a picture of local heritage-listed house "Kandahar", the home of the West Torrens Historical Society

Underdale Places

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UNDERDALE (+ former suburbs of West Underdale / Wilford)

UNDERDALE is located in Section 96 which is one of the Sections in West Torrens fronting the River Torrens. The suburb now includes part of the adjacent Section 97, but initially the area known as Underdale ran between Holbrook's Road and Hardys Road down to Henley Beach Road. This area was originally associated with the Holbrook Vineyard and Winery and the Norman Vineyard and Winery and also Thomas Hardy's Bankside Vineyards. All of these early viticulturists purchased their land during the early 1850s and all went on to be significant and successful winemakers.

In November, 1855, Section 96 was formally subdivided into an 18-allotment development, the "Village of Underdale." The origins of the name Underdale are unclear, though it has been suggested it could allude to a "dale under or near Adelaide".

The area remained essentially agricultural until the 1920s when parts of the Section were subdivided for residential use. The first of these was Sherriff's Estate which fronted Henley Beach Road through to Norman Street, and incorporated Sherriff Street and Pierce Street. The allotment between Holbrooks Road and Fernleigh Street to the west was already fairly well developed and subdivided, but the other land still remained in the hands of the Norman and Holbrook families. Bankside, Thomas Hardy's property had passed into the ownership of F Gill by the 1920s and in 1926 the part of Bankside fronting Stewards Road (Ashley Street) was also put up for subdivision. These areas close to the River Torrens were of course subject to flooding and it was not until after the Western Suburbs Drainage Scheme was introduced in 1934 that land closer to the river was able to be subdivided and facilities such as deep drainage for sewerage introduced.

The increase in population during the 1950s led to a need for secondary schools in the area in the 1960s and the Underdale High School was opened in 1966. The Western Teacher's College had been established on land close to the River Torrens between Holbrooks Road and the River immediately after the Second World War, but in 1976 this site was used for the new Torrens College of Advanced Education which [became] now the Underdale Campus of the University of South Australia [demolished in 2005]. There are a large number of 1920s and 30s houses of distinctive design, particularly along Holbrooks Road. [From 1998 Heritage Review - UPDATED]

Holbrooks Road properties were renumbered 1971/1972

Sites of Significance

Wineries

Normans Winery 49 Hardys Road Underdale (remaining outbuilding Local Heritage Listed) - Jesse Norman (1826-1880), Leonard 'Len' Arthur Norman (1922-2001), Underdale Bowling Club

In 1854 Norman and his brothers Ellis (1822-1890) and Richard (1818-1903) leased and from 1855 bought land in the southern half of today’s suburb of Underdale where they began growing wine grapes and fruit trees. Jesse was the largest land owner of the brothers and, probably influenced by the activities of the nearby Hardy and Holbrooks vineyards, soon began to concentrate on cultivating grapes. By 1860 Jesse owned twenty-five acres (around 10.1 hectares), bounded by today’s Henley Beach and Holbrooks Road and Ashley and Sherriff Streets. By October 1872 Norman owned forty-one acres (around 16.6 hectares), his land extending east of today’s Sherriff Street.

Holbrooks 'Wilford' Winery, 103 Holbrooks Road - John Daykin HOLBROOK (1828-1880); Harriet HOLBROOK nee Shakes (1838-1903) (Local Heritage listed),est 1855, cellars built 1865

John Daykin Holbrook, who was born in Paignton, Devon, England arrived in South Australia in August 1850 aboard the British Empire – the same ship that brought Thomas Hardy to the colony. Holbrook and Hardy had become friends on the voyage and on 12 April 1853, the same day on which Hardy bought his land, Holbrook bought 20.68 acres, around 8.37 hectares on the western side of Hardy’s at Underdale. Holbrook’s land was bounded by today’s Hardy and Holbrooks Road, Wilford Avenue and the River Torrens. Holbrook named his property Wilford after his home village in Nottinghamshire, England. He began planting Shiraz, Verdelho, Muscatel and Doradilla vines in 1855 and also cultivated substantial fruit orchards.

Hardys 'Bankside' Winery (TBC)

Schools / Kindergartens

St Gabriels Kindergarten, 15c Howard Street (Former Church)
Torrens College of Advanced Education 1976-1982, SA College of Adult Education 1982-1991, Uni SA 1991-2005 (off Holbrooks Road)

For much of the twentieth century the site which was to become the Underdale College was part of a parcel of land owned by the Lewis family of market gardeners. In the early 1970s the federal government compulsorily acquired the site from the Lewis family as the location for the new twenty-hectare Torrens College of Advanced Education (CAE), to cope with the demand for teacher training at the Adelaide Teachers College.Distance Education Centre (Correspondence School) Established in 1991, the Federal Government’s Distance Education Centre (formerly Correspondence School) was designed to offer access to tertiary courses for students who could not attend campus. For those who lived in remote areas of South Australia and Northern Territory and also for those, particularly women, who are restricted from attending campus due to working hours or caring for children, this facility proved a boon. This building won an award for building excellence. It was noted for its energy conservation principles.

