Mitcham. Torrens Park. Scotch College. Built 1853 for Sir Robert Torrens. Later owner was Robert Barr Smith.
Torrens Park Estate. Now Scotch College Adelaide.
The earliest central part of Torrens Park House with the three storey tower and Gothic windows and entrance was built in 1853 for Colonel (later Sir) Robert Torrens the architect of the South Australian Torrens Title land register system (Real Property Act 1858 and The South Australian System of Conveyancing by Registration of Title Act 1859) which has been adopted around Australia and in some other parts of the world. Robert Torrens came to SA in 1840 as the Collector of Customs and much later he was the third Premier of South Australia in 1857. Although he was only in receipt of a moderate government salary in the 1840s he was an economist and he soon acquired considerable assets and became the SA Treasurer in 1851. He entered politics and stood for election when SA got self-government in 1853. When Robert Torrens returned to England for his retirement in 1864 the Torrens Park House and estate was sold on to Sir Walter Watson Hughes a wealthy pastoralist and later one of the main proprietors and investors in the Moonta copper mines. Sir Walter Watson Hughes is also considered the “father” of the University of Adelaide because of his substantial bequests and donations to the university in its early decades.
Robert Barr Smith and Johanna Barr Smith acquired the property in 1874 from Sir Walter Watson Hughes with an additional 22 acres of adjoining land. Robert Barr Smith then added more rooms and a private theatre to the property and a grand orangery. The private theatre was built in matching stone work with Gothic arches. It was the only private theatre in South Australia. (Scotch College still uses it for that purpose.) The large property had an artificial lake for leisure boating created on Brownhill Creek at the bottom of the estate garden and there were fine stone gate houses built on both the east and the west sides of the estate in the 1860s. During World War One the house was used by the Commonwealth government for soldier accommodation and rehabilitation. After Robert Barr Smith’s death in 1915 the house was still used by the government until it was sold to Pitt and Hill in 1918. The following year it was sold on to the Trustees of Scotch College in 1919. At that stage Scotch College acquired 54 acres of land and the buildings, stables, coach houses, theatre and mansion. Torrens Park House remains as the central buildings of Scotch College Adelaide and consequently it is maintained in excellent repair. Scotch College has around 850 students from years one to twelve and around 100 boarders. It is one of the most exclusive private schools in Adelaide.
Mitcham. Torrens Park. Scotch College. Built 1853 for Sir Robert Torrens. Later owner was Robert Barr Smith.
Torrens Park Estate. Now Scotch College Adelaide.
The earliest central part of Torrens Park House with the three storey tower and Gothic windows and entrance was built in 1853 for Colonel (later Sir) Robert Torrens the architect of the South Australian Torrens Title land register system (Real Property Act 1858 and The South Australian System of Conveyancing by Registration of Title Act 1859) which has been adopted around Australia and in some other parts of the world. Robert Torrens came to SA in 1840 as the Collector of Customs and much later he was the third Premier of South Australia in 1857. Although he was only in receipt of a moderate government salary in the 1840s he was an economist and he soon acquired considerable assets and became the SA Treasurer in 1851. He entered politics and stood for election when SA got self-government in 1853. When Robert Torrens returned to England for his retirement in 1864 the Torrens Park House and estate was sold on to Sir Walter Watson Hughes a wealthy pastoralist and later one of the main proprietors and investors in the Moonta copper mines. Sir Walter Watson Hughes is also considered the “father” of the University of Adelaide because of his substantial bequests and donations to the university in its early decades.
Robert Barr Smith and Johanna Barr Smith acquired the property in 1874 from Sir Walter Watson Hughes with an additional 22 acres of adjoining land. Robert Barr Smith then added more rooms and a private theatre to the property and a grand orangery. The private theatre was built in matching stone work with Gothic arches. It was the only private theatre in South Australia. (Scotch College still uses it for that purpose.) The large property had an artificial lake for leisure boating created on Brownhill Creek at the bottom of the estate garden and there were fine stone gate houses built on both the east and the west sides of the estate in the 1860s. During World War One the house was used by the Commonwealth government for soldier accommodation and rehabilitation. After Robert Barr Smith’s death in 1915 the house was still used by the government until it was sold to Pitt and Hill in 1918. The following year it was sold on to the Trustees of Scotch College in 1919. At that stage Scotch College acquired 54 acres of land and the buildings, stables, coach houses, theatre and mansion. Torrens Park House remains as the central buildings of Scotch College Adelaide and consequently it is maintained in excellent repair. Scotch College has around 850 students from years one to twelve and around 100 boarders. It is one of the most exclusive private schools in Adelaide.