Stirling. Glenalta house built 1880 by Sir John Downer. The garden. Perennial border with tiger lilies.
Glenalta and Sir John Downer.
Sir John Downer 1844- 1915 was Premier of South Australia from 1885-87 and again from 1892-93. Before entering politics he was a highly esteemed lawyer and barrister. He was first elected to the SA parliament in 1878. He was a staunch federalist and was elected to the constitutional writing committee for the proposed new federal national of Australia. He was partially responsible for an early draft of the Australian constitution which was rejected and rewritten by others in the 1890s. Once the Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 Sir John Downer stood for federal parliament and was elected as one of the first Senators. He later served in the SA legislative Council until he died in 1915. Sir John Downer was born in Rosina Street Adelaide whilst his father was conducting a tailoring business there. He finished school in 1861 and began work as an articled law clerk. He was quickly recognised as an outstanding lawyer. He married a Mt Barker woman in 1871 and they lived in the Adelaide Hills. But his main residence was in the city near his work. In 1880 he purchased as grand house in Pennington Terrace North Adelaide which is now St Marks College of the University of Adelaide. In the same year 1880 he bought part of the late Sir Richard Hanson’s (another SA Premier) Woodhouse estate near Stirling. Here Sir John Down had Glenalta house erected in 1880. Glenalta at that stage was a wattle and daub cottage built in 1863. That original building seems no longer to exist. Downer called his new estate Glenalta and his single storey house was attached to the original cottage. After his death (1915) his son Fred Downer added a second floor to Glenalta House in 1935. Given that Sir John Downer lived at Glenalta House from December to April of each year it is possible that he drafted his early version of the Australian constitution in Glenalta House as the meeting to look at drafts of the constitution was held in March 1891 in Sydney.
Sir John Downer planted the garden at Glenalta from 1880 around a magnificent stand of six very old poplar trees. He planted oaks, elms and other English trees and shrubs in a terraced garden around a small creek. Henry Rymill later acquired the house and the gardens were extended by him before his death in 1971. Henry Rymill married Alleyne Downer in the 1920s and later lived at Glenalta from 1942 onwards when Alleyne’s father Fred Downer, the owner of Glenalta House, died. Henry Rymill was Chief Commissioner of Scouts in SA in the 1930s. The current owners of Glenalta acquired the house in 1988 by which time the garden was run down, overgrown and in need of care and restoration which has been lavished on the original bones of the Downer and Rymill garden. The lake was created and the gardens are now watered in dry summer weather and new plantings of European trees have been added to the landscape of box hedges, perennial borders, fern groves and rhododendron dells.
Stirling. Glenalta house built 1880 by Sir John Downer. The garden. Perennial border with tiger lilies.
Glenalta and Sir John Downer.
Sir John Downer 1844- 1915 was Premier of South Australia from 1885-87 and again from 1892-93. Before entering politics he was a highly esteemed lawyer and barrister. He was first elected to the SA parliament in 1878. He was a staunch federalist and was elected to the constitutional writing committee for the proposed new federal national of Australia. He was partially responsible for an early draft of the Australian constitution which was rejected and rewritten by others in the 1890s. Once the Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 Sir John Downer stood for federal parliament and was elected as one of the first Senators. He later served in the SA legislative Council until he died in 1915. Sir John Downer was born in Rosina Street Adelaide whilst his father was conducting a tailoring business there. He finished school in 1861 and began work as an articled law clerk. He was quickly recognised as an outstanding lawyer. He married a Mt Barker woman in 1871 and they lived in the Adelaide Hills. But his main residence was in the city near his work. In 1880 he purchased as grand house in Pennington Terrace North Adelaide which is now St Marks College of the University of Adelaide. In the same year 1880 he bought part of the late Sir Richard Hanson’s (another SA Premier) Woodhouse estate near Stirling. Here Sir John Down had Glenalta house erected in 1880. Glenalta at that stage was a wattle and daub cottage built in 1863. That original building seems no longer to exist. Downer called his new estate Glenalta and his single storey house was attached to the original cottage. After his death (1915) his son Fred Downer added a second floor to Glenalta House in 1935. Given that Sir John Downer lived at Glenalta House from December to April of each year it is possible that he drafted his early version of the Australian constitution in Glenalta House as the meeting to look at drafts of the constitution was held in March 1891 in Sydney.
Sir John Downer planted the garden at Glenalta from 1880 around a magnificent stand of six very old poplar trees. He planted oaks, elms and other English trees and shrubs in a terraced garden around a small creek. Henry Rymill later acquired the house and the gardens were extended by him before his death in 1971. Henry Rymill married Alleyne Downer in the 1920s and later lived at Glenalta from 1942 onwards when Alleyne’s father Fred Downer, the owner of Glenalta House, died. Henry Rymill was Chief Commissioner of Scouts in SA in the 1930s. The current owners of Glenalta acquired the house in 1988 by which time the garden was run down, overgrown and in need of care and restoration which has been lavished on the original bones of the Downer and Rymill garden. The lake was created and the gardens are now watered in dry summer weather and new plantings of European trees have been added to the landscape of box hedges, perennial borders, fern groves and rhododendron dells.