Brownhi ll C ree hu e Brownhi ll C ree hu e `Proud of our history and

Brownhill Creek Association Inc.
Brownhill Creek has been used and treated in many different
ways over the past 150 years, and concerns for its protection
led to the formation of the Brownhill Creek Association. The
Association is a non-profit incorporated body committed to
enhancing and preserving the natural and built heritage of the
Brownhill Creek catchment area.
Brownhi
walk br ll Cre
och e
ur k
e
The aims and activities of the Association are:
City of Mitcham
131 Belair Road
Torrens Park SA 5062
Phone : (08) 8372 8888
Facsimile (08) 8372 8101
www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au
Local History Service
City of Mitcham
This route, which begins at Belair and ends at
Goodwood, is intended as a walking tour, but it can
also be used by persons travelling by car, wheelchair
or bicycle. The numbers on the maps refer to features
described in the text. Enter and leave the route
wherever you please. You can do single suburb
sections at different times, or start and finish at any
of four railway stations. Train stations can be used
by walkers, cyclists and those using wheel chairs to
access different points from Adelaide, or to return
to their cars. Side trips are shown highlighted in the
shaded boxes.
‘Proud of our
history and
Other walking tour brochures published by The City
of Mitcham are available free from the Council Civic
Centre at 131 Belair Road, Torrens Park.
committed to
our future’
© Text Marcus Beresford 2003
City of Mitcham Jan 2004
brownhill creek cover.indd 1
It is hard to visualise what an important feature the
Brownhill Creek once was on the south-eastern
Adelaide Plains. The route described in this brochure
traces the watercourse through now disparate
aspects and communities in the region, suggesting a
unifying thread.
Mighty River Red Gums mark its course, and along
the way it passes through numerous leafy reserves,
parks and heritage areas. In the adjacent streets many
examples of simple colonial cottages and shops, as well
as stately homes built by ‘the gentry’ can be found.
• To promote the conservation and enhancement of
Brownhill Creek as a watercourse and scenic feature of
the environment.
• To promote conservation and enhancement of the natural
ecology, human historic and heritage attributes, and good
management of land and activities in the catchment.
• To promote circulation of information, execution of
works, liaison with individuals and groups with a
common purpose, and other activities.
Enquiries to Marcus Beresford, Co-ordinator, P.O. Box 113,
Mitcham Shopping Centre, Torrens Park, S.A. 5062.
This brochure is
proudly provided
by the
The Brownhill creek Walk
Whistler’s Way
A recreational route exploring the natural
environment and the built heritage along a
suburban waterway
Toilets are available at:
• Mitcham Reserve, Old Belair Road, Mitcham Village.
• Mitcham Shopping Centre, Belair Road, Torrens Park.
• Soldiers Memorial Gardens, corner of Belair Road and
Angas Road, Hawthorn.
• Heywood Park, near Addiscombe Place, Unley Park.
• Rear of former Orphanage, Goodwood Road,
Millswood.
Cover photo- Brownhill Creek c1910.
photo C.A. Petts. Now the site of the Brownhill
Creek Caravan Park
24/10/2008 11:06:04 AM
Park St
38
FINISH
Goodwood Railway Station
Main route
Side trips
Brownhill Creek
Reserves/Parks
Railway and Stations
Victoria
Northgate
34
32
UNLEY
PARK
Cross Road
HAWTHORN
30
WESTBOURNE
PARK
29
28
LOWER
MITCHAM
KINGSWOOD
NETHERBY
27
26
Grange Rd
Pr
22
24
Features described in the text
1
31
23
25
in
ce
MITCHAM
VILLAGE
s Rd
21
Fullarton Rd
36
35
33
18
19
17
13
TORRENS 1 5
PARK 2 0
Blythewood Rd
SPRINGFIELD
12
14
BROWN
HILL
11
16
CLAPHAM
10
so
Elli
ns
elair
Old B
R
d
Goodwood Rd
Belair Railway Station
HYDE
PARK
37
MILLSWOOD
START
Further reading
Gu
ll y
Mitchell St
UNLEY
Unley Rd
40
Brownhill Creek Walking Tour
Belair Rd
39
King William Rd
42
ne
mli
a
r
T
ity
to C
FINISH
41
GOODWOOD
d
Springbank Rd
7
ill Creek Rd
Brownh
5
3
BELAIR
air Rd
Bel
idg
eR
d
8
START
1
Sheoak
2
Rd
Pony
B
R
air
l
e
6
4
9
Further information on the history of
the Brownhill Creek area is available
from the
Mitcham Heritage Research Centre,
City of Mitcham
R
NATIONAL PARK
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Historical Background
Brownhill Creek Walk
Until 1836 the Adelaide Plains were territorial
land of the Kaurna Aborigines. One of the
favourite camping and gathering grounds
was along a creek near the base of a gentlyrounded brown hill. To these people this area
was Wirraparinga ‘scrub-and-creek place’. To
the early European settlers it became known
as ‘Brownhill Creek’ which provided rich
alluvial soils and a good water supply for
intensive cultivation.
