06. Magpie & Stump Hotel
The first allotments of Mintaro were sold in late 1949, and by December 1950, the Magpie and Stump Hotel was completed at the entrance to the village. It mainly operated to service the needs of the itinerant bullock and mule drivers who rested whilst making their way from Burra to Port Wakefield. A little south of the hotel are the bullock stables and huge rings are still visible where the bullocks were tied up at night. Internally, the property consists of a front bar, two dining areas, a kitchen and bed and breakfast accommodation. Externally, at the rear of the property, the original stables, stockyard and coach house have been converted to form private storage areas. At the front of the hotel, the triangular design encloses the once celebrated 1936 Centenary Garden project. Between the garden and the hotel was a roadway, now a part of the delightful lawned beer garden. The building is constructed with stone, slate and brick and has a corrugated iron roof. Today the Magpie and Stump remains the physical and social focal point of the village.[1] There were not that many hotels in South Australia when the Magpie and Stump opened its doors in 1850. The decision to do so when the town was so small was principally to provide a service to the bullock and mule drivers. ‘Sometimes as many as 70 muleteers and their teams stayed overnight, with their showy dresses and lassos and knives often used in disputes. They did not endear themselves to the adults of Mintaro, though small boys watched with intense interest.’[2] It is not surprising then to learn that by the 1860s, due to increased concern for their welfare, a village petition raised awareness for the building of a police station and the procurement of a police trooper! The adjacent shop with its baker’s oven dating from the late 1850s is now incorporated into the hotel. The old shop, in the pub, had a room devoted to the Mintaro Coursing Club which started in 1884. The last live hare was used as a lure as recently as 1986. Coursing then continued in the area until 1997 using a drag lure. Notes State Heritage Branch Register Report prepared by Kate McDougall, 7 Sep 1982. Government of South Australia, Department of Environment and Water, Mintaro State Heritage Area (Fact sheet) [PDF], https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/her-fact-mintarosha-factsheet.pdf, accessed 13/10/2024.
22. Jolly House
This allotment of land was purchased by Yeoman Joseph Rogers for 10 Pounds, then sold to Thomas Miller for 20 Pounds in 1855. Miller already owned the adjoining properties and the stone structure at the rear of the property on Lot 20 which could be the remainders of Miller’s carting operation. Henry Jolly, a carpenter and undertaker purchased Lot 40 (sic) in 1856 and probably built this house soon afterwards. Jolly’s original home was built from stone and galvanised iron.[1] Henry Jolly and his wife Elizabeth Dickson Jolly came to Mintaro, SA, from St Peter’s Port, Guernsey in 1851 with their one-year-old son. Henry was a carpenter and a Wesleyan lay preacher, and the last example of his work is in St Mark’s Anglican Church, Penworthan.[2] Their son Henry Dickson Jolly married Anne Lathlean, daughter of Richard Lathlean, on 29 Jun 1876 in Campbelltown, South Australia. Henry and Annie had eight children Ernest Harry Jolly, Bertram Dickson Jolly, Elsie Elizabeth (Jolly) Bath, Norman William Jolly, Alice Lydia Jolly, Annie Jolly, Hazel Mary Jolly and Rupert Eric Jolly. All Henry Dickson Jolly’s children excelled in professional life; his son Norman being South Australia’s first Rhodes Scholar. Norman attended Prince Alfred College and the University of Adelaide, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc). In 1904, Norman Jolly was the first South Australian to be chosen for a Rhodes Scholarship, attending Balliol College, Oxford. After graduating B.A. from Oxford with a first in natural science in 1907, Norman Jolly studied under (Sir) William Schlich, and briefly in Europe, to obtain the Oxford diploma of forestry.[3] Another son, Bertram, played Australian rules football for Norwood and is recognised by the Redlegs Museum even though his time with the club was brief.[4] After Henry Jolly senior’s death in 1888 the property remained in his family until it was sold to Sidney Torr in 1899 for 220 Pounds. This cottage is an important element within Burra Street and complements Mintaro’s built environment. It has a simple rectangular plan and the projecting wing is probably a later (c.1890s) addition. There is a distinctive timber valence work to the front verandah and gable end, the central section probably being the work of Henry Jolly.[5]
23. House, Store & Carpenter’s Shop
