Finniss Street 30
| Place type: | Site |
|---|---|
| Also known as: | Bonhay, Church Hill Private Hospital & Bentleigh Brae |
| Address: | 30 Finniss Street |
| Town or Locality: | Gawler |
30 Finniss Street sits upon the northern half of Allotment 58 of Gawler Town. It is suggested a residence was built on the property as early as 1855 and that in the early days it was connected with Matthew May. By 1867-1868 it was a substantial residence and garden owned by William L Bathurst and occupied by solicitor John Rudall, who went on to purchase the property.[1] After John Rudall relocated to Port Augusta in 1888, he maintained ownership and after his death in 1897 his son and executor Samuel Bruce Rudall managed the property for many years.[2] During the Rudall family's time the house was known as ‘Bonhay’ after John Rudall’s childhood home in England. The grounds extended all the way down the hill to Jacob Street below, with terraced gardens and walled steps.
In 1914 the Rudall family sold the property to Elizabeth Ann Ward, and upon her death in 1916 it was transferred to her daughters Hilda May Ward (married Digby Angas Lavender), Vera Olive Ward (married Edward Charles Johnson) and Clarice Beulah Ward (married Percy Harold Gwynne).[2] It is suggested the property may have been run as a boarding house during the late 1930s.
In 1946 the Ward sisters sold the property to labourer, James Thomas Powell and his wife Myrtle May Powell (nee Speck),[2] who ran the property as Church Hill Private Hospital (also referred to as Sister Powell’s Hospital). It was during the Powell family's time that the block was subdivided, the hillside dug out and the house at 43 Jacob Street built (it occupies the southern half of Allotment 58).
In 1969 William Antwis, retired dairy farmer, his wife Sarah Ivy Antwis (nee Speck, sister of previous owner, Myrtle May Powell nee Speck), their daughter Valma Jane Bellchambers (nee Antwis) and her husband Raymond Collins Bellchambers, jointly purchased and occupied 30 Finniss Street[3] (Raymond and Valma Bellchambers’ son, Trevor Bellchambers, has undertaken many roles in the Gawler Community – see Bellchambers Trevor). The Antwis and Bellchambers families named the property Bentleigh Brae.
In 1991 James Eric Hughes and Jennifer Anne Hughes purchased and occupied the property and it subsequently sold in 1997 & 2003.
Click Here to read the write up on Bentleigh Brae prepared by Graham Tucker
Click Here to view the historical Certificate of Title CT 129/299 (1869-1966)
Click Here to view “John Rudall’s House Summary” prepared by Helen Wilmore using the Gawler Historical Rates Assessment Database
Trevor Bellchambers advised us that from 1946 to 1968 it was the Church Hill Private Hospital.
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Related Articles
References
- ↑ Helen Wilmore (2015) “John Rudall’s House Summary” compiled using the Gawler Historical Rates Assessment Database (coordinated by the Gawler Environment & Heritage Association Inc.) https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4EjkA7CXbhAQURBZExWV2syTDA/view?usp=sharing
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Certificate of Title CT 129/299 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GUaIqUTuyEl9L4covr1mAL0P6jyuWXS5/view?usp=sharing
- ↑ Certificate of Title CT 3455/166 - Available via SAILIS https://sailis.lssa.com.au/products/search/titleImageSearch?form
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