Underdale High School, 19 Garden Terrace (former market garden land from Henry Sherriff (1862-1936))

Sherriff’s executors sold the land to the state government in June 1962 as the site of the Underdale High School, which opened in 1966. From October 1920 the Hodge family had owned land on the western side of the Sherriffproperty where it had also run a market garden. In November 1962 Henry Leonard Hodge (1913-2005) sold around three acres of this land to the Education Department; it also became a part of Underdale High School.

Underdale Primary School (now Flinders Park) The school and residence were built in 1915 at a cost of 2,000 pounds. The school opened in 1916 with an average attendance of 170. After the Second World War it became known as Flinders Park School.

Churches

Baptist Church, 215 Holbrooks Road (prefab building - removed and used as Sunday School hall at St Marys Baptist)
Anglican Church
St Gabriels Church, 15c Howard Street
St Marks Lutheran Church, 302 Henley Beach Road

Significant Trees

Tree at end of Hardys Road

Bridges

Holbrooks Road Bridge (First bridge detroyed by floods in 1889, replaced 1897) / Keele Bridge (widened and strengthened in 1934)

Industry / Businesses

Market Gardens (Lewis, Sherriff, Skuse, Huelin)

Parts of West Torrens were dominated by market gardens for about a century from the 1850s. Gardeners were drawn to these areas, including Lockleys, Fulham and Underdale, by the rich alluvial soil available along the nearby River Torrens; by the plentiful availability of flat land; by the ready supply of water, either from the river or from bores; by the closeness of the city vegetable markets; and in the early days at least, by relatively low land prices.

Agar Chemicals (AO Modra Engineers)
GR Tregoning (TREG Trailers) ; Treg Trailers - 2022-07-01 A last walk through the factory (Video)

In early 1947 an uncle, Bill Fuss, offered him the rent free use for twelve months of a 1,800 square feet tomato packing shed at the rear of his property at the corner of Mellor Avenue and Hinton Street, Underdale. Tregoning accepted the offer and Tregoning Engineering was born. When the twelve months was up Tregoning, in April 1948, bought a 0.2 acre allotment at 59 Hardys Road Underdale for £375 and transferred his business there. (He useda returned serviceman's loan to buy the land).

Fauldings Ltd / Symbion
Bensons Biscuits, 11 Garden Terrace

With a rather colourful label, Benson’s Biscuits are advertised as being based at 11 Garden Terrce, Underdale. This accompanying advertisement, right, was for “Benson’s Lemon Biscuits”. The Benson family occupied a house with adjacent block of land on the northern side of Garden Terrce, on the corner of Joyce Avenue, before 1930.

Badenochs Bakery, Goers Bakery, Easter and Todd (old bakery inc into home built for Mal Badenoch, noted in Jazz circles)
Bastin Bus Co
Parry's Butchers

The Parry family was a large family, consisting of nine siblings including Cyril Norman Parry who was born at Queenstown on 14 October 1900, and his younger brother Arnold Sefton Parry (known as Seff) who was born 17 August 1907. The family moved around the western suburbs, and lived in Torrensville, Cowandilla, and Underdale. Cyril and Seff were both talented sportsmen, but in different sports, one in cricket and the other in football.

Steelcraft Industries, 101-105 Holbrooks Road
Service Station, 299 Henley Beach Road
Vowles and Graves Petrol Station / MS McLeod / Just Motorcycles , 258 (formerly numbered 262) Henley Beach Road, NE cnr Sherriff Street

Initially the site at 258 Henley Beach Road (originally numbered as 262) was owned by Richard William Fielder [founder of what is now Fielders Roofing] and after his death in June 1940 by the Executor Trustee and Agency Company of SA Ltd. The site housed a service station from the early 1930s to around 1960. The first proprietors were Vowles and Gower and from 1936 Vowles and Graves. (Edward George Charles Vowles (1899-1977) and Henry James Graves (1900-1959)).

Homes

264 Henley Beach Road, Roseneath (Local Heritage) see also Charles 'Boxer' Ware

Built in the Queen Adelaide style, features included an arched entrance and an ornate turret with curved leadlight glazing painted by Mr Troy, a leadlight artist who specialised in detailed paintings of birds and country scene. The home was built for Charles Boxer Ware – ‘Boxer’ because he was born on Boxing Day 1870. Mr Ware was a colourful character, director of Walkerville, later Torrenside Brewery, licensee of the Exchange Hotel in Hindley Street and Mayor of Thebarton amongst many other things. The house was known as Craiglee during the Ware’s occupancy (1900-1914).

15 Norman Street

Sport / Recreation / Reserves

Underdale Sea Scouts, cnr Marion Road and Hounslow Avenue, Cowandilla (50th anniversary Scoutabout 1928-1978)
Torrensville / Underdale Bowling Club
Underdale Laneways between Garden Terrace, Hinton Street, Howard Street, Arnold Street, Henley Beach Road Pedestrian laneways were left between the houses to allow access to the tram from Garden Terrace to Henley Beach Road.

Normans Home, Holbrooks Road

Underdale High School, 1971

Parry's Butchers

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