Inman Valley. Stone cairn to memorialise Robertsons Springrove homestead and the first Post Office site of Inman Valley in 1855.
Inman Valley and Lower Inman valley.
This well-watered valley was explored by Police Inspector Henry Inman in 1838 when he was chasing a couple of criminals. Inman was the first SA Police Inspector and founding commander of the SA Police Force which was established in 1838 by Governor Hindmarsh. With governor Gawler he designed the first police uniforms for SA but in 1840 Governor Gawler dismissed Inman for selling hay he owned for the police horses. Inman’s name was also given to the river in the valley. Because of the early interest in Encounter Bay by Governor Hindmarsh, the first white settlers moved into Inman Valley in 1839 led by Thomas and Giles Strangways and three James brothers. Freehold land was only generally available for purchase from 1840 when most but not all of the valley was surveyed. This was one of the first districts identified by Surveyor General Colonel William Light for survey. A further survey of other parts of Inman Valley occurred in 1844. (Richard James with others purchased the 60,000 acre Old Canowie Station near Jamestown and moved there in 1858.) The Strangways and James brothers soon had wheat crops sown and a few cattle and sheep. The Strangways brothers stayed in the valley and acquired over 1,000 acres in 1840. Thomas left and Giles Strangways sold some of their land to Governor Sir Henry Fox Young in 1849 but he remained in the valley on the remaining land and land leased from Bingham Hutchinson until they moved to Adelaide in 1873. In the 1850s more people moved into Inman Valley once the survey was completed, but some tenant farmers to the early landowners like Bingham Hutchinson. The population was also boosted at this time in 1855 by the arrival of around 100 immigrant Irish girls who wanted work as servants and to find husbands in the Inman Valley, Hindmarsh and Yankalilla valleys. The government established work depots from which they girls were offered employment at Willunga, Yankalilla and Encounter Bay in that year. With well-timbered country sawmilling and wood cutting was an early industry of the valley. The timber cutters provided the timber for the 1863 bridge across the Inman River at Glacier Rock, and for the decking of the causeway from Victor Harbor to Granite Island in 1864. Later much timber was provided for railway sleepers.
Although Inman township was located in a relatively prosperous farming region it never developed and has never had many town facilities. Outside the town on Hancock Road are the ruins of the Congregation Church and cemetery. Reverend Newland from the first settlement on Encounter Bay at Yilki conducted services in people’s homes until this Congregational church was built in 1856. Services ended in 1901 and the church closed in 1905 and the contents dispersed to other churches in 1919. It was known locally as the Sheoak Hill Congregational Church. From 1860 until 1885 when the town school opened it was used as the Inman Valley School. A memorial plaque was laid at this historic site in 1976. Near the centre of the town is the former government school built in 1885.It had wooden classrooms added to it in 1954 and it finally closed in December 1970. Across the road from the former school is the old Bible Christian Methodist Church. A foundation stone from the 1859 Bald Hills Bible Christian Church is in the current church’s porch. The current church in Inman Valley was built in 1871. It became a Methodist Church in 1900 and the transept was added in 1906. The front porch was added in 1936 and it became a Uniting Church in 1976. Sadly it closed in September 2020. In 1885 Inman Valley also got a small galvanised iron Anglican Church, St Thomas’s. It was not located in the town but near Glacier Rock 5 kms away. When the Anglican Church closed in 1990 it was transported to the Yankalilla Museum where it remains. A stone cairn was erected on the site where it once stood in 1992 made from its foundation stones. Inman township has a general store and café and the Inman Valley Memorial Hall built in 1954. Like all small settlements a post service was vital in the 19th century. Inman valley services began in 1855 in several basic structures. In the 1920s the Post office got a stone building erected by volunteer labour. But the site of the original Post Office of 1855 is marked with a plaque. It was the former John Robertson’s Springrove homestead. All that remains of the homestead today is the stone fireplace.
Further down the valley towards Victor Harbor, beyond Glacier Rock is Lower Inman. The memorial hall there is a galvanised iron one built in 1923 to commemorate World War One. Almost beside it is the Lower Inman Valley School. This stone school was built in 1901 but closed around 1922. But from its opening the school room was used by the Congregational Church for their services. It then became known as the Congregational Church and it remained a church until 1962. It is still used for other community purposes located next to the tennis courts and hall.
