30. Merildin Railway Station & Yards
The Mintaro Station is between six and seven miles from Manoora, and here there is a combined shed as at Riverton, with the addition of a master’s house. At most of the other stopping places the Stationmasters have not residences erected on the spot, owing to the contiguity of neighboring townships, which give the necessary accommodation to the officials in question. This station, however, is four miles east of the Township of Mintaro, and hence the necessity of quarters being built for the Stationmaster.[1] This little known Railway Station complex is historically important for the manner in which it reflects features of the development of the railways in South Australia. The design and detailing of the buildings also mean that it is of architectural interest. The station was built in 1870 when the northern railway line was extended from Roseworthy to Burra.[2] Merildin railway station (once known as Mintaro) sits in solitary splendour in a paddock with the living legacy of the station master’s garden. It too is State heritage listed, but is so remote from the rest of Mintaro that it’s unlikely to find a new purpose in life.[3] “…the last passenger train to use the remaining line to Burra was a SteamRanger tour hauled by former SAR steam locomotive 621 on 19 September 1992. … In theory the line remains open in a dormant condition but has not seen a train in many years.”[4]
02. Mintaro Post Office
The Mintaro Post Office was built in 1883, although the township has had a postal service from 1866. The simple sandstone and brick building was built to a standard design repeated in many country towns. The sandstone is tuck pointed with black lining and red brick curved plinths are used. The Post Office Building is listed as a State Heritage Place on the State Heritage Register. It passed from The Commonwealth into private ownership in 1930 when it was sold to Frank McNamara for £4100. The McNamara’s continued to operate the postal agency until 1979 when it was sold to Stephen and Marilyn Geier. Since then, the building and postal agency has changed hands on four occasions. Various additions to the building were added over these years but recent conservation work has seen these removed. The postal agency continues to operate as the town’s distribution centre for letters and parcels, now for one hour a day, Monday to Friday. Banking agencies and other services are no longer provided.
04. Central Business Complex
The row of shops across the main street from the Post Office and Devonshire House was built in the 1850’s to service Mintaro’s commercial needs. The traditional ground floor commercial layout was complemented by upper floor living accommodation. In 1853 Joseph Gilbert sold Allotment No. 37 to shoemaker John Huxtable and then sold the northern section to James McWaters, a farmer, in March 1857. Lot 36, to its north, was originally owned by Frederick Leighton, a blacksmith who operated a forge and had stables behind the main building, the sections of the buildings over time were used for a variety of services and retail enterprises including fodder stores, a fruit and vegetable shop, a delicatessen that provided lunches to the Slate Quarry workers, a butcher and a branch of the ES&A Bank. Various families occupied the living areas until the 1980’s when both buildings were purchased by ‘entrepreneurs’ and renovated and converted to a small general store, tearooms, a restaurant and small conference centre and Bed and Breakfast accommodation, incorporating the attic bedrooms. Slate, a feature of many Mintaro buildings, has been used extensively to construct walls and paving on the ground floors and verandas. Stone horse mounting steps, originally located in front of the Post Office, are now a feature at the front of the shops, between an incredibly old Pepper tree and equally ancient Moreton Bay fig tree.
07. Reilly’s Boot Shop
This allotment was one of the earliest sold after Mintaro was subdivided in 1849, which suggests that the core of this building could date from the early 1850s. The 1857 rate assessment described the building as a shop and two rooms, occupied by Hugh Riley (sic), and owned by John Gurry. Hugh Reilly is known to have purchased the property in 1870, and although the land transaction lists his occupation as farmer, he was also listed in the almanacs of 1870 and 1871 as a shoemaker.[1] Hugh Reilly, a shoe and bootmaker from Cross Keys, County Cavan in Ireland, emigrated to South Australia at age 18 on the Lady Ann, arriving in Adelaide 2 October 1859 with his parents and siblings. Two older siblings had arrived two years earlier and had purchased land near Mintaro in their fathers name, allowing the family to emigrate on an assisted passage. Records suggest that Hugh opened a boot and shoe making business at the Blinman Mines in 1864.[2] Clare rate assessment records from 1865 to 1868 show that he operated a bootmakers in Mintaro alongside saddlers John Gurry and Philip Lane[3], and then purchased the title over Lot 34 from Dymphna Lester in November 1871.[4] He ran his boot and shoe making business here until 1876 when he sold up the ‘very Valuable Business Premises situated on Allotment No. 34, consisting of substantial Stone House of four rooms, and commodious Shop, Coachhouse, Stable, and Outbuildings, the whole of which are excellently finished and in thorough repair.’[5] It is possible that he may have travelled to London in 1877. The South Australian almanacs of the time list Hugh Reilly as working at Monarto in 1878 and 1879 but this may be a misspelling of Mintaro. He married Mary Lee and in 1880 opened a bootmakers shop in Yongala, where they raised a family of five children. Tragedy struck the family twice in 1894, first in May when the shop was destroyed by fire, and again in November when 10 year old daughter Eliza fell down a well and drowned. Hugh’s father, Michael Reilly, died 20 August 1885 at Farrell’s Flat and is buried in the Mintaro general cemetery. Hugh and Mary Reilly later removed to Adelaide, about 1900. Hugh died in 1919 and Mary in 1926. They are both buried in the Catholic section of Adelaide’s West Terrace Cemetery. After leaving Mintaro the property was sold to Michael Tobin, who also owned the general store on the adjacent corner on Hill street. The title transferred to his four unmarried daughters on his death in 1883, who later sold it to Richard Mortimer, stone cutter, in 1885. Purchased by Justin and Julie Ardill in 1993, today Reilly’s Cottage is home to Reillys Wines Cellar Door and Restaurant.
