The Pines at Loxton: In the Riverland region of South Australia

Many German immigrants have put their stamp on the pretty Riverland town of Loxton. People like Heinrich and Mary Thiele who settled there at around the turn of last century. They established one of the first farms and built one of the first homes, The Pines. With their success came generosity in the form of free land for the Cross of Sacrifice, the RSL Hall and many other civic buildings.

“All of those sorts of things have been given. Built on land that Mary Thiele gave so very generous to people to this town,” former Mayer, Jan Cass told us.

Jan also says that generosity extended to Heinrich and Mary's daughter, Ella Thiele who, prior to her death at the age of 91, bequeathed The Pines to the people of Loxton.

There are touches of "Driving Miss Daisy" about this Riverland tale - with it's long driveway and it's immaculately maintained 1962 Ford Capri. The one big difference is that Ella Thiele drove herself - much to the horror of many locals.

Bert Haslam remembers how Ella was a bit of a ‘wild card’ on the road. “Ah where the white line was… Ella had to have to have one wheel either side of the line. So whenever you saw her you avoided,” Bert laughed. “She also had her own special parking spot outside the Post Office. Watch out if any cars were in the way - She owned the road.”

Step inside The Pines and you step into an era of grace and charm much of it created by Ella's own needlework.

“She did the tapestries from just bare canvas. And also did all the petty point faces etc as well. She was very meticulous with her tapestries and did some beautiful ones. And she also did a magnificent one of the Last Supper, which hangs in Saint Peters Lutheran Church in Loxton.

Much of what you see in the Pines was inspired by Ella's two-year trip to Europe with her husband John in the 1950s. But one of the true treasures of the elegant collection is Ella's wedding dress --- made in 1936.

In the ensuing years The Pines became the social hub for much of The Riverland as Ella and her husband entertained many of the locals at their legendary parties.

When not entertaining, Ella Thiele was involved in philanthropic work as former Mayor Jan Cass remembers well at their occasional get togethers over a cup of tea.

“She would just slip a little cheque into my hand and say ‘I hear you're doing some work on Bookpurnong Terrace or on something or other. Put this money towards it.’ And then she would go onto say ‘I don't want anyone to know about this.’ So she didn't ever want people to know. She just wanted to put a little bit towards the town without making a big fuss about it which was very generous.”

Her last bequest to the people of Loxton was the family home "The Pines". It's now open to the public. To book contact 8584 4646. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

The Pines
Cnr Henry & Rudolph Street
Loxton
Contact (08) 8584 4646