Blakiston, South Australia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Blakiston is a town in the Australian state of
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. The town is located approximately south-east of the state capital of
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, adjacent to the
Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...
. Its postal code is 5250 – though it has no post office. Post is delivered to the neighbouring town of
Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south south-west of London, west of Brighton and ...
which shares the post code. The town and surrounding countryside, a mixture of pastureland and
eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
forest, make up around 16 square kilometres. At th
2021 census
the locality of Blakiston had a population of 377 and a median age of 46. There are no signs or markers to indicate that Blakiston is separate from nearby
Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south south-west of London, west of Brighton and ...
, and they are increasingly indistinguishable as housing developments encroach.


History

Blakiston has been occupied by European settlers since 1846. The town was founded by Francis Davison and named for his ancestral home, Blakiston Hall in
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
. Variant spellings of the name were used until 1850.


Buildings

Buildings include a roadside pub and stage house (currently a private house), a cheese factory converted to a private residence, St James Church (consecrated in 1846) and neighbouring
rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
, a demolished school house and the large residence of Blakiston House, as well as a smaller residence. Rumour has it that the old school house was demolished by rampaging cattle some time in the mid-20th century. In recent years the school house was restored with funding from Mount Barker District Council and a bequest from a local Rotary Club member. All these structures date from the mid to late 19th century and are constructed from a mix of pink
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
and red brick. There are a few other houses dating from the mid-20th century.


St James Church of England

St James Church of England, in the town of Blakiston, is the sixth oldest
Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
in South Australia. The plot of the church, cemetery and rectory was bought by
George Morphett George Morphett (21 May 1811 – 20 October 1893) was a settler in the colony of South Australia, and younger brother of John Morphett. History Morphett was born in London to solicitor Nathaniel Morphett and his wife Mary, ''née'' Gliddon, ...
and Samuel Stocks from McFarlane in 1843 and was given for the building of the church in May 1846. The parsonage was completed, and occupied by the Rev. James Pollitt, in late 1846 and completion of the church building was promised for the following year. Sentence of
consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
was pronounced and the church consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Adelaide on 28 April 1848. The church is constructed of sandstone and includes the chapel and rector's changing room. It includes some pretty stained glass windows, old pews and a small organ. On the lower east wall are some small carvings of sailing ships, possibly dating back to the mid-19th century. Adjacent to the church is a small bell tower of later heritage. As of 2008, the church and cemetery are still in use, while the rectory and surrounding acreage are rented out by the Church of England to private tenants. In 1980, the church was listed on the now-defunct
Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...
.


Rectory

The rectory is a single-storey sandstone building dating back to the construction of the church. It has six main rooms, including: a formal dining room, rector's study, bedroom, formal living room, the original kitchen no longer in use, and another small room of unknown use. A newer addition was added to the house in the early 20th century which today includes the kitchen/breakfast room and a bathroom. The house has an old disused cellar. The roof of the rectory is made of corrugated iron but hides an original timber shingle roof. The shingle roof can no longer be seen but is thought to be in pristine condition. Former tenants of the rectory have reported seeing a ghostly figure in the rector's study; the alleged apparition is of an old man, sitting and quietly reading. Behind the rectory was a three-sided barn, also made of sandstone, with an earth floor and corrugated iron roof. One of the walls collapsed in the early 1980s and was inadequately replaced with corrugated iron cladding. It has since been demolished. Nearby is also a brick outhouse.


References

;Notes ;Citations {{authority control Towns in South Australia