Mylor. Warrakilla House. Built in 1883 for Surveyor General George Goyder depicted here in photogaphs.
Warrakilla.
George Woodroffe Goyder migrated to the colony of New South Wales in 1848 at the age of 22 years and settled in Melbourne in the Port Philip District. In 1851 George Goyder relocated to Adelaide to meet up with the Smith family from England who were members of the New Church or the Swedenborg Church like he was. Both Goyder’s father and uncle were ministers in the New Church in England. He entered the SA public service in that year and later in the year he married Frances Mary Smith at Christ Church Anglican in North Adelaide followed by an unofficial wedding ceremony in the New Church in Carrington Street Adelaide. From 1851 onwards Goyder worked in the drafting office of the SA public service and in 1855 he was promoted to General Superintendent of Field Surveys and First Assistant to the Surveyor General. Then in 1857 he wrote a diary on his explorations to the north of the state. His explorations were reported in the press and Goyder become a known figure. The State Library has a copy of his original 1857 diary which in simply marked 1857 Dy (for diary) Sr O (Survey Office). His survey took him to the Pitchi Richi gorge, the Willochra Plains and the Flinders Ranges. Goyder and three others went further and discovered a large freshwater lake teeming with ducks, birds and wildlife which was Lake Blanche. Goyder made the mistake of thinking the lake always had fresh water and he never overestimated the nature of the South Australian countryside again. His boss Surveyor General Freeling had travelled around Lake Blanche before and had only found desert and his assessment was the correct one. Despite this error Goyder was appointed as Surveyor General of SA upon Freeling’s retirement in 1861 as well as Valuator of Runs and Inspector of Mines. Goyder held these posts and others until his own retirement in 1894 just a few years before his death in 1898. But before he retired Goyder bought the old Wheatsheaf Inn at Mylor in 1879. He then commissioned well known Adelaide architect Daniel Garlick to design him a grand Italianate house with several bay windows and 14 main rooms plus work rooms, cellar, stables etc on his 80 acre estate. The house which Goyder named Warrakilla was completed in 1883 when Goyder and his family took up residence on this magnificent country estate. Goyder was interested in tree conservation and the property had extensive river flats along the Onkaparinga. After his own death in 1898 his second wife Ellen died not long after in May 1899 and Warrakilla was put up for public auction in the Adelaide Town Hall in December 1899 but it appears son David John Goyder stayed on the property at Warrakilla until he sold it in 1907. After several short term owners the property was acquired by the Ernest Crafter family in 1924 and they kept the property more than 30 years. This grand house has been partially destroyed by fire twice including in the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires but it has been rebuilt as it was. The current owners feel sure George Goyder still roams the house as lights sometimes light up the front living room. The house is surrounded by a grand garden with English trees that date from Goyder’s ownership and above the front door a sand blasted picture of Warrakilla and the name enhances the entrance. Perhaps because of his great significance to the state of South Australia previous owners have maintained an interesting set of framed photographs of the Surveyor General Goyder on the walls of the sitting room. His linkages to this great house have not been forgotten.
The old Wheatsheaf Inn was opened in 1842 after William Warland purchased an original 80 acre section there in 1841. Many people called the inn Warland’s Hotel. It prospered because it was on the main road from Adelaide to Strathalbyn and gold was discovered along the Onkaparinga near here from 1852 with later much bigger gold finds at Echunga, Biggs Flat and Jupiter’s Creek from 1868. One of Goyder’s many roles was Inspector of Mines and he was undoubtedly well aware of the Warrakilla gold mine along the Onkaparinga at Mylor on the way to Hahndorf. It operated in 1852 only half a mile from Warland’s Wheatsheaf Inn according to Mr W.Chapman of Echunga who discovered the first gold there upon his return from the Victorian goldfields in 1852. One Adelaide Hills historian also claims that Goyder and his new bride stayed at the Wheatsheaf Inn after their marriage in November 1871 and it was known as a popular spot for honeymooners in the 1870s. Their son John Harvey Goyder was born 10 months after their marriage so perhaps he was conceived there? Perhaps this partly explains why Goyder purchased the Wheatsheaf Inn in 1879 and renamed it Warrakilla House. His links with the district were immediately cemented by Ellen Goyder laying the foundation stone of the Echunga Institute in 1879 and Goyder himself conducting the official opening of it in 1880.