In 1837 the South Australian Company
established its ‘No.1 Sheep Station’ along the
Brownhill Creek Valley. The series of sheep
stations were necessary to fatten animals
overlanded from the eastern colonies before
they were butchered for the settlers’ meals. In
1840 the Company established the Mitcham
Village, named after the English home of
William Giles, the London manager of the South
Australian Company.
Brownhill Creek
The South Australian Company discontinued its
interest in stock in the early 1840s.
In the Adelaide Independent newspaper on 28
Oct 1841 it was reported that “a specimen of
freestone considered to be of excellent quality
was obtained by a quarry recently opened near
Brownhill Creek.” This is one of the earliest
references in the area to quarrying which
became a major industry. Many old quarries will
be seen during this walk.
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 1
W A L K
A month after the newspaper report in
November 1841, Arthur Hardy, who had
purchased a Land Order in England in 1838,
wrote to the Surveyor General to take up his
land. He was particularly interested in the
creek running from the south side of Brownhill,
however he was informed “that the reservation
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Historical Background
of the Brown Hill Creek for Public purposes
not having been abandoned … but is still being
the intention of the government to appropriate
it to the purposes for which it has been set
apart.” The ‘public purposes’ may have been
the potential building stone, water or timber,
all necessary commodities for encouraging
settlement in the colony at that time.
Systematic surveying of the surrounding hills
was carried out in the late 1840s and much of
the land was quickly taken up by John Grainger.
Although he returned to England in 1855,
Grainger retained it until he died in 1872.
When the District Council of Mitcham was
proclaimed in May 1853 it was the first local
governing body to be formed outside of the City
of Adelaide. The original area was considerably
larger than the present City of Mitcham. In
1871 the land north of Cross Road to the
Parklands became the Corporate Town of Unley.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
Quality water was an essential commodity
for the settlers in Adelaide. Calculations and
measurements were made in the early 1850s
and although the residents of Mitcham Village
depended on it, over twenty years passed before
a pipeline carried it to local households and
on to Adelaide. Water from Brownhill Creek
enabled orchards, market gardens, dairies and
breweries to be established.
It was in 1858 that present day Brownhill
Creek Reserve appeared on maps as a Reserve
by which time quarrying near Brownhill Creek
was set to become a major industry for the
district, providing building material, road metal
and railway ballast over the next 100 years.
2
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Historical Background
This walk along Brownhill Creek, Whistler’s
Way is named after Thomas Whistler (18051896) a land speculator and ‘gentleman farmer’
who arrived in South Australia on the ‘Fairlie’
in 1840. He acquired Sections 236, 237 and
238 (a total of some 400 acres or 162ha) which
now form the suburbs of Unley Park, Hyde
Park and the southern part of Unley. Whistler
built his thatched-roof cottage on the banks of
Brownhill Creek near where it passes through
present-day Heywood Park, and he frequently
followed the watercourse up to its source in the
hills to shoot birds. For over a year, following
an accident, he resided in Mitcham Village with
his cousin Mrs Elizabeth Bayley. They returned
to England in 1856.
W A L K
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 3
Brownhill Creek
During Thomas Whistler’s residence in the
district between 1840 and 1856 he would
have seen great changes along Brownhill Creek
as settlers cleared their land for farming or
built their cottages in the villages of Mitcham
and Unley. He saw his cousin’s daughter
Elizabeth Caroline Bayley marry Thomas
Moulden, brewer of ‘Deepdell’ Brownhill
Creek in 1850 and later have three children
and also experience insolvency. He would also
have seen the wealth from the Burra Copper
mines, the discovery of silver and lead at Glen
Osmond, speculation in Wheal Grainger mine,
Brownhill Creek, and people leaving for the
Victorian gold fields. The District Council of
Mitcham was proclaimed, main roads were
cleared of large trees and Princes Road was
opened so that people could reach Mitcham
without having to cross Brownhill Creek.
