The
first Vice-Regal country residence was built at
Government Farm, Belair in 1860. Although well-appointed for its time, it was a relatively modest structure, and several governors found it too small for their purposes. When Governor
William Jervois arrived in 1877, he very soon proposed the construction of a new and grander building. He was instrumental in securing government expenditure, and also personally oversaw the selection of a site and directed the design process. The first stone was laid on 18 July 1878, and the structure was completed and furnished in late 1879. •
1899–1902: Hallam Tennyson – Sir Hallam and
Lady Audrey Tennyson were particularly fond of Marble Hill, despite having to contend with heat, drought and bushfires during their stays. They returned in December 1902 when Lord Tennyson was Governor General, and entertained the idea of buying it if it ever became available. •
1909–1914: Day Bosanquet – Lady Bosanquet continued the tradition of inviting local schoolchildren to Marble Hill, hosting a "Picnic at Marble Hill" for students of Norton Summit and Cherryville Primary Schools on a yearly basis. •
1914–1920: Henry Galway – Galway resided at Marble Hill for four of his six summers as Governor. •
1920–1922: Archibald Weigall – Governor Weigall was a keen cricketer, and during his residence held an annual match between the Viceregal party and locals at the nearby
Ashton Oval. Some of the suggested uses for the building included a boarding house, hostel, flats or
consumptive sanitorium. •
1928–1934: Alexander Hore-Ruthven – Marble Hill continued to fall from favour under Governor Hore-Ruthven, who indicated in 1932 that he would be willing to forgo the use of Marble Hill under his contract (a possibility the Government had been investigating since 1928). However, the remoteness of Marble Hill had made it difficult to retain staff or to easily convert to a government institution, and so the status quo prevailed. •
1934–1939: Winston Dugan – A number of modifications were made to the residence and outbuildings during 1939, among them the addition of several bathrooms and the conversion of the
coach-house into a garage for motorcars. Lady Muriel also named one of her racehorses "Marble Hill" after the residence. •
1944–1952: Willoughby Norrie – Governor Norrie and his family took up residence at Marble Hill as soon as they arrived in Adelaide toward the end of 1944, and lived there every subsequent summer of his governorship. Lady Norrie hosted
Lady Baden-Powell in her capacity as World Chief
Guide at Marble Hill during her 1948 trip to Australia, •
1952–1955: Robert George – In 1954 the Government commenced renovation of both viceregal residences. The original
acetylene gas lighting at Marble Hill was replaced, at considerable expense, with
electricity.
Bushfires Marble Hill's location at the peak of a steep, densely wooded ridge meant that bushfires were a regular threat. •
1882 – On 8 February, only two years after being completed, Marble Hill was first threatened by a bushfire. The fire broke out in a gully to the east of the residence during the afternoon, possibly due to careless cooking by locals. Swift action by the police and residents contained the fire, but it continued to burn along the gully until the evening of the 9th. The garden and some of the fences were damaged. •
1901 – The intense heat and drought of the summer of 1901 resulted in a number of bushfires while Sir Hallam and Lady Tennyson were in residence. Lady Tennyson wrote that the bushfires, with their billowing smoke and glowing hilltops by night, were a remarkable sight. The gardens and part of the orchard were damaged in the fire. •
1910 – On Sunday 20 February, bushfires that had been menacing the Mt Lofty Ranges around Norton Summit began to threaten Marble Hill. The Governor in residence, Admiral Bosanquet, directed firefighters and local volunteers in the burning of firebreaks, but it was a tense night for those guarding the residence. On Monday, a change in the wind brought the fires rapidly upon them.
The Register reported that
"big trees were as matches before the advancing fire." The full force of the firefighters was mustered, which enabled the residence to escape damage, although the Government Domain was largely burnt. •
1912 – Admiral Bosanquet had to defend the residence a second time. Early on 14 January, a fire broke out at Morialta on the property of the late
Sir Richard Baker. It soon became apparent that the westerly wind would drive the fire toward Marble Hill. When the fire was at its height, the
English cricket team and
Lord Richard Nevill arrived, having been invited for lunch. They had to dash through the flames to reach the residence, and were able to render most timely assistance. The servant's quarters, the caretaker's cottage, the stables and even the kitchen of Marble Hill itself were all ignited, but fortunately these conflagrations were all noticed and quickly extinguished. The gardens, however, were destroyed. •
1939 – Marble Hill was again threatened by the
Black Friday fires of 1939.
