation into the
affair
will be held. At the time of the reported death of this man in the bush, many
months ago, no inquest was held, as there ought to have been, and we trust the
coroner will not be allowed to neglect his duty.”
Dead
Man’s Pass became a much-used crossing into the main street of Gawler as the
only roadway for bullock drays and horse and carts. The ford crossing became a
secondary way into town once a new bridge was built in the 1860’s on the
Adelaide Road.
In 1869, Gawler Council surveyed a new roadway
at Dead Man’s Pass. Council workers began constructing the new road and came
upon a skull and bones. Examining further, they found an almost complete
skeleton. The bones were taken to office of James Martin and examined by Doctor
Nott. Dr Nott concluded that they were the bones of a very tall European man
owing to the size of the thigh bones. It is thought the bones were those of
the man buried in the base of a tree some 30 years prior. The unknown man’s
remains were interred in an unmarked grave in the newly formed Gawler Cemetery,
now known as Pioneer Park.
In May
1890, a footbridge was installed at Dead Man’s Pass, erected by Mr T White.
In 1901,
Patrick Condon, a Gawler Corporation employee had a fatal accident when his
night cart flipped when it fell down an embankment, and landed on him, killing
him.
Also, in
1901, a young crippled boy was found dead in Black Hole billabong at Dead Man’s
Pass. Anton Johann Link's clothing were found on the banks of the billabong by
another young lad, who went to search for him, only to find Anton floating in
the water, dead.
In 1914,
Mr S. Fotheringham held the town of Gawler to ransom. The Dead Man’s Pass
footbridge crossed the river onto his land. He offered to sell the portion of
land to the council for 50 pounds, or that they pay him 8 pounds a year in
rent. Both the East and West Munno Para District Councils (The Two Councils
governing Gawler at the time.) agreed to buy the land, but ultimately the East
Munno Para Council refused. Fotheringham, in response to the refusal, fenced
his end of the walkway bridge with barbed wire, and threatened to cut down the
tree on his property that the bridge was suspended from. In April the same year,
an agreement was made with Mr Fotheringham, and the bridge reopened.
Floods
in 1917 extensively damaged the footbridge, with water being recorded as being
as high as Ayers Road and reaching the buildings of the former gasworks
In 1923,
raging flood water washed the old footbridge away…the bridge was repaired in
1924 and stood in place until the early 1980s when it was finally removed for
public safety
In 1952,
The Advertiser reported that Ernest L.B. Potter of Croydon, recollected that
when he was 10 years old, his uncle Edward Potter, a geologist, uncovered a
large skull while digging a hole for an underground water tank. The skull was
found to be that of a Diprotodon which is from the Pleistocene Epoch of
Australia. Diprotodon Optatum became extinct about 25, 000 years ago and was
known to exist while indigenous populations were in the area. These animals
grew up to 3.8 meters long from head to tail and stood about 1.7 meters tall at
the shoulder. Its closest relations today are the
wombat and the koala.
There
are many stories of paranormal encounters at Dead Man’s Pass. If one cares to
visit the “Ghost village” website, one can read the story of a young man and
his mate who were riding their bikes down first street. They were going too
fast, and one kept hearing a voice in his ear say, “go right!” indicating to
turn right into Gawler Terrace. The boy didn’t have much time to make a
choice, if he swept left around the dead man’s pass bend he would go into
oncoming traffic, if he managed to turn right, he wouldn’t make the turn. Going against his instincts, he turned
right, and ploughed straight into the curb, flying through the air, and hitting
a massive gum tree. He lay there stunned.He looked up and saw two figures standing
over him. A man and woman. The man said, "You're lucky to be alive,
lad," and the Lady said, "Take heed, boy, you only get one chance
like this!"…
The boys
mate came over to see if he was ok. Laying on the ground, without a scratch on
him, he asked his mate where the old people had gone. His mate replied that he
hadn’t seen anyone, but he had heard his friend talking to someone. He then
said he had watched him fly through the air, over 33 feet of gravel, and then
land, almost softly on the big gum tree.
The land at Dead Man’s Pass has previously
been owned by the Pile Family, and from 1907, the Riggs Family, who allowed the
Gawler Three Day horse Events to run across their land. In 1978, Gawler Council
purchased 20 Acres of Dead Man’s Pass and designated it a reserve.
Today
Dead man’s pass is a beautifully kept park with walking, cycling and nature
trails. It is home to many native birds and animals and is easily accessed and
explored.
Thank
you for watching Hidden Secrets. <End Transcript>
Researched, filmed, edited and produced by Allen Tiller.
The earliest records of the Mill Inn on the corner of Adelaide Road and Seventh Street Gawler South are from 1858, with the hotel license being registered to Mr H.W. Buckerfield in 1859. Buckerfield’s Mill Inn, as it became known, was a very popular drinking venue in the town, and also known for having 1st class accommodation. Buckerfield added stockyards to his substantial property in 1864.
Buckerfields Mill Inn was known in Gawler as the home of sporting events. It sponsored many local horse races, sprinting races at Goose Island, and Rifle Shooting competitions.
Buckerfield sold the hotel to Mr C Woltmann in 1866, and from then on it changed hands another 24 times until 1920 when its liquor license was finally withdrawn.
In 1882, 48-year-old Charles Daniels, left the Mill Inn to walk across the Mill Bridge, only to be struck down by the 10:30 pm horse-drawn tram from the Gawler Railway Station. Daniels injuries were substantial after being crushed by the tram’s wheels, and he died not long after the accident.