During this era, over 127 children were born
and 35 people died with their address as
Brownhill Creek as it flowed through present
day suburbs of Lower Mitcham and Hawthorn
and then onwards to the sea.
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BELAIR
Belair Railway Station (1879-83) is a good starting
point for walkers and cyclists. Motorists and
wheelchair users, after exploring Belair, can rejoin
the tour at the end of Brownhill Creek Road.
Sheoak Road ridge is geographically significant
as the water from the south side drains into
Sturt Creek while the north side drains into
Brownhill Creek.
From 1855 settlement at Belair was promoted
by Gustav Ludewigs when he leased small
portions of his property to others.
W A L K
The railway opening in 1883 and much later,
a reticulated water supply to Belair in 1927,
encouraged settlement in the hills.
Belair Railway Station, 1910s
photo CA Petts
Brownhill Creek
1 The Belair Railway Station is part of a
special precinct containing numerous other
heritage-listed buildings along Sheoak Road,
including the former Holy Innocents Church
near the corner of James Road. Built in 1898,
it is now the Chapel for nearby St John’s
Grammar School.
In 1912, many children from Brownhill Creek
climbed the hill every day to attend the new
Belair Public School on Sheoak Road.
4
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BELAIR
Simple cottages built for railway workers and
charming large homes such as ‘Willa Willa’
(1897) at No.49 Sheoak Road are examples
of housing styles over a century represented
along Sheoak Road.
Dr TK Hamilton’s house ‘Willa Willa’ later
‘Birralee’ on Sheoak Road Belair, 1910 photo CA Petts
Brownhill Creek
2 South of Belair Station is Belair National Park
(Kaurna Aboriginal name Piradli), one of the
oldest parks in the world. Established in 1891 on
the site of the Government Farm, it includes the
delightful former Governors’ summer residence
(1860), with its spring-fed indoor pool. The 835ha
park is forest (kerta) and woodland including
Messmate Stringybark (yulti), Sheoak (karko),
Blue Gum, Grey Box and Pink Gum and is a site
of the endangered Leafy Greenhood Orchids.
Many tributaries from the upper reaches of
the hills run into Brownhill Creek. One from
the north side of Sheoak Road was described
in 1850, as “a fine stream of water running
through the section” no doubt contributing to
an orchard and kitchen garden, stockyard and
small hay paddock, later becoming Halstead’s
property from 1893 to the 1950s.
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 5
W A L K
Turn left down Pony Ridge Road, which
becomes a hiking trail down the steep slope to
the Brownhill Creek Valley (cyclists will need to
walk this section). Note the small patch of bush
with yaccas (Aboriginal name kurru) to the left
and, in spring, native orchids to the right.
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belair
In 1847, Section 1099, through which
Pony Ridge Trail runs today, was taken up
by brothers Uriah and Charles Whittle who
quickly established ‘Highland Home Estate’
and offered it for sale two years later. An
advertisement in May 1849 described it as
featuring an “inexhaustible supply of water all
the year round; at this moment it would supply
Adelaide.” The Whittles were one of the first
people to plant fruit trees along the creek.
The sources of Brownhill Creek are in the
Crafers/Stirling area near the H.K. Fry National
Trust Reserve, Heath Road, Crafers West.
3 At the bottom of the Pony Ridge Trail are
some small 19th-century houses.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
These homes and plots formed a colonial
market gardening area that produced fruit
and vegetables for the Adelaide market from
the early 1850s until the 1970s. Some of the
families who lived and worked these market
gardens and orchards were Curtis, Richardson,
Grigg, Williams, Foster, Squires, Merkel, Brooks,
Copeland, Tilley, Orchard and Johnson. Many
were related to each other.
Williams market garden, 1980
photo PM Oborn
6
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brownhill creek recreation park
4 Walk west down the road, passing more
small cottages (1860-80s), to the eastern
end of the Brownhill Creek Recreation Park.
