18. Mintaro Primary School
In 1853 the licensed country schools return listed a school at Mintaro with Edward James as teacher and an enrolment of 36 pupils (15 boys and 11 girls). The licensing of teachers and inspection of schools was under the charge of the Central Board of Education at this time. Thomas Gibson took over in 1854 and taught in Mintaro until 1860 by which time the enrolment had increased to 44 and the curriculum extended. There is no record of where this early school was located but it continued until a Government primary school building was erected in 1872 on Lot 11. The new school building which cost £445, could accommodate 76 pupils and may well have been constructed to counteract the competition of the Jesuit sponsored school established by James Horan in 1867. James Fry, who was the teacher of the licensed school in 1872 and as such had instigated the approach to the Central Board of Education for the new building, was appointed headmaster of the primary school. He remained in that position until 1902. The original school building consisted of a schoolroom (34 ft x 18 ft) with an attached residence. The residential section was enlarged some time during the 1890s presumably as Fry’s family increased in size. In 1922 when the school enrolment reached 105 pupils modifications were undertaken and the residential section converted to classroom use. A new residence was built a short distance from the school at this time. The number of pupils enrolled at the school has continued to fluctuate, the peak was 106 pupils in 1923, but the average number has been between 30-40 children. The building is well maintained and survives substantially intact apart from later unsympathetic corrugated iron lean-to additions. It retains a simple belfry and a well detailed stone and slate chimney.[1] With the closure of the school in 2006 it was sold into private hands as a residential property.
19. Miller’s House
Thomas Miller purchased Mintaro Lot 21 as well as the adjoining Lots 20 and 40 in February 1853 and … the choice of construction materials and general form of the house suggest it was built shortly after his land purchase. Inspection of the house indicates that there were at least two building stages and the original timber shingle roof was a lower hip and valley arrangement. The present pyramidal roof on the northern wing evolved when the house was re-roofed and the four ridges were continued to the present height. This building at the top of the hill forms a major landmark in Mintaro and is of great significance. It typifies an early domestic building which changed and evolved through a number of years of alteration. The stone walling associated with the house and the slate paving to verandahs is also significant.[1] ‘Thomas Miller with his devoted wife Rebecca and one son arrived in Adelaide, SA, on the Fairlie on 7th July 1840.’[2] By 1853 they had moved to Mintaro and bought the property on which they built their house. A newspaper notice in 1956 suggests he owned four sections of land near Mintaro, in the hills to the west and northwest of the town.[3] This is confirmed in the Clare Council Rate Assessment book for 1866-67 where Thos. Miller snr., of Burra St, Mintaro is recorded as having rateable properties in sections 187, 337, 344, 329 and 330. Thomas Miller and his wife were devout Wesleyan Methodists and were, among a number of early residents, instrumental in having the original chapel built in 1853 and the ‘mission house’ in 1858. As well as a trustee for the church Thomas was also a trustee for the Mintaro Institute Incorporated. In 1873 Thomas acquired two new sections of land adjacent to his original holdings (on the left as you leave Mintaro for Sevenhill) and then in 1892, not quite ten years later, he sold most of his holdings to South Australia’s Chief Justice, Samuel James Way. ‘Thomas died on 26th November 1895 while visiting son Charles at Yongala, and was buried in the Yongala Cemetery. Rebecca remained in Yongala with her family, dying on 9th March 1907. They had eleven children, nine sons and two daughters, all surviving to adulthood.’[4] The house and properties in Mintaro transferred to Rebecca in 1896. She then transferred them to widow Agnes Brinkworth (nee Nelson) who, a year later in 1897, married Walter Norris Rowe, blacksmith, son of William Matthews and Jane Rowe. Rebecca Miller died at age 88 on 9th March 1907. The house has changed hands numerous times since then. Recent work undertaken includes repairs to the dry stone walling on Young Street and the sympathetic construction of a small studio facing Burra Street. Remains of an old cellar unearthed during construction were thoughtfully incorporated into the new studio.
03. Devonshire Hotel & Stables
The Devonshire Hotel was built in 1856 on two levels, the upper floor at street level having several rooms, the rear one being 60 feet (18 mtrs) long and was used for public meetings and concerts until the Institute was built in 1878. The level below is divided into two longitudinally and was used as a skittle alley and shooting gallery. The hotel was originally owned by James Torr who was the first licensee from 1856 to 1864. In 1898 the hotel was de-licensed and became a temperance hotel (a term for boarding house), reflecting the influence of the temperance movement in late nineteenth century South Australia. A large stone building incorporating the hotel’s stables, coach house and barn can be seen at the rear from Wakefield Street. It has been converted to a dwelling, an example of how a “change of use” has seen many of Mintaro’s buildings conserved, renovated and hence survive. The Devonshire was the home of the Jacka family for many years until they sold it in 1980 for $26,000. After renovations, “Devonshire House” became the first heritage building in Mintaro to operate as Bed and Breakfast accommodation.