Allotment 38 was sold to Burnett Nathan in August 1851. Four years later an ‘equal half part’ of the land – the southern portion of it – was sold to Richard Lathlean who probably began building his residence and shop soon afterwards. By 1867 Lathlean was assessed for his house and garden, a shop, warehouse, stone cellar, and shed. In the 1870s the complex was known as Lathlean’s Post Office and Store, the Mintaro Telegraph operating from 1873 with ‘ …. the instrument installed in the store besides the Post Office.’ Two early photographs survive of the shop and workshop – PH4 c.1890? and PH5 a 1951 view which shows the carpenter’s shop beginning to deteriorate at parapet level. PH4 shows handsome shop fittings, elegant arch headed windows with delicate nine-paned windows with arch heads and a parapet sign which says ‘J. Denton General Store.’ Lessees of the property or portion of the property included William Butler from 1874, George Montgomery from 1896, and Harry Cliff Denuren (sic) from 1908. H.G. Jolly and family ran a carpentry, painting, building and undertaking business from these premises.[1] Richard Lathlean Snr., the original owner of this building, was born 1824 in Cornwall and arrived in South Australia on the 27th January 1847 on the David Malcolm with his wife and child. He is first reported in Mintaro, speaking at a meeting, in December 1855 and then named as a storekeeper in an inquest into the death of Anne Matthews, a servant in his employ, who died at his house in 1857 (‘…by the visitation of God‘[2]). Having previously purchased the northeasterly part of Lot 38 from Burnett Nathan (a land speculator) the Certificate of Title vol. 31 folio 193 of 1862 records the transfer of the property to bring it under the Real Property Act 1858. The southeasterly half of Lot 38 was finally brought under the new Act in 1874 (CT vol. 192 folio 167). In 1864 he sold his ‘business’ to W. A. Rabbich and opened a store in Kapunda but returned to Mintaro a year later and repossessed his business from Mr. Rabbich who was ‘intending to follow some other.’[3] Two years later in 1867 he purchased part Lots 50 & 51, on the opposite side of Burra street and south of Young street, on which he built another store. This property was subjected to the January 1874 flood of Kadlunga creek, the newspaper report of the day stating ‘…and on the level ground in front of Mr. Lathlean’s store it was up over the middle of a tall man’s body.’[4] A devout member of the Mintaro Wesleyan congregation Richard Lathlean was instrumental in hiring James Fry as a teacher for Mintaro in 1867 while Secretary to the School Committee of the Church. He was also involved in the acquisition of the land that would eventually be the home of the public school. Lathlean retired from business in 1874 and moved with his wife to the city. He advertised his Farrell store for let or sale but retained the Mintaro properties and leased the ‘business’ at Lot 38 to William Butler on a 5-year term. The business continued from 1878 to 1896 under the management of Henry Dickson Jolly, son of Henry Jolly, carpenter, who had married Richard Lathlean’s second daughter Annie in 1876. The store on part Lots 50 & 51 was sold in 1882 to Mary Hogben, widow of Edward Hogben from Manoora, while in 1896 Mr. H. D. Jolly ‘disposed of his business and left Mintaro’[5] at Lot 38. This property was then leased to George Montgomery whose store on the corner of Burra & Hill streets was ‘…burnt to the ground last night.’[6] Richard Lathlean died in 1902 and the title transferred to his wife Elizabeth. She continued to lease the property and in 1905 George Montgomery sold the ‘business’ to Denton Bros. of Farrell Flat. By 1908 the property was leased to Harry Clifton Uren and two years after Elizabeth Lathlean died (1909) the property was sold to W. T. Mortlock. When Mr. Mortlock died in 1913 the property transferred to his trustees and eventually was sold to Leonard Albert Fisher in 1953. After the death of his wife, Iris Collette Fisher, in 2015 the property was sold to Mr. Simon Stretton. The building has been undergoing careful restoration and development since then.
08. Former Police Station & Lock Up
The Mintaro Police Station was built during the important developmental phase of the town (1860s and 1870s). Increased traffic through the village necessitated greater protection for its residents and in 1868 the building was completed. The property comprises of a main building, exercise yard, cell block and accompanying horse stables. It is sited upon an elevated block and a grand slate staircase leads to the front door. The main building has a central charge room (now a residential lounge room), two bedrooms and a kitchen. At the rear of the trooper’s residence are three cells and two bathrooms. A large exercise yard lies in between, completely surrounded by tall stone walls. The building is constructed with slate and sandstone walls, slate flooring under the verandah, quoining and corrugated iron. The central projecting pavilion emphasises the front door and a recessed sandstone sign announces the Police Station. This Police Station design was also used in Truro and Callington.[1] Mintaro was a village without a police station for the first 18 years of its existence. It seems that the growing town was in need of police presence and townsfolk were annoyed with the government for being neglected. Due to increased concern for their welfare, a village petition raised awareness for the building of a police station and the procurement of a police trooper. By August of 1867, an acre of land had been purchased for 50 pounds, the building designed by the Colonial Architect’s Office and the foundation stone laid. By February of 1868 the building was completed at a cost of 1100 pounds. The builder was W. Paterson.