This was proclaimed a Public Reserve as early
as 1858, making it arguably one of the oldest
parks in SA. It was named a ‘National Pleasure
Resort’ in 1915 and is now a designated part of
Yurrebilla, the Greater Mount Lofty Parkland.
A row of huge Sugar Gums (normally found in
the Mid North) were planted to commemorate
Federation in 1901. Kookaburras frequent here.
5 Across the road is ‘Park End’ a metal-clad
cottage built from recycled materials in
the late 1920s at the beginning of the Great
Depression.
In March 1867, The Chronicle reported that,
Brownhill Creek
“a very serious accident occurred to a woman
named Siekmann (sic) (possibly Louise
Seigmund) living at Brownhill Creek, near
Mitcham. It appears that as she was proceeding
homewards from the Adelaide Market, with a
load of manure, on the top of which she was
seated, she was met by a dray loaded with stone,
occupying the centre of the road. She at once
drew off to her right side of the way, expecting
the drayman to do likewise, instead of which the
fellow continued on his way and ran his wheel
into the cart, with such force as to precipitate
the poor woman to the ground. Dr Spicer was
sent for and upon examination found that several
of her ribs were literally smashed in, besides
other severe internal and external injuries. She
at present lies in a most precarious state. The
conduct of the driver of the dray is blameable
in the extreme, for it appears that although the
woman called to him for assistance he took no
notice of her, but proceeded on his way leaving
her laying on the ground injured and helpless.”
W A L K
No death was recorded in 1867.
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brownhill creek recreation park
6 The manure pits were constructed in the
early 1890s for local market gardeners
to deposit loads of manure as their horses
struggled up the hill. They were amongst the first
environment protection measures in the state.
Across the ford was a Baptist chapel school-room
built in 1874, now replaced by a pise house.
Manure pits sketch PM Oborn
W A L K
You are walking past an area being restored to
River Red and Blue Gum woodland following
removal of pest plants including olives and
Aleppo Pines. Note the old dead River Red Gum,
with its burn-marked interior, which would have
been an Aboriginal shelter tree.
Brownhill Creek
The plantation of gum trees on the south side of
Brownhill Creek Road, east of Munday’s stone
crusher, was planted in the 1950s or 60s by Kev
Hill who was the last Resident Ranger of the
Brownhill Creek Reserve Caravan Park.
7 Further down on your left can be seen the
stone wall ruins of Munday’s rock-crushing
plant. The Munday or Mundy family operated
a quarry from 1869 when Henry Mundy asked
Council to be allowed to cut a road through to
his property. Crushed bluestone was supplied
to Council for road metal. Henry Mundy’s son
David Henry married Ellen Hermina White,
which may account for the name of the bridge
near here (or was it simply painted white?).
8
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brownhill creek recreation park
This bridge was replaced by the SA Reinforced
Concrete Company which had also built a
bridge downstream at Hawthorn a few years
before in 1919.
The remains of Munday’s rock-crushing plant
Sulphur-crested and Yellow-tailed Black
Cockatoos are often seen here.
Brownhill Creek
Relax for a while in the Mitcham Lions Club
picnic area.
8 Behind the picnic area is a historic quarry
from which stone was extracted in the
early 1850s for lining gutters and kerbing in
Hindley and Rundle Streets in Adelaide.
W A L K
Walkers can cross the bridge and continue the
route as described on the next page, or take
a delightful tree-lined walking trail along the
western bank of the creek. This will exit at
Neweys Road which then leads to the Mitcham
Reserve to resume the main route.
During the 1890s Mitcham District Council
planted Willows and Walnut trees along
Brownhill Creek.
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 9
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brownhill creek recreation park
9 From the picnic area, the route crosses
Brownhill Creek at White Bridge.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
Under the big old oak tree there is a cast-iron
drinking fountain on your right. It was part
of important colonial waterworks through
the Brownhill Creek valley and its northern
tributary, Ellison’s Gully. In this major
undertaking in 1879 water fed by gravity
from a spring into a brick tank then over
2 miles through a cast iron pipe, imported
from Scotland, to an underground tank near
McElligott’s Quarry. Some of the old piping is
still visible near White Bridge.
