Glanville Hall: Keith explores some Port Adelaide history in the Adelaide Coast region of South Australia
Sitting grandly in suburban Semaphore, imposing Glanville Hall speaks of the days when the new Colony of South Australia was thriving - with fortunes to be made in mining, shipping and pastoral exploits. One bloke who did particularly well was Captain John Hart and Glanville Hall was his magnificent Victorian Tudor mansion.
The story of Captain John Hart is an amazing one. Years before the colonization of South Australia he was a rough and ready sealer and whaler off our waters. He in Semaphore and became one of the great characters not just of Port Adelaide but of the whole of South Australia.
They were the rollicking days of tall ships and crowded wharfs down the port and historic Hart's Mill was at the centre of it all. His flour mill was the colonies biggest at the time and the big red brick building next to it are a sad sight now but they remain Port Adelaide landmarks - thanks to Captain Hart.
Born in England in 1809 John Hart first put to sea as a 12 year old and after decades as a ship's master, sealer and whaler he retired and became one of the first men to champion the Port's potential. And Glanville Hall proves he was right.
Tim Noonan has overseen Port Adelaide Enfield Council's mammoth renovation of Glanville Hall. After years of neglect, they've turned it into a swish function centre.
Tim Noonan, Port Adelaide Enfield Council: "its original lay-out was 14 rooms upstairs and downstairs. When we were doing the renovation we discovered a cellar which wasn't even on the plan."
Designed by Colonial architect, George Strickland Kingston, Glanville Hall reflects the importance of Captain Hart - after all he was state premier three times. No doubt the house was the epicenter of high society down this way.
The stone used to build the original 1856 house came across the Gulf on a barge from a quarry at Port Vincent. Nine years later the house was extended to include a billiard room and tower. No wonder they called it Hart's Castle.
I climbed the stairs of the tower to marvel at the views of the gulf, the city and Mount Lofty ranges beyond and of course, Port Adelaide. Glanville Hall and its tower were also the social highpoint of the Le Fevre Peninsula. When the hunt club gathered in front of the house the ladies climbed the tower to watch the horsemen head out through the scrub.
The mansion's had a number of incarnations since - a private house and even a spell as Saint Francis House - a Church of England hostel for Aboriginal boys. The council's renovation means there's a range of rooms available for all types of functions - from big 'do's to the weekly community bingo session.
It's on the National Estate and quite rightly on the State Heritage list too but it's not locked away - you can book it for a special event and all of the charm, quality and heritage of Glanville Hall is yours.
Glanville Hall is in Park Avenue, Semaphore South. For further information or to make a booking for your function contact the City of Port Adelaide Enfield's booking office.
Glanville Hall Function Centre
8 Park Ave
Semaphore SouthCity of Port Adelaide Enfield
Ph 8405 6781 or www.portenf.sa.gov.auPublished 29th August 2010
