Mt Pleasant Sth Aust. Derelict workers stone cottages at Rosebank historic sheep station. Established by George Melrose in 1842 or 1843. George Melrose died in 1894. His ancestors still run the property.
Rosebank.
The first white men to traverse the district were overlanders with flocks of sheep or cattle from NSW. One of their routes was to cross the Murray near Blanchetown and drive their flocks up the Marne River valley and into the Adelaide Hills. The first lessee of the district was George Melrose who took out a leasehold circa 1842. He established his homestead at Rosebank, east of Mt Pleasant in that year with his leasehold covering much of the land east of Mt Pleasant to the South Rhine (now Marne) River. He explored parts of SA for an outback station and liked the Lake Victoria country north of Renmark. When he married Euphemia Thomson in 1847 he took her to Lake Victoria for their honeymoon and she was the first white woman to visit such country. He probably had a simple cottage in the early years before he built a grand stone homestead at Rosebank around 1858. He acquired more runs in the north of SA, at Lake Victoria and at Franklin Harbour and Ulooloo. At a later stage in 1904 he built a grand stone shearing shed which is now heritage listed. He was undoubtedly a good employer for his workmen stayed for decades. Eight of his employees worked for him for between 30 and 50 years. George Melrose senior died at Rosebank in 1894 at the age of 87 years. He had had thirteen children. The Rosebank run, then freehold land was inherited by his third son Robert T. Melrose (1862-1945) who was born at Rosebank and managed it from 1896 until 1945. One of George and Euphemia’s daughters Elisabeth Melrose (1853 – 1945) married John Murray and they had a son named Sir John Stanley Murray. This grandson of George Melrose took over the property in 1946 after acquiring it from two of his uncles and he managed it until 1971. Sir John Stanley Murray (1884-1971) who was born on 27 March 1884 at Rosebank lived on the property and his managers were responsible for its development as a leading Aberdeen Angus stud. Sir John Stanley Murray’s daughter Alison Melrose Murray married Ian McLachlan (1908-1995) in June 1936. The three families of Melrose, Murray and McLachlan all have prominent headstones in the Mt Pleasant and Mt Crawford cemeteries. After Sir John Murray’s death in 1971 Rosebank passed to Angas McLachlan a son of Alison and Ian McLachlan who was born in 1944. His brother Ian, born in 1936 was the federal MP and Cabinet Minister in federal parliament from 1990 to 1998. The McLachlans purchased the Springfield House and estate near Williamstown in 1957. This historic house, Springfield House was built in 1841 for John Warren who took up land there circa 1840. Back at Rosebank in 2018 Will McLachlan and his family moved into the main house and took up the management role of the estate. Among the buildings on the property are accommodation cottages and the 1904 woolshed. At its peak 27,000 sheep a year were shorn in this shearing shed. Rosebank is still a Merino stud and its flock came from the Murray Merino bred by their relatives. Rosebank is also known for its beef production.
Mt Pleasant Sth Aust. Derelict workers stone cottages at Rosebank historic sheep station. Established by George Melrose in 1842 or 1843. George Melrose died in 1894. His ancestors still run the property.
Rosebank.
The first white men to traverse the district were overlanders with flocks of sheep or cattle from NSW. One of their routes was to cross the Murray near Blanchetown and drive their flocks up the Marne River valley and into the Adelaide Hills. The first lessee of the district was George Melrose who took out a leasehold circa 1842. He established his homestead at Rosebank, east of Mt Pleasant in that year with his leasehold covering much of the land east of Mt Pleasant to the South Rhine (now Marne) River. He explored parts of SA for an outback station and liked the Lake Victoria country north of Renmark. When he married Euphemia Thomson in 1847 he took her to Lake Victoria for their honeymoon and she was the first white woman to visit such country. He probably had a simple cottage in the early years before he built a grand stone homestead at Rosebank around 1858. He acquired more runs in the north of SA, at Lake Victoria and at Franklin Harbour and Ulooloo. At a later stage in 1904 he built a grand stone shearing shed which is now heritage listed. He was undoubtedly a good employer for his workmen stayed for decades. Eight of his employees worked for him for between 30 and 50 years. George Melrose senior died at Rosebank in 1894 at the age of 87 years. He had had thirteen children. The Rosebank run, then freehold land was inherited by his third son Robert T. Melrose (1862-1945) who was born at Rosebank and managed it from 1896 until 1945. One of George and Euphemia’s daughters Elisabeth Melrose (1853 – 1945) married John Murray and they had a son named Sir John Stanley Murray. This grandson of George Melrose took over the property in 1946 after acquiring it from two of his uncles and he managed it until 1971. Sir John Stanley Murray (1884-1971) who was born on 27 March 1884 at Rosebank lived on the property and his managers were responsible for its development as a leading Aberdeen Angus stud. Sir John Stanley Murray’s daughter Alison Melrose Murray married Ian McLachlan (1908-1995) in June 1936. The three families of Melrose, Murray and McLachlan all have prominent headstones in the Mt Pleasant and Mt Crawford cemeteries. After Sir John Murray’s death in 1971 Rosebank passed to Angas McLachlan a son of Alison and Ian McLachlan who was born in 1944. His brother Ian, born in 1936 was the federal MP and Cabinet Minister in federal parliament from 1990 to 1998. The McLachlans purchased the Springfield House and estate near Williamstown in 1957. This historic house, Springfield House was built in 1841 for John Warren who took up land there circa 1840. Back at Rosebank in 2018 Will McLachlan and his family moved into the main house and took up the management role of the estate. Among the buildings on the property are accommodation cottages and the 1904 woolshed. At its peak 27,000 sheep a year were shorn in this shearing shed. Rosebank is still a Merino stud and its flock came from the Murray Merino bred by their relatives. Rosebank is also known for its beef production.