‘White Bridge’ over Brownhill Creek and
piping, on the far right, the waterworks, 1900
photo Mrs Moyle
10
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brownhill creek recreation park
By the summer of 1882 Mitcham District
Council had three drinking fountains installed
- one at the ‘Big Tree’ Brownhill Creek, one at
Mitcham Institute and one at the horse-tram
terminus, Mitcham.
The Oak tree was one of several exotic trees
planted in 1888 by Mitcham District Council
Chairman Bagshaw and Councillors Grimes,
Hewett, Murray and Ralph together with
Council Clerk Batt.
10 In the centre of the Caravan Park is the
‘Monarch of the Glen’, a 400-year-old
River Red Gum which over the years sheltered
Aborigines, colonists and a family until as late
as the 1950s. Many early settlers lived in the
Park, including women’s electoral reformer
Catherine Helen Spence as a child.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 11
Monarch of the Glen, 1910s
photo CA Petts
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brownhill creek recreation park
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
During 1893 a weir was built across the creek
for a swimming bath however, by 1901 notices
were in place NOT allowing bathing between
sunrise and half an hour after sunset. By 1912
council was lobbying for the Government to
resume the Bathing Reserve.
The old swimming hole near the present day
caravan park, 1890s photo Mrs Moyle
Shortly after exiting the Caravan Park, keen
walkers can follow the ‘Peter Nelson Walking
Trail’ up a steep, narrow path to McElligott’s
Quarry Reserve at the top of Carrick Hill Drive
where a lookout area provides marvellous views
over the Adelaide Plains.
12
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mitcham village
11 In the side of the hill nearby is embedded
the 27,000 gallon brick tank for the old
water supply to Mitcham and beyond. This tank
was State and National Heritage Listed in 1999.
Walk down the road to Church Road and pick
up the route at St Michael’s Anglican Church.
Princes Rd
Rd
Evans Ave
Rd
12
13
Pages Rd
15
Ne
Brownhill Creek Rd
Church Rd
Norman Walk
Old
Be
lai
r
20
Muggs Hill Rd
Albert St
Carrick Hill Dr
17
High St
19
s
or
yl
a
T
St Michaels Rd
Maitland St
Bradey St
Rose Ln
Gilpin Ln
Welbourne St
18
we
Hoggs Rd
ys
Rd
14
Blythewood Rd
ill
11
ve
kA
r oo
Rd
eek
Cr
b
rth
nh
ow
Br
No
16
W A L K
The Mitcham Village Walk Brochure is
available from the City of Mitcham giving
details of walks in this area.
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 13
Brownhill Creek
Peter Nelson
Walking Trail
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mitcham village
There is a monument at the northern end of the
Brownhill Creek Recreation Park marking the
dedication of the Park. On the opposite side of
the road is Grainger’s Quarry which supplied
the stone for St Michael’s Church. Between
here and Hoggs Road several old cottages
remain of the six built in the 1870s for quarry
workers and their families.
Follow the road into the housing areas and
turn right up (steep) Hoggs Road.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
12 On the northern side is the arched,
slate-roofed verandah of ‘Rust Hall’, built
c1847 to the design of George Kingston, but
remarkably modern in appearance.
View north east towards Mitcham Village across
Brownhill Creek. ‘Rust Hall’ middle distance on
Hoggs Road and Grainger’s Quarry on the far right
13 Walk along Pages Road and up Church
Road to historic St Michael’s Anglican
Church which opened in 1852.
14 A short walk up Carrick Hill Drive leads to
the entrance of ‘Carrick Hill’. This stately
home and its lovely landscaped gardens are
open to the public.
15 Go downhill again to Brownhill Creek
Road and turn left into Mitcham Reserve,
the former Village Green, now divided up by
roads.
14
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mitcham village
The road across the Village of Mitcham, through
the Village Green or Reserve was opened in the
mid 1860s, with a ford providing a crossing of
the creek until 1875 when the keystone bridge
was constructed by John Prince. A flood during
construction washed the partly built bridge
away and work had to begin again. Nearby
cottages and market gardens were also flooded.
Keystone Bridge over Brownhill Creek on Old
Belair Road also showing the original ford
photo CA Petts
Brownhill Creek
16 Follow Old Belair Road uphill to the three
Mitcham Cemeteries. The earliest graves
date back to 1853. See the Mitcham Village
Walk Brochure.
The creek flowing through the Reserve gave
public access to Mitcham Villagers before it
entered the large estates. Water was used for
the extensive gardens of ‘Kallawar’ and ‘Torrens
Park’, now Scotch College.