24. Catholic Church & Cemetery
In 1851 Peter and Bridget Brady purchased an 80-acre section and offered Fr Kranewitter SJ, an Austrian Jesuit priest, the use of their small cottage for Sunday Mass. Over time with the village growing, a need became apparent for the district’s Catholic population to have its own church. On April 24th, 1855, Peter Brady transferred two acres of his land to Bishop Murphy on which to construct a new Catholic Church. On June 7th, 1855, the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Murphy for the Church of the Immaculate Conception, the first church in Australia to be given this title. With the hard work of the parishioners, assisted by Fr Kranewitter and the help of Mr Thompson Priest, a local stonemason, the new church was completed and officially blessed and opened by Bishop Murphy on the 23rd of November 1856. It remains the oldest, extant Jesuit Church in Australia.[1][2] The church is built of local stone and was built by local men who quarried, sorted and carted the stone. Father Kranewitter and his companions and also Thompson Priest, a local stone mason and stone cutter, helped in building the church. The stain glass windows bear the names of the early parishioners—Peter and Bridget Brady, Michael Tobin, Mary Smith, W.E. & H. Giles, T. Dempsey and G. Faulkner. Changes to the church over the years have included a polished wooden ceiling, in 1906, and in the 1920s the flagged slate floor was replaced by wooden flooring. In 1938 the church was fully renovated at great expense. Well attended masses and a reunion of past and present parishioners raised sufficient money to cover the costs of these renovations. Further changes to the interior of the church were made in the 1960s. When Father Ragalski was serving Mintaro in 1881 a Mission Cross was erected to commemorate a mission held in that year. A replica of the Mission Cross, built and erected by local, Shawn Deal, was blessed by Father Chris Jenkins in 2021. The centenary of the Church of the Immaculate Conception was celebrated on Sunday 25 November 1956 with a mass at the church, followed by lunch at the Mintaro Institute. Mass and celebrations to commemorate 150 years since the building of St. Mary’s Church Mintaro were held also, in 2006. From 1872 the Sisters of St. Joseph provided education to the catholic children of Mintaro, initially using the church building. Many of the pews used today have holes for inkwells. The school closed in 1890, only to reopen in 1925, along with a new convent for the Sisters. The school closed permanently in 1957. A plaque marks the site of the convent and commemorates the work of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Mintaro. Mintaro Catholic Cemetery is located on the eastern side of the church and is the burial place of many pioneering catholic families. The cemetery is still in use. St. Mary’s Mintaro continues to be served by the Jesuit priests from the Sevenhill Parish. Mass is celebrated on the second Sunday of each month at 12.00.
25. Mintaro Public Cemetery
The Mintaro Cemetery is one of two burial areas in Mintaro, the other being in the grounds of the Roman Catholic Church. The cemetery is located about one kilometre west of the town. It contains the earliest formal graves of settlers in the district, commencing in 1858-9. Some of the early headstones are in marble, but then in the 1860’s, slate headstones were supplied by Thompson Priest carved from slate taken from the nearby Mintaro Slate Quarries. These headstones are simple and elegant in design, but unfortunately are weathering quite badly due to lack of maintenance and the inherent nature of the stone. There are also excellent examples of iron fenced plots and above-ground slate graves. The burial plots extend along a narrow band, a North-South strip across the land allotted for the purpose (part of section 344). The cemetery area was one thousand links square. There was some early segregation of denominations and possibly even social classes in the early stages but these distinctions have become blurred over time. The graves of the Bowmans of Martindale and the Chewings of Kadlunga are in the northern section of the cemetery, and other early settlers graves are also easily located. The Mintaro Cemetery in a way reflects the atmosphere of the town. It has an aura of neglect and decay contrasting in spots with the bright newness of a freshly established grave.[1] A Mintaro Progress Association cemetery group works with local volunteers and the Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council to improve and maintain the public cemetery. Recent efforts include restoration of the main entrance gate, initial restoration of the ‘olive hedge’, a cemetery walking trail, construction of a shelter and of a columbarium for housing cremated remains.
01. Institute & Former Council Chambers
A meeting of the Stanley District Council was first held on May 5th 1868, the main outcome of which was a petition to call on the Government to establish a local court there. The Register of June 5th 1868 listed A. Melville, J.P. as Chairman and Patrick Dowd, George Faulkner, Daniel Brady and Henry Jolley as Councillors. About 9 years after the first meeting the Council Chamber, now known as the Civic or District Hall was built. It was linked to the adjoining Institute in 1942, ten years after the Stanley District Council was amalgamated with the District Council of Clare. The Civic Hall, on the right, was built in 1877 and the adjacent Institute was built a year later in 1878. The Institute has been the centre of the town’s social, cultural and entertainment activity. It has served as a polling booth and centre for issuing ration books, and on its walls are hung the various Honour Rolls of the Fallen as well as prominent local citizens. A bio-box was added in 1949 and in 1951 it was noted that the Institute “… was equipped with modern fluorescent lighting, Dunlopillo seats in some chairs, a bio-box and an electric tea urn is the centre of communal life”. In 1987 the recent extension linkage was built and both buildings restored and upgraded. The buildings were originally enclosed along the front by picket fencing which survived as late as 1951. Again, in 2019, the Institute was refurbished, adding wheelchair access to the supper room and an all-abilities toilet, as well as refitting the kitchen with improved facilities. This refurbishment was supported through a Building Better Regions Fund grant in conjunction with the Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council.[1] The Institute continues to be a hub for the Mintaro community, for meetings and events, and as a place for gathering on solemn occasions. The annual ANZAC Dawn Service is held by the war memorial in front of the Institute. With its upgraded facilities the Institute is available for public hire as a venue for meetings, conferences, weddings, receptions and the like. Notes Mintaro conservation study, McDougall & Vines (Architectural & Heritage Consultants), Norwood, South Australia, 1988.