09. Flour Mill
This once important steam flour mill, constructed in 1859, is a tangible reminder of Mintaro’s role as an agricultural service and supply centre. It was first owned by John Smith, a substantial property owner in the town and district who purchased the adjacent Mintaro Hotel (now the Magpie and Stump) in 1858. The mill was used for grinding and dressing grain. The four pairs of grinding stones and two sets of rollers were driven by a twenty horsepower steam engine. It ceased operating in the mid 1870s and the machinery was transferred to the Jacka brothers’ mill at Morgan. The mill today has been substantially restored, including the reinstatement of its barrel-vaulted roof. Unfortunately the distinctly square chimney, which the mill had originally, has been lost.[1]
10. Wakefield Cottage
This building started as a simple four roomed cottage with rear skillion roofed lean-to. The projecting southern gable front was added some years later. The northern wing, attached by a breezeway was added in 2016. The original owner was John Smith, who also owned The Magpie and Stump Hotel and the adjacent Flour Mill. The properties were advertised for auction in February 1900 and described as ‘Allots. 76, 77, Township of Mintaro, containing 2 Acres, with 6-roomed Stone House thereon, known as the Mill House.’[1] Following Smith’s death in 1876, the house had a number of owners, including James Torr, the owner/publican of The Devonshire Arms, who donated the land on which the playground and bowling green sits today to the community. Another owner was William Skuse, an early Mintaro settler. Both Torr and Skuse are buried in the local cemetery. Their headstones reflect their differing wealth and station in life. Initial conservation work was carried out in the 1980s, and this included restoration of the shingled roof, some internal modifications and external consolidation work. The cottage was modified for its role as a restaurant in the 2000s and operated as such for a number of years. It has been a private residence undergoing ongoing extension and conservation since 2011.
13. St Peter’s Anglican Church
A simple Victorian Gothic church comprising one room, porch, gable roof. It was originally built as a Primitive Methodist Chapel in 1859 which closed in 1893 and remained unused till its conversion to the Anglican Church in 1905. In the Church of England Yearbook of 1894 it is noted that, “Great efforts have been made to re-establish a Sunday service at Mintaro, but hitherto without success. There are so few who would attend our church that they will not be responsible for the expense of renting a suitable building”. (1) Despite this apparent lack of enthusiasm, however, fortnightly services were eventually conducted in the Institute building from March, 1903, to August, 1905, by the Reverend Frank Sewell, Anglican Minister for Auburn and district. “In the month of March, 1905, Rosina Forsyth Mortlock (wife of William Tennant Mortlock, owner of “Martindale” station) commenced the movement for providing a permanent building for church purposes. In that month a meeting was called by the Rev. F. Sewell, presided over by the Archdeacon of the district, the Ven. Archdeacon Russell, at which it was decided to purchase an old disused protestant meeting house, which had been used originally by the Primitive Methodist sect, now unrepresented in the village”.(2) The church and land (including a four-roomed house and stable, later demolished to build a small Sunday school, which was itself demolished sometime between 1972 and 1981) was then bought from a Mr. Sydney Torr at a cost of ninety pounds. “A contract was entered into with Mr. Arthur of Manoora to make good the structure, to alter certain arrangements, and to erect others according to plans furnished by the Rev. W. Eugene Perrin, Rector of Unley”.(3) The restoration of the Church cost one hundred and twenty one pounds seventeen shillings with furnishings at thirty nine pounds nine shillings; the dedication took place on 17 August, 1905, and the church was renamed after the patron saint of St. Peter. The Mortlocks strongly supported the establishment of the church including the donation of numerous embelishments such as the altar candlesticks, and altar paintings added in 1914. Evidence suggests that without the instigation of the Mortlocks, the Anglican church may well have decided not to acquire the old Primitive Methodist chapel. In effect this building has a two-fold historical significance, being linked with the growth of Methodism in Mintaro in the 1850s and 1860s, and also, in latter times, illustrating the social influence of the large pastoralists in the district who by and large supported the Anglican faith because of their “social station”. Sources Vestry Record in St. John’s (sic) Anglican Church, Mintaro. (2) and (3). 1894 Church of England Yearbook Page 335 (1) “Methodism in Auburn and District”, Rev. Ian Paull, 1961 Page 13. — quoted from Mintaro Conservation Study[1] NOTES 1. Mintaro conservation study, McDougall & Vines (Architectural & Heritage Consultants), Norwood, South Australia, 1988.
