The original cottage built in 1856 and still solid has been extended and improved using imagination and understated style and purpose. A second story has been added with access via a marvellous timber staircase to master bedroom and living area as well as a balcony set over rolling hills and breath-taking ocean views.
The home can accommodate a large family with up to 5 bedrooms and two separate living areas with centrally located kitchen and split level lounge. The seaward end of the home opens through bifold doors onto a decked pool area that takes in breathtaking panoramic views to the coast while at the opposite end there is a pergola covered outdoor entertaining area that is surrounded by green velvet hills.
The land is perfect for its current use (horses) while a major tree planting exercise has set this property apart. The hard work has been done in establishing the agroforest which provides good protection and shelter for the horses as well as any livestock. This initiative can only enhance the productivity of the land while significantly reducing erosion and improving the view.
There is a more than ample shedding and workshop to fit all manner of plant and equipment, bikes and cars plus stables and 6 day yards and a horse arena .The property is well set up to produce an income.
Connected to mains water with a dam and 2 x 20,000 gallon tanks this is a high rainfall area.
A truly magnificent home with a lifestyle to match.
The History of the Cottage:
Thomas and Mary Tapley were from Folkestone, Kent until about 1920, before they moved to Holland. Thomas had large interests in the shipping trade, but due to Military conscription decided to migrate, with all their possessions including a carriage, in 1938, to the new South Australia. They took up land at what became Tapleys Hill. Besides farming he opened up the Victoria Inn on Tapley’s Hill originally called the Tapley’s Hotel.
Their son John Tapley married Ellen Sharp and purchased 96 acres at No 275 situated in the Hundred of Myponga County of Hindmarsh (lot 4 Main South Road, Sellicks Hill), on the 19th September, 1961. The cottage was built soon after and their 6 children were all born there, in the front room. John was a sheep grazier and the Aloe Vera on the side of the hill was planted in his memory after his passing in 1921.
His son, Thomas built the big white house next door, whilst Thomas’s daughter Margaret remained in the cottage until moving to Adelaide. Thomas then kept the cottage for his workmen and their families; he was very generous, and never married. Thomas passed in 1939 and his sister Margaret sold the property in 1940, to Leslie Bennett who incorporated it into Heatherdale, (agisting land) he was also a grazier. The cottage was ravaged by fire in the 1950′s the evidence remains on the original beam that supports the range stove (in the office area), this beam as taken off one of the first settler ships in South Australia. The cottage was built so well, that only the roof was lost.
Heatherdale was and still is, a very large property. In 1977, the cottage on Lot 4 was sold to Sturt Humphries who was a strong environmentalist and surveyor, he and his wife and children occupied the farm with their goats, until 1988 when Val Maslen bought it.
Val Maslen had it as a weekend retreat, enjoyed by many friends and family until 1993 when her daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Kent Adair bought it.
The farm had remained in original condition with few renovations until it was extended in 1999, major works have followed. Major tree planting has been carried out with over half the property revegetated. The property is now wet up for horse agistment. The Olive grove is filled with FS17, an exceptionally good variety for both Oil and Olive.