Kingston Historical House is a pioneer house found in Kingston Park, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.

Early history

Sir

George Strickland Kingston Sir George Strickland Kingston (23 August 1807 – 26 November 1880) was the Deputy Surveyor to William Light, engaged to survey the new colony of South Australia. He arrived in South Australia on the in 1836. Kingston was also the first Spea ...

purchased eighty acres (32

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s) of land in 1839 in the area now known as

Kingston Park Kingston Park is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, about north west of the city centre. It is home to several large retailers, the largest being one of Tesco's flagship stores—at 11,055 square metres (119,000 sq ft) which was also t ...

. The house was built in two stages, firstly in 1840 and then in 1851. As such it is the oldest building in Holdfast Bay City Council and one of the oldest in the state of South Australia. In 1840 Kingston leased the premises to fellow ''Cygnet'' passenger, Robert Bristow, who began the first hotel in the Brighton-Marino district. Bristow was granted a licence to sell beer and wine in September 1840. Patronage for the inn was expected from fishermen, quarrymen and sailors given the nearby fishing village, newly opened quarry and newly built pier. Management changed hands in late 1841 to Mr Burslem who maintained it as the ''Marino Hotel and Boarding House'' until 1843. From then until 1851, Kingston leased the land to farmer Samual Oakley. In 1851 Kingston undertook extensions and renovations in preparation for this to become his family's seaside holiday abode. Ownership was passed down to his son,

Charles Kingston Charles Cameron Kingston (22 October 1850 – 11 May 1908) was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was a radical liberal Premier of South Australia, occupying this office with the support of Labor, which in the House of Assembly ...

, Premier of South Australia.

Government ownership

The land and building was purchased in 1919 by the State Government of South Australia, upon Lucy Kingston's ''(widow of Charles)'' death. A major restoration was undertaken in 1983. The building is now set on a reserve sitting atop the Kingston Beach Cliff Face, and the house is surrounded by a small park. The building was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate on 21 March 1978 and on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. ...

on 24 June 1980.

References

{{reflist *Signage at location, erected by Holdfast Bay City Council *The History of Marion on the Sturt, by Alison Dolling *The Vanishing Sands, by Averil G. Hill

External links

Kingston House information, images and virtual tour
Tourist attractions in South Australia Houses in Adelaide Victorian architecture in South Australia South Australian Heritage Register South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate