Historic Properties:
SWANSCOMBE - 10 Fuller Street, Walkerville
Swanscombe was built in the early 1840s (c.1844).
From 1855 it became the home of Charles Burney Young, who purchased
adjoining properties to create an extensive garden estate. The estate extended
from Smith Street behind St Andrew's Church, along Fuller Street, and slightly
west of the house.
Charles Burney Young and his wife, Nora Creina Young,
arrived in South Australia aboard the Flora Kerr, sailing from England
on 16 November 1854. On their arrival, they were welcomed by Wilfrid Kent Hughes
at "Avenel" on Robe Terrace, North Adelaide. Their second child was
born there but sadly died in infancy. The family later lived in Ward Street,
North Adelaide, before Charles was appointed a draughtsman with the Public
Works Department in 1856 and soon afterwards became a government surveyor.
Charles Burney Young was a distinguished surveyor and
pastoralist who owned Kanmantoo Station. He is also remembered for recognising
the potential of the gifted 13-year-old Aboriginal boy David Unaipon,
whom he brought from the Point Pearce Mission to Adelaide to further his
education.
Nora was the daughter of Major General Bacon and Lady
Charlotte Bacon (1801–1880), who before her marriage was Lady Charlotte
Harley. Celebrated for her beauty, Lady Charlotte was immortalised by Lord
Byron as "Ianthe" in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Nora had
married Charles at the age of 16 in Swanscombe, Kent, before emigrating to
South Australia.
Lady Charlotte joined her family in Adelaide in 1865 and
lived there until 1877, becoming one of the colony's most admired social
figures and often described as the "toast of the town". Nora remained
at Swanscombe despite losing her sight later in life and lived there until she died in 1925.
researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2026