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 15
W A L K
A thunderstorm one hot afternoon in February
1897 brought the creek down so quickly that
two people, Annie Marie Hooper aged 23 years,
and 22 year old John Sanders Moyse were
drowned in separate incidents. A month later,
John’s sister-in-law gave birth to a son whom
they named after him. The creek water was
15
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mitcham village
four feet over the bridge near the Torrens Arms
Hotel and extended for about a quarter of a mile
along Bulls Creek Road, (now Belair Road).
Prince family in ‘Kallawar’ garden, c1890
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
This flood and the 1902 earthquake weakened
‘Kallawar’ the over 50-year-old two storey
bluestone home of George Prince and it was
demolished and replaced.
‘Kallawar’ homestead, c1885 of George Prince
damaged by flooding and earthquake and
demolished in the 1900s
16
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mitcham village
From the Reserve the creek flows into Scotch
College Junior School which is private property.
17 Go through Sutton Gardens to Albert
Street, and you are in the heart of the
Mitcham Village Historic (Conservation) Zone.
The Village was laid out in 1840.
Walk down Albert Street past the grand gates of
‘Kallawar’ (c1849).
18 To the north at the far end of Welbourne
Street is the Mitcham Village Institute
(1870) with a craft shop behind it.
Along the way, note Stamps Restaurant
(originally a drapery shop, 1894); a former
manse at No.10 and Welbourne Antiques
(formerly a bakery built c1880). Walk through
Bradey Street to High Street for lunch or a drink
at the Edinburgh Hotel which dates from 1869,
then back to Albert Street which continues as
Lochness Avenue.
W A L K
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 17
Brownhill Creek
19 Thomas Whistler lived at No.6 (built
c1846) with Mrs Elizabeth Bayley and
her family whilst he was convalescing after
a bad fall from his horse. Opposite is the old
‘Kallawar’ stable. Around the corner in Muggs
Hill Road a ford crosses Brownhill Creek. This
was part of the original Adelaide–Belair route.
No 6 Lochness Avenue
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Torrens Park
20 Walk up Muggs Hill Road as far as Evans
Avenue and note the former East Lodge
Gatehouse. It was the original entrance to
‘Torrens Park Estate’ (1853).
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
Muggs Hill Road ford, Charles Petts home is in
the distance, c1910 photo CA Petts
At the end of Lochness Avenue a low stretch of
the creek was dammed in the 1860s to create
an ornamental lake in the ‘Torrens Park Estate’
A banana plantation and an orangery were
irrigated and sometimes flooded by water from
the creek.
Torrens Park Lake, c1880
18
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Belair Rd
Torrens Park
Pr
in
22
23
ce
sR
oa
d
N
ew
ar
k
Rd
Ardeer
Ayr Ave
Carruth Rd
Bela
y
H i l l s R a il w a
Lin e
ir
Ballogie
Paisley Ave
21
Lochness Ave
Muggs Hill Rd
Road
Lochwinoch Ave
Fife Av
Scotch College
Blythewood Road
Brownhill Creek
21 At a tiny reserve on the banks of the creek,
a plaque records the work done here by
Mrs Betty Long who lived nearby, extending her
garden along the banks of Brownhill Creek from
1967 until her death in 1999.
Walkers, wheelchair users and cyclists can
cross a footbridge into Paisley Avenue then
almost immediately turn right and cross
another footbridge into Fife Avenue.
W A L K
Motorists can follow Ballogie Road and Fife
Avenue to the Lochwinnoch Road roundabout
where the creek passes underneath the road.
22 Now take Ayr Avenue and Newark Road
to the Mitcham Shopping Centre where
the hidden course of Brownhill Creek will be
indicated by huge River Red Gums.
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 19
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torrens park
23 The fine Art Deco style Council Civic
Centre to the south was designed by Dean
Berry and built in 1934. The creek shows itself
briefly north of Woolworths before disappearing
under nearby shops and Belair Road.
Cross Belair Road at the traffic lights and go
west into Grange Road.
Cross Road
30
Godden
Devonshire St
27
28
Durdin
26
Angas Rd
25
24
20
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 20
Belair Road
Frimley
Gr
George St
Abbotshall
Jervois St
29
Kent St
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
Hampton St
Wemyss
Grange Rd
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Hawthorn
See Abbotshall Walk brochure for more
details of this area.