In 1904, while under the license of Edward Maher, local life assurance agent, Percy Webb committed suicide in the hotels' stables. In 1907, William Thomas was charged with causing a disturbance at the hotel for getting very drunk and not being able to pay his bill. For using indecent language against the arresting officer, he received 14 days in her Majesty’s Adelaide Gaol! Two other patrons, Mr and Mrs Yeomen were fined for obstructing police.
Also, in 1970, 19-year-old William Goldney, who was riding his bike across the Mill Bridge, was clipped by a horse and trap. Goldney was taken to the Mill Inn where he died from his injuries two hours later.
In 1920 the hotel closed its doors for the final time. A large auction was held to sell the hotels goods, which attracted a large crowd.
From 1923 the former Mill Inn became the home of Mrs Broadstock, and during the 1960s, it became a deli. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, it became a Vincentian Centre, part of the St Vincent DePaul Society
Most recently Hyde and Partners have renovated the building and neighbouring house and created their Medical Centre.
<End Transcript>
Correction: In the video, I refer to W.H. Buckerfield as being the first owner of the hotel when in fact it was H.W. Buckerfield that owned it. William Henry Buckerfield owned the Angaston Hotel, and his son Henry William Buckerfield owned the Mill Inn, Gawler.
In 1878, the end of the world rung out from the Gawler
Post Office Clock Tower, or so local Gawlerites thought, when the clocks bell
rang 100 times in a row, plenty said their prayers that night, only to wake the
next day to another winters day.
The Gawler Town
Clock committee was first formed in 1867, with the intent to buy and install a
town clock in the tower of the main street post office. Wednt’s Jewellers of
Rundle Street, Adelaide supplied the clock, four dials made of milk glass,
spanning three feet and six inches in diameter.
On the 6th of September
1867, the Mayor of Gawler as well as Mr Wendt and a few councillors went into
the clock tower, and a few minutes before 4pm, set the pendulum in motion. At
4pm that day, the clock struck the hour on time…which over the coming years,
the clocks lack of time keeping would be a major issue and the butt of many
jokes by townsfolk.
The clock was
originally powered by two weights suspended on cables, which are wound on
drums, attached to the clock mechanism. These cables had to be manually wound
once a week.
The clock mechanism was converted to electric winding
and was maintained with biennial visits by a company called Adelaide Clock and
Parts Supplies.
Throughout the years, it was often noted that the
Gawler town clock was hardly able to keep time. One young police officer noted
it could be up to four minutes slower than the clock at the Gawler Railway
Station!
In 1998, Gawler watchmaker Mr Kaesler took over the
winding duties of the clock, and also regular maintenance.
At Mr. Kaesler's suggestion a clock tower committee was
formed, to restore and maintain the clock.
“The Friends of the Clock Tower”
began in March 2002 and continues to this day. The Friends of the Clock Tower were also
responsible for returning the clock to its former hand wound glory, removing
the electric winder, restoring broken parts, and replacing broken glass.
An interesting piece of Gawler Trivia is a mistake on
the clock, which lies on the eastern side, which if you go up into the Target
carpark and look across you can see for yourself. on the eastern face, which shows,
written in Roman Numerals a four is where the six should be!
P.S. there are actually 2 mistakes on the clock, the
second mistake being that The Roman Numeral for “Four” is “IV” not IIII as marked
on the clock faces.
For More history on the Town of Gawler, please visit the
Gawler History Team page “Gawler: now and Then” at:
http://www.gawler.nowandthen.net.au/Main_Page
Gawler's Hidden Secrets: "James Martin Memorial Statue"
<Transcript>
Remembered
as “The Father of Gawler” James Martin’s Phoenix foundry on Calton Road
produced railway locomotives, agricultural machinery and mining equipment.
Established in 1848, the company soon became known as James Martin and Company
Limited, and went on to employ 700 people in Gawler, making the town one of the
most important industrial regions in South Australia of the time. Martin and Co
Built 268 locomotives that were sent all over Australia.
James Martin also went into politics and
served firstly as an Alderman on Gawler’s first council, and in 1861 Mayor of
Gawler, a position he served in for 8 years. He also served as the Member for
Parliament for the Barossa from 1865-1868 and a Member of the Legislative
Council from 1885 until 1899.
James Martin
was also a Freemason, serving as Master of the Lodge of Fidelity from 1860
until 1870. He was the President of Gawler Institute, of which he had donated
the land for the building to be constructed on, the President of the Gawler
AH&F Society, an elected member of the Gawler School of Mines Council, a
Co-Trustee of the St Georges Church fund, Captain of Gawler Rifles and a member
of the Gawler Race club, just to name a few of his associations with the towns
various organistions.
A statue
commemorates industrialist James Martin. The statue was originally located at
the corner of Murray Street and Calton Road. A plaque detailing a brief history
of James Martin was added to the statue in 1998.
After his death on
December 24, 1899, a public meeting was held in Gawler in January 1900. It was
decided a memorial fund would be created and that a memorial to Martin be established, in which it
was voted that a Statue would be erected in his honour.
The statue was carved by sculptor Gustave
Henri Marchetti in Italy and is made from Carrara Marble, with a pedestal made
from South Australian Granite. -it contains an inscription that reads:
"James. Martin, 1821 -1899. A Public Tribute to His Worth."
The statue was unveiled with much pomp and ceremony on the
15th August 1903 by Sir Samuel Way in its original position, adjacent to the
Foundry Office of James Martin and Co on the corner of Calton road and Murray
street.
In 2014 the statue underwent restoration, with a little
cosmetic surgery to fix Mr Martins nose which had been broken off may years
previously.
It was relocated to its current position on Whitelaw Terrace
on the 2nd of June 1969.