Inman Valley. Stone cairn to memorialise Robertsons Springrove homestead and the first Post Office site of Inman Valley in 1855.
Inman Valley and Lower Inman valley.
This well-watered valley was explored by Police Inspector Henry Inman in 1838 when he was chasing a couple of criminals. Inman was the first SA Police Inspector and founding commander of the SA Police Force which was established in 1838 by Governor Hindmarsh. With governor Gawler he designed the first police uniforms for SA but in 1840 Governor Gawler dismissed Inman for selling hay he owned for the police horses. Inman’s name was also given to the river in the valley. Because of the early interest in Encounter Bay by Governor Hindmarsh, the first white settlers moved into Inman Valley in 1839 led by Thomas and Giles Strangways and three James brothers. Freehold land was only generally available for purchase from 1840 when most but not all of the valley was surveyed. This was one of the first districts identified by Surveyor General Colonel William Light for survey. A further survey of other parts of Inman Valley occurred in 1844. (Richard James with others purchased the 60,000 acre Old Canowie Station near Jamestown and moved there in 1858.) The Strangways and James brothers soon had wheat crops sown and a few cattle and sheep. The Strangways brothers stayed in the valley and acquired over 1,000 acres in 1840. Thomas left and Giles Strangways sold some of their land to Governor Sir Henry Fox Young in 1849 but he remained in the valley on the remaining land and land leased from Bingham Hutchinson until they moved to Adelaide in 1873. In the 1850s more people moved into Inman Valley once the survey was completed, but some tenant farmers to the early landowners like Bingham Hutchinson. The population was also boosted at this time in 1855 by the arrival of around 100 immigrant Irish girls who wanted work as servants and to find husbands in the Inman Valley, Hindmarsh and Yankalilla valleys. The government established work depots from which they girls were offered employment at Willunga, Yankalilla and Encounter Bay in that year. With well-timbered country sawmilling and wood cutting was an early industry of the valley. The timber cutters provided the timber for the 1863 bridge across the Inman River at Glacier Rock, and for the decking of the causeway from Victor Harbor to Granite Island in 1864. Later much timber was provided for railway sleepers.
Although Inman township was located in a relatively prosperous farming region it never developed and has never had many town facilities. Outside the town on Hancock Road are the ruins of the Congregation Church and cemetery. Reverend Newland from the first settlement on Encounter Bay at Yilki conducted services in people’s homes until this Congregational church was built in 1856. Services ended in 1901 and the church closed in 1905 and the contents dispersed to other churches in 1919. It was known locally as the Sheoak Hill Congregational Church. From 1860 until 1885 when the town school opened it was used as the Inman Valley School. A memorial plaque was laid at this historic site in 1976. Near the centre of the town is the former government school built in 1885.It had wooden classrooms added to it in 1954 and it finally closed in December 1970. Across the road from the former school is the old Bible Christian Methodist Church. A foundation stone from the 1859 Bald Hills Bible Christian Church is in the current church’s porch. The current church in Inman Valley was built in 1871. It became a Methodist Church in 1900 and the transept was added in 1906. The front porch was added in 1936 and it became a Uniting Church in 1976. Sadly it closed in September 2020. In 1885 Inman Valley also got a small galvanised iron Anglican Church, St Thomas’s. It was not located in the town but near Glacier Rock 5 kms away. When the Anglican Church closed in 1990 it was transported to the Yankalilla Museum where it remains. A stone cairn was erected on the site where it once stood in 1992 made from its foundation stones. Inman township has a general store and café and the Inman Valley Memorial Hall built in 1954. Like all small settlements a post service was vital in the 19th century. Inman valley services began in 1855 in several basic structures. In the 1920s the Post office got a stone building erected by volunteer labour. But the site of the original Post Office of 1855 is marked with a plaque. It was the former John Robertson’s Springrove homestead. All that remains of the homestead today is the stone fireplace.
Further down the valley towards Victor Harbor, beyond Glacier Rock is Lower Inman. The memorial hall there is a galvanised iron one built in 1923 to commemorate World War One. Almost beside it is the Lower Inman Valley School. This stone school was built in 1901 but closed around 1922. But from its opening the school room was used by the Congregational Church for their services. It then became known as the Congregational Church and it remained a church until 1962. It is still used for other community purposes located next to the tennis courts and hall.