Torrens Park Adelaide. The old 1854 school room attached to Mitcham Lawn House. Caroline Manton's school operated from 1853 to about 1856.
Torrens Park. Mitcham Lawn House.
The land here was taken up early in 1838 by the Reverend William Finlayson (1813-1897.) The first history of Mitcham was written by William Finlayson in 1885 just before he died in 1897. He arrived in SA on 14 February 1837. He walked from Glenelg to Adelaide and then to Port Adelaide to meet his wife he had arrived at the port! Finlayson was appointed to the SA Company sheep station at Brownhill creek in 1838. His “home” was a tent 15 feet by 8 feet. The sheep farm also had cows and the milk was sent to Adelaide every Sunday. Within a short time William Finlayson rented land from the SA Company. He built a small cottage of three rooms on this leased land. His wife Mary climbed gum trees to catch possums- presumably for eating. He erected a new home in 1852 called Helenholm with is in Finlayson Street Netherby on his originally 67 acres section. Helenholm is still there in Finlayson Street with a huge Bunya Bunya pine at the front gate. Finlayson was involved with the Baptist Church and he bought another section of 80 acres at Torrens Park in 1838. This land was sold to Dr Woodforde in 1853 who subdivided it. Six acres of Woodforde’s section was sold to Edward Manton in 1854. At that time Manton was leasing a further 53 acres from Dr Woodforde.
Manton’s wife Caroline Manton opened a school at Mitcham Lawn in 1853 when they were leasing the six acres from Woodforde. Her school had boarding facilities and the original stone school room still stands on the southern side of Mitcham Lawn House. It was built in 1854 when the main part of Mitcham Lawns House was also built. Mitcham Lawns has French doors opening onto an east facing veranda. Mrs Manton’s school seems to disappear around 1856 as there were many private and a village school at Mitcham by then. The Manton’s sold their property and school room in 1874. The new owner John Love named the property Mitcham Lawns as that was the name for that area of the Mitcham district which is now known as Springbank. Around 1880 he added a substantial two storey stone addition to the original house. One of their daughters Margaret married John Tennant the eldest son of the wealthy Eyre Peninsula pastoralist Andrew Tennant 1898. The 1880 house is Italianate in style with pretty cast iron lacework on the veranda and bay windows. It has a north facing entrance which affords views over the Adelaide Plains to the coast the city centre. In 1950 the Lutheran Church purchased the house and by then a suburban block which they ran a hostel for “new Australian” post war immigrants. It opened to house 13 families. It is now privately owned as a fine residence.
Torrens Park Adelaide. The old 1854 school room attached to Mitcham Lawn House. Caroline Manton's school operated from 1853 to about 1856.
Torrens Park. Mitcham Lawn House.
The land here was taken up early in 1838 by the Reverend William Finlayson (1813-1897.) The first history of Mitcham was written by William Finlayson in 1885 just before he died in 1897. He arrived in SA on 14 February 1837. He walked from Glenelg to Adelaide and then to Port Adelaide to meet his wife he had arrived at the port! Finlayson was appointed to the SA Company sheep station at Brownhill creek in 1838. His “home” was a tent 15 feet by 8 feet. The sheep farm also had cows and the milk was sent to Adelaide every Sunday. Within a short time William Finlayson rented land from the SA Company. He built a small cottage of three rooms on this leased land. His wife Mary climbed gum trees to catch possums- presumably for eating. He erected a new home in 1852 called Helenholm with is in Finlayson Street Netherby on his originally 67 acres section. Helenholm is still there in Finlayson Street with a huge Bunya Bunya pine at the front gate. Finlayson was involved with the Baptist Church and he bought another section of 80 acres at Torrens Park in 1838. This land was sold to Dr Woodforde in 1853 who subdivided it. Six acres of Woodforde’s section was sold to Edward Manton in 1854. At that time Manton was leasing a further 53 acres from Dr Woodforde.
Manton’s wife Caroline Manton opened a school at Mitcham Lawn in 1853 when they were leasing the six acres from Woodforde. Her school had boarding facilities and the original stone school room still stands on the southern side of Mitcham Lawn House. It was built in 1854 when the main part of Mitcham Lawns House was also built. Mitcham Lawns has French doors opening onto an east facing veranda. Mrs Manton’s school seems to disappear around 1856 as there were many private and a village school at Mitcham by then. The Manton’s sold their property and school room in 1874. The new owner John Love named the property Mitcham Lawns as that was the name for that area of the Mitcham district which is now known as Springbank. Around 1880 he added a substantial two storey stone addition to the original house. One of their daughters Margaret married John Tennant the eldest son of the wealthy Eyre Peninsula pastoralist Andrew Tennant 1898. The 1880 house is Italianate in style with pretty cast iron lacework on the veranda and bay windows. It has a north facing entrance which affords views over the Adelaide Plains to the coast the city centre. In 1950 the Lutheran Church purchased the house and by then a suburban block which they ran a hostel for “new Australian” post war immigrants. It opened to house 13 families. It is now privately owned as a fine residence.