At the base of the Adelaide Hills is Rostrevor House, now part of Rostrevor College. This grand residence was our Great Great Great Uncle Smith Reid’s home in Adelaide on my lovely wife’s side of the family.
Smith Reid started with nothing but began a small newspaper company in Far North Queensland building his business with a number of newspapers at mining towns. He then invested in railways for mining towns.
This led him to Broken Hill where he invested in the Silverton Railway. He then invested in BHP becoming a member on its first board of directors. The first BHP prospectus was printed by his local newspaper company. He settled in Adelaide but also had a grand home in Victoria.
The original tiled floor. The Catholic Church purchased the property in the 1930s for educational purposes. The school was very generous with their time in providing us with a guided tour of the original home and grounds.
I asked two of Rostrevor’s students, Ross and Trevor how busy their school day had been. They replied, “We’re stuffed!”
A River red gum older than European colonisation in the school grounds when a small creek ran through the property. The sign tells of the local Kaurna Poeple and their connection to Country.
Despite being only10km from the Adelaide City centre, Morialta Conservation Park is in a rugged bush environment, with a narrow gorge set with three waterfalls, bounded by steep ridges and cliffs.
We were keen to visit because it was part of the Rostrevor estate purchased by Smith Reid. He donated the land in 1913 to the South Australian government which included the valley, escarpments and dramatic First and Second Falls for use as a national reserve.
A koala snoozing in a tree near the track.
A brief awakening from slumber.
Wattle against a River red gum
Access steps to Giants Cave
Giants Cave
Looking out from Giants Cave
Morialta escarpment
Adelaide rosella
Grasstrees (Xanthorrhea) on the rocky slope
The gorge narrows as we near the waterfall
Morialta Falls
Eastern rosella
Hardenbergia vine
New Holland honeyeater
The Adelaide rosella is considered a hybrid form of the Crimson rosella.
Escarpment from the Eagles Nest track
Hibbertia
Heath plant on the rocky ridge
Eastern rosella – birds were prolific in the late afternoon with Superb blue wrens, Eastern rosellas, Adelaide rosellas, Ravens, Honeyeaters and Wattle birds very active.
Morialta is a gem of the Adelaide Hills.