Destruction On 2 January 1955, fifteen people were in residence at Marble Hill, including Sir Robert and Lady George, their family, and staff. The bushfire conditions were extreme, with a temperature of as early as 7am. By 1pm, the temperature had risen to , and winds of up to were driving a bushfire that had broken out at nearby
Anstey's Hill towards Marble Hill. With little warning, the strong winds drove the fire up the slope to the northwest of the house, and flames contacted the building. The bitumen used on the balcony floor and the seaweed used for insulation in the roof were easily ignited, and the house was soon on fire. The governor with his sons and staff struggled to save the building, but the buckets and hoses which had been prepared were totally inadequate. The building was engulfed by flame with astonishing speed. By this time the bushfire had completely surrounded the residence, the cars which had been prepared as a last-resort were burning, and molten lead was showering down from the roof. Escape was impossible. At the prompting of Sir Robert, the fifteen people at Marble Hill dashed out of the house for the relative safety of a retaining wall by the driveway, sheltering under wet blankets. The fire swept over them and totally destroyed the house. After around two hours, rescuers were able to reach them and the party were transported to Adelaide, where they were treated for some minor injuries. Later, it was discovered that a servant's cat had also survived by sheltering in the cellar. All of the governor's possessions were lost in the fire, as they had been transferred to Marble Hill while Government House was undergoing restoration following damage suffered in the
earthquake of 1954. Marble Hill had been slated for renovation after Government House, but the house's destruction led to the
Government of South Australia re-evaluating its plans for the building.
Ruin Because of the prohibitive cost of reconstruction, in September 1955 the government announced it would not rebuild Marble Hill. Additional damage was done when the government demolished some areas of the building considered to be "unsafe" a few days after the fire. During the 1980s, the
Country Fire Service used the tower as a bushfire lookout. In 1992, the National Trust closed the site to the public due to insufficient funding, and the site reverted to the administration of the Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH). The following year, the Government called for expressions of interest in the development and management of the site. Mayor of
East Torrens, Isabel Bishop, called for the building to be restored and used as a "VIP status hotel". In 1994, the
Friends of Parks volunteer group "Friends of Marble Hill" was formed in order to facilitate public access, open days and functions, while DEH retained responsibility for maintenance and funding, and the
National Parks and Wildlife Service provided vegetation and land-care services. Four years later, in 1998, DEH commissioned a Conservation and Dilapidation Report which investigated the structural integrity of the ruins and the possibility of reconstruction. The Friends of Marble Hill group ceased operating after the property was put up for sale by the State Government in 2007. In 2009, a group called Encompass Technology wrote to the Governor of South Australia supposedly on behalf of the
Kaurna people, asserting sovereignty over the Marble Hill ruins, and the
Warriparinga Living Kaurna Cultural Centre in
Marion, and claiming that they were owed nearly $50 million in rent. The South Australian Government subsequently rejected the claim.
Reconstruction In March 2007, the State Government of South Australia again called for expressions of interest in the future development and management of the Marble Hill site. Twelve interested parties sought information, and one proposal was received. In October 2009, the property was sold to Edwin Michell and Dr. Patricia Bishop, a local couple. Michell has a private investment company and Bishop is a sister of former Federal M.P.
Julie Bishop and has been involved in restoration of several historic
Adelaide Hills properties. Among the conditions of a
heritage agreement attached to the
certificate of title are that the ruin will be reconstructed in consultation with a heritage architect, and that public open days will continue. The work is being undertaken with a strong focus on local suppliers and the revival of artisan trades, under the supervision of builder Andrew Green. The first phase of reconstruction was completed in December 2015, with the installation of a copper-roofed tower lantern. The second phase of the project was expected to be complete by early 2019 but remains ongoing. ==See also==