29. Mortlock Park
Mortlock Park is community land held in trust by the Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council to help provide recreation facilities for the community of Mintaro, the Clare and Gilbert Valleys region and visitors to the area. Council manage the property and the Mintaro Progress Association, through a lease agreement with Council, maintain the recreation facilities. The Association’s Mortlock Park Subcommittee is responsible for day-to-day maintenance, and are assisted by the Mintaro-affiliated sporting clubs who participate at the Park. The main user of the Mortlock Park grounds is the Mintaro Manoora Sporting Club. The Sporting Club along with Mortlock Park Subcommittee organise the running, setup and maintenance of the oval and netball courts and applicable facilities for the community. The facilities are used for football and netball games and functions during the winter season. Cricket games during the summer season are coordinated by the Auburn-Mintaro Cricket Club. Mortlock Park is made up of an oval, 3 netball courts, clubrooms, toilets, multiple sheds and water resources. The clubrooms are used for community and private functions. It is fully equipped with a stainless steel kitchen, including large oven and dishwasher, and also includes multiple change room facilities for team sports. In 2013 a portion of the Mortlock Park property was leased to the Minister for Emergency Services and houses the local CFS buildings and assets. This area is managed by the Mintaro CFS. In 2017 Mortlock Park was designated as the ‘Fire Last Resort Refuge’ for the community. Access to Mortlock Park for visitors, community members and sporting supporters should be made on the western side of the grounds, off Mintaro Road, through the Frederick Ranson Mortlock Memorial Entrance Gates.[1] Mintaro Progress Association sought approval in 2022 for the Frederick Ranson Mortlock Memorial Gates, which had been damaged and deemed unstable, to be redesigned to meet the entrance needs of the current century. They were rebuilt in 2023 with community support and were rededicated at a ceremony on 24 February 2024.
14. Wesleyan Methodist Church Group
The two most prominent religious denominations in Mintaro last century were the Wesleyan Methodists and the Roman Catholics but together with the Primitive Methodists and the Bible Christians, Methodism clearly dominated the religious life of the town. Many of the early pioneers of the town and district were active Methodists such as Edward Tralaggan, Thompson Priest, James Torr, George Sandow, Henry Jolly, and others. These settlers supported the establishment of the first Wesleyan Methodist church which was built in 1854 at a cost of £150. The builders were Messrs. Jenkins, J. Jenkins and Blackley and the Chapel built was one room with a door in front and one at the back, and two windows in each side. The 1854 Wesleyan Church was the first church built in Mintaro followed by St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church which was dedicated in 1856. More Cornish people had been attracted to the town to work in Thompson Priest’s slate quarry and miners from Burra who had returned from the Victorian gold rush bought sections of land with their earnings and set up homes. Hence the population of Mintaro itself grew and also the proportion of the town that were practising Methodists. In 1867 the larger Wesleyan Methodist Church was built and dedicated in May of that year. This building was renovated in 1914 at a cost of £72.1Os. and a wunderlich ceiling added. Redecoration was again carried out in 1934. These two buildings are significant because they illustrate different stages in growth of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Mintaro. The 1854 Church is an excellent example of a late primitive church with stone detailing which is rare in Mintaro. The 1867 Church is more sophisticated Victorian Gothic. There is additional visual emphasis on the front facade with corner buttresses, a small tower/spire, carved stone scroll and a slightly projecting porch.[1] Don and Julie Benger bought the two Methodist Churches in 1993. By this time the congregation numbers had dwindled. The small church or Sunday School Room, as it became known, was used occasionally and the larger church for special occasions such as ecumenical Christmas and Easter celebrations. In 2018 the Edmunds family bought the manse and the churches, which are being renovated. NOTES 1. Edited extract from Mintaro conservation study, McDougall & Vines (Architectural & Heritage Consultants), Norwood, South Australia, 1988.
15. Wesleyan Manse
The Wesleyan Parsonage was built in 1859 close to the 1854 Church and at the time of building was referred to as “the Mission House”. The house had two rooms with a passage. It was built in the southeast corner of the Chapel acre by Mr. John Pearce. The woodwork was let to Mr. Jolley (sic) … Mr. Thompson Priest plastered the inside walls of the house. The original Parsonage was substantially added to in 1891 when three rooms and a passage on the northern side of the house were built by Mr. H.D. Jolley (sic) for £249.10s. to the design by Reverend S. Rossiter.[1] The Parsonage was subdivided from the Church group and sold separately in 1972. The manse was bought by Don and Julie Benger in 1990 and used as a residence. They also hosted bed and breakfast accommodation, including in the western accommodation wing which was built by Clare stonemason Max Hoad in 1993.[2] The Edmunds family bought the manse and the churches in 2018. The manse has been renovated since then.