20. Blacksmith’s Shop
After the opening of the Railway Line to Gawler in 1857, the resultant change of route for the ore delivery by bullock wagon from Burra then bypassed Mintaro. The district entered a further phase of agricultural development and the blacksmith became a vital part of the facilities of the town. William Rowe was one of the two blacksmiths working in Mintaro during the 1860s (the other was Frederick Leighton). Rowe purchased Lot 17 and the northern half of Lot 44 from Joseph Loader (a labourer) in 1858 and the southern half of Lot 44 from Levi Parker (a shoemaker) in 1860. The blacksmith’s shop was built on the northern section of Lot 44 facing the Burra Road some time between 1858 and 1861. By 1861 Rowe was mentioned in the Register Report… “At a ploughing match in Auburn Mr. Rowe, an active competitor received the following prizes: best colonial made plough, best colonial made harrow, best plough on the grounds. The judges said this plough was not only unrivalled but unequalled by any which had come under their notice. Also at a Clare ploughing match the prize winner used a plough made by Mr. Rowe of Mintaro.” William Rowe continued as blacksmith in Mintaro until the 1890s. It is possible that he hired other men to assist him at times; and in the 1888 Directory there were 6 blacksmiths working in Mintaro. Rowe died in 1906 and his widow Jane sold the property to Mary Hunt, wife of Mintaro builder John Hunt. The building was no longer used as a blacksmith’s shop and has had various uses since then. For some time it was a mechanics workshop and then after 1955 became an agricultural storage shed. Some time during the early 1960s the main door was enlarged and the attractive arched opening and adjacent window were lost. This simple stone building with red brick coping is in poor condition. The ridge register to the roof has deteriorated with sections missing. The walls are still in sound condition but the building will deteriorate dramatically if maintenance and restoration works are not undertaken soon. The rear stone wall enclosure was probably a stable or holding area for horses. The walls to this area are in poor condition and deteriorating fast. There is a fine slate rain water tank attached to the side elevation.[1] The course of the Blacksmith Shop changed yet again in 1991 when Denise Klemm fell in love with this captivating old ruin. She expressed, “It is my deepest passion to breathe life back into a sleeping historical giant … to rekindle the energy, the hustle and bustle, the activity and creativity of old which once was driven by the sheer grit and determination of our pioneers … it is my wish to provide a place that ‘tweaks’ people’s zest for life, stops them in their tracks for a short moment to be lost in the ‘wonder of old’ – the skills, the sounds, the smells, the crafts, the memorabilia and historical story – just for the fun of living! At this point in time we are in danger of losing all of this.” She progressively achieved just this over a 20 year period and today it is a magnificent marriage of ‘old’ with ‘new’, now encompassing many functions; residence, B&B, seminar venue, live-in retreats and central to community events. The process began in 1998 with the reinstallation of the massive arched timber doors. The original keystone and cut stones were rescued from a creek bed 10 miles to the east of Mintaro. All can be seen today reinstated in their glory at the Blacksmith Shop entrance. The original 9 metre rough-sawn Oregon trusses were levelled and retained. The ‘lost’ loft was enlarged and a mezzanine bedroom and ensuite installed allowing grand views down into the now slate-floored Blacksmith living area. The Blacksmith’s substantial Redgum bench today features as the kitchen island cupboard. Mintaro Slate Quarries fashioned the bull-nosed kitchen bench tops from slate – 900 million years old!! The Butcher and Cobbler’s spaces are today a luxury bathroom and bedroom/study. The 13 metre long, 4 metre high slate and stone back wall was painstakingly ‘stood up straight’ from a dangerous lean, now repointed and stabilised to endure many more years.[2]
05. General Store
A store has occupied this property from as early as 1872. The original two-storey building on the site “burnt to the ground” on August 28, 1896. The current building was probably built shortly afterwards on the remains of the previous store. Early photographs indicate that the shop was a general store, and that for more than 50 years (at least) it was run by the same family. Photographs dated 1901-1906 show the ‘Pulford Bros. General Cash Traders’ as occupants, while the trading sign in a 1951 image shows the proprietor as ‘C.G. Pulford General Cash Trader’. Some sources suggest that poet C.J. Dennis may have lived in this dwelling for a short time in his youth, with his grandfather M. Tobin.[1] By the 1990s it was operating as an antiques shop. In 1991 the shop was fitted out and used during the shooting of the 1993 film ‘Hammers over the anvil’ starring Charlotte Rampling and Russell Crowe, and directed by Ann Turner.[2] Notes Mintaro State Heritage Area. Dwellings, stores, workshops and offices. State Heritage Places entered in the South Australian Heritage Register. Department for Environment and Heritage, 2006. IMDb, Hammers over the anvil (1993), https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101996/, accessed 1/9/2024.
21. William Hunt’s Workshop & Barn
This allotment was purchased in 1850 by R Morris a Yoeman. Three years later Peter Brady, who owned the slate quarries and much other land in and around Mintaro purchased the property for 52 pounds and 10 shillings. In 1856 Brady sold the property to William Hunt for 145 pounds. Once the workshop for carpenter William Hunt, the building is now sensitively renovated. For many years, a long ‘saw pit’ in the forecourt existed for sawing logs lengthwise into planks. This building is associated with Mintaro’s early development as a service centre for the Burra Mine, and is a rare South Australian example of an early carpenter’s workshop. William Hunt owned the four-bedroom house, a workshop, timber house and garden. He also constructed the stables at the rear, originally used the building as a carpenter’s workshop. These buildings then became a fuel storage depot. The floor was originally just dirt and has been replaced with Australian native Cypress Pine Boards. From 1999 this old building was restored. It is of stone construction with sapling rafters. The original shingle roof has been concealed by corrugated iron. A stone fence encloses the property and is an important feature along Burra Street.[1] William Hunt (1811-1902) was born in Button, Somerset, England, he was the youngest of 15 siblings. Arrived in Australia in 1854 on the ship Fortune at the age of 42 with his wife Elizabeth Anne (nee Hutfield 1819–1909). Elizabeth was born in Somerset England, married William in 1841 and they had eight children. Henry (1845—Deceased), Mary (1848-1878), George (1850—1911), Elizabeth (1855-1943), William (1854-?), Henry (1856-1927), Joseph (1859-1950) and John (1861-1946). After arriving in South Australia in 1854 they stayed in Adelaide for a short time before moving to Mintaro. William was a carpenter, miner and undertaker. He was a Primitive Methodist and lay preacher. William and Elizabeth are buried in Mintaro Cemetery.
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.