Mylor. Warrakilla House. Built in 1883 for Surveyor General George Goyder depicted here in photogaphs.
Warrakilla.
George Woodroffe Goyder migrated to the colony of New South Wales in 1848 at the age of 22 years and settled in Melbourne in the Port Philip District. In 1851 George Goyder relocated to Adelaide to meet up with the Smith family from England who were members of the New Church or the Swedenborg Church like he was. Both Goyder’s father and uncle were ministers in the New Church in England. He entered the SA public service in that year and later in the year he married Frances Mary Smith at Christ Church Anglican in North Adelaide followed by an unofficial wedding ceremony in the New Church in Carrington Street Adelaide. From 1851 onwards Goyder worked in the drafting office of the SA public service and in 1855 he was promoted to General Superintendent of Field Surveys and First Assistant to the Surveyor General. Then in 1857 he wrote a diary on his explorations to the north of the state. His explorations were reported in the press and Goyder become a known figure. The State Library has a copy of his original 1857 diary which in simply marked 1857 Dy (for diary) Sr O (Survey Office). His survey took him to the Pitchi Richi gorge, the Willochra Plains and the Flinders Ranges. Goyder and three others went further and discovered a large freshwater lake teeming with ducks, birds and wildlife which was Lake Blanche. Goyder made the mistake of thinking the lake always had fresh water and he never overestimated the nature of the South Australian countryside again. His boss Surveyor General Freeling had travelled around Lake Blanche before and had only found desert and his assessment was the correct one. Despite this error Goyder was appointed as Surveyor General of SA upon Freeling’s retirement in 1861 as well as Valuator of Runs and Inspector of Mines. Goyder held these posts and others until his own retirement in 1894 just a few years before his death in 1898. But before he retired Goyder bought the old Wheatsheaf Inn at Mylor in 1879. He then commissioned well known Adelaide architect Daniel Garlick to design him a grand Italianate house with several bay windows and 14 main rooms plus work rooms, cellar, stables etc on his 80 acre estate. The house which Goyder named Warrakilla was completed in 1883 when Goyder and his family took up residence on this magnificent country estate. Goyder was interested in tree conservation and the property had extensive river flats along the Onkaparinga. After his own death in 1898 his second wife Ellen died not long after in May 1899 and Warrakilla was put up for public auction in the Adelaide Town Hall in December 1899 but it appears son David John Goyder stayed on the property at Warrakilla until he sold it in 1907. After several short term owners the property was acquired by the Ernest Crafter family in 1924 and they kept the property more than 30 years. This grand house has been partially destroyed by fire twice including in the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires but it has been rebuilt as it was. The current owners feel sure George Goyder still roams the house as lights sometimes light up the front living room. The house is surrounded by a grand garden with English trees that date from Goyder’s ownership and above the front door a sand blasted picture of Warrakilla and the name enhances the entrance. Perhaps because of his great significance to the state of South Australia previous owners have maintained an interesting set of framed photographs of the Surveyor General Goyder on the walls of the sitting room. His linkages to this great house have not been forgotten.
The old Wheatsheaf Inn was opened in 1842 after William Warland purchased an original 80 acre section there in 1841. Many people called the inn Warland’s Hotel. It prospered because it was on the main road from Adelaide to Strathalbyn and gold was discovered along the Onkaparinga near here from 1852 with later much bigger gold finds at Echunga, Biggs Flat and Jupiter’s Creek from 1868. One of Goyder’s many roles was Inspector of Mines and he was undoubtedly well aware of the Warrakilla gold mine along the Onkaparinga at Mylor on the way to Hahndorf. It operated in 1852 only half a mile from Warland’s Wheatsheaf Inn according to Mr W.Chapman of Echunga who discovered the first gold there upon his return from the Victorian goldfields in 1852. One Adelaide Hills historian also claims that Goyder and his new bride stayed at the Wheatsheaf Inn after their marriage in November 1871 and it was known as a popular spot for honeymooners in the 1870s. Their son John Harvey Goyder was born 10 months after their marriage so perhaps he was conceived there? Perhaps this partly explains why Goyder purchased the Wheatsheaf Inn in 1879 and renamed it Warrakilla House. His links with the district were immediately cemented by Ellen Goyder laying the foundation stone of the Echunga Institute in 1879 and Goyder himself conducting the official opening of it in 1880.