24 The former Mitcham Public School (1879).
25 Nearby is the Mitcham Railway Station
(1883).
26 On to the corner of Grange Road and
Abbotshall Road is the State Heritage listed
industrial building. This was formerly Bosley’s
Pottery. (now St Vincent de Paul).
Turn right into Abbotshall Road.
Brownhill Creek
In 1913 Anthony S Kidman, a nephew of Sir
Sidney Kidman bought ‘Abbotshall’ between
Abbotshall and Belair Roads and, by straightening
the creek, assisted subdivision of the area
by providing more level blocks of land. The
combination of water from the creek and the
railway opening in 1883 encouraged people to
take up allotments in Hawthorn. Some astute
people bought a number of blocks along the creek
and utilised the creek flats for grazing dairy cattle.
Others planted extensive gardens and remnants
of these can be seen as you proceed north.
At the northern end of Abbotshall Road, turn
right into Angas Road. The creek is again
clearly visible in the Soldiers Memorial Gardens
on the corner of Belair and Angas Roads
adjacent to the Library.
W A L K
27 Diagonally behind the Library is a scented
garden and Mitcham Community Court,
formerly ‘St Georges’. Its internal walls are
thought to have been constructed from pug and
stone collected from nearby Brownhill Creek.
If you are travelling by car or in a wheelchair continue west along Angas Road past
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 21
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Hawthorn
the handsome two-storey mansion ‘Willow
Brook’. It had a billiard room, ballroom,
marble swimming pool and a tunnel acting as a
breezeway from the dairy.
28 Turn right into Frimley Grove and note the
magnificent River Red Gum in the middle of
the road, then along leafy Durdin and Cameron
Roads to George Street.
From the Soldiers Memorial Gardens walkers
can follow the creek as it passes behind ‘St
Georges’ two-storey stable, past the Mitcham
Air Force Association Bowling Clubrooms and
the Mitcham 50 Plus Clubrooms, then walk
over two footbridges into a park.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
29 J.W.S. Morris Park. Between the two
bridges there is a small weir across the
creek and a branch of the creek loops around
this area. This once complemented the garden
of ‘Ardmeen’, the home of father and son
doctors, Arthur and Kyle Gault.
Kyle and
Ruth Gault
playing in
Brownhill
Creek, near
‘Ardmeen’,
1910s
photo M Hone
22
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Hawthorn
From the 1850s several generations of the
Thomas family lived in this area and they ran
dairy cows along the creek flats.
The park exits onto George Street where in
1916 the bridge over the creek was washed
away and replaced with a temporary footbridge.
The small Delwood Reserve is on the corner of
Kent Street.
Brownhill Creek
30 Go along Kent to Devonshire Street,
then west to Jervois Street where in 1894
Mitcham District Council obtained road metal
from extensive gravel pits along the creek flats.
In 1911 a £95 tender was accepted from the SA
Reinforced Concrete Company to build a bridge
at Devonshire Street and a grand opening was
proposed. The creek here flows through lawned
Godden Reserve. John Henry Godden took up
a large block in this vicinity in 1883. When he
died in 1921 the property was left to his wife
Frances. Following her death in 1945 the family
subsequently transferred the area along the
creek to the City of Mitcham in 1947 for use as
a reserve.
Dog-leg cross Hampton Street and continue
along Jervois Street passing 19th century villas
as you go towards Cross Road.
Travel west along Cross Road and cross the
road into Whistler Avenue, which was at
the heart of Thomas Whistler’s colonial landholding. Motorists will need to turn right into
Heywood Avenue then left into Grove Street to
reach Heywood Park.
W A L K
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23
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Unley Park
42
King William
41
40
Mitchell St
Wooldridge
37
Malcolm St
Wood St
Douglas
3 8 Andrew
Avenue St
Goodwood Road
Park
36
35
Victoria Ave
Whistler Ave
W A L K
Cross Road
Brownhill Creek
Northgate St
31
32
33
Heywood
Grove St
Regent St
39
Cross Road
34
31 Brownhill Creek flows between the
backs of the large houses lining Whistler
Avenue and Grove Street, before re-appearing
in the south-west corner of Heywood Park
next to historic ‘Heywood House’ (1858) in
Addiscombe Place. 
24
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Unley Park
View west from present day Heywood Park
towards Brownhill Creek, c1885
photo RA Bluff Collection
32 Thomas Whistler’s cottage, with its
extensive orchard and large vegetable
garden, was situated in this general area.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
Brownhill Creek dec.indd 25
Brownhill Creek at Whistler’s Bush near
present day Heywood Park, c1885
photo RA Bluff Collection
25
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Unley Park
In about 1854 the Mitcham District Council
employed a man to cut a dyke in Brownhill
Creek by the new bridge at Whistler’s Bush, as
Heywood Park was known at the time.
By the end of the year the bridge already
needed to be repaired according to Councillor
Overton. “Repairs to the new bridge were
constantly undertaken throughout 1855”. At
that time the Mitcham District Council area
included the whole of present-day City of Unley.
Heywood Park is an outstanding suburban
reserve with River Red Gums and a few
remnants of the ‘black forest’ of Grey Box that
once covered these south-eastern suburbs. They
have a rough black-grey bark. Here is also found
an Aboriginal shelter tree, now used as part of a
playground.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
33 Travel west along Northgate Street to
beautiful Victoria Avenue which contains
some of Adelaide’s finest houses, such as
‘Yurilla Hall’ (1899) at No.20.
34 The Unley Park Railway Station is only a
short distance west of the southern end of
Victoria Avenue.
35 Retrace your steps and note the small bridge
bearing the dates ‘1892 – 1932’ where
Brownhill Creek goes under Victoria Avenue
near its northern end. Turn left into Northgate
Street - the site of more beautiful homes.
‘Eringa’ at No.76 (built 1934) was once the
home of grazier Sidney Kidman, ‘The Cattle
King’, who is buried in the Mitcham General
Cemetery. Note also ‘Northgate House’ at
No.80 and ‘Boscobel’ at No.84.]
26
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Millswood
36 From Heywood Park go across Northgate
Street and turn north along Wood Street as
far as Avenue Street. Note No.34 Wood Street,
‘Coonawarra’, built in 1898, the home of the
1880s Northern Territory explorer David Lindsay.
Unless you are travelling by car, continue
along Avenue Street and go up Douglas Street,
crossing the creek again, to Percy Street. Follow
the creek through a large public reserve, or go
west along Mitchell Street, to Goodwood Road.
37 Motorists turn north along Regent Street
(stop in Wooldridge Avenue to look at ‘Belle
Vista’ , a slate-roofed 1863 farmhouse at No.13,
with its outbuildings at the rear) then west along
Mitchell Street to Goodwood Road.
38 Both routes will end at the imposing
former Roman Catholic Orphanage (1889)
with its outstanding brickwork. It is now the
Tabor College Christian Education Centre.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
Brownhill Creek looking west towards
Goodwood Road, c1910
photo Unley Museum Collection
Brownhill Creek disappears into an underground
culvert soon after this. It then reappears in a
concrete culvert in Farnham Road, Ashford,
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27
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Goodwood
near Ashford Special School on Anzac Highway.
Its course can be identified by a stunning
dead River Red Gum, a remnant of the ‘Black
Forest’. The creek once flowed through swamps
and paperbark forests near the southern part
of Adelaide Airport. Ultimately it enters the
Patawalonga basin which was an important
Aboriginal meeting spot.
Continue north along Goodwood Road.
See City of Unley’s ‘Pathways to the Past’
Walk brochure for more details of this area.
39 Note the Goodwood Institute. (1887-1928)
built on land donated by George Mills, after
whom the suburb of Millswood was named.
Take the time to admire the facades of the
buildings along this section of Goodwood Road.
Brownhill Creek
W A L K
40 The Capri Cinema built in 1941 is now
maintained by the Theatre Organ Society.
41 A moulded bull’s head over the two-storey
shops at Nos.126-128 denotes they were
built in 1872 for a butcher. This is better viewed
from the east side of Goodwood Road.
42 The Glenelg tramline to the City crosses
Goodwood Road here. Alternatively
walkers can turn west at the tramline down
Railway Terrace North to get to Goodwood
Railway Station and then back up the Belair
line (or into the City). Wheelchair users and
cyclists can also use the train.
‘it is hoped that
you enjoyed
your walk’
28
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