1/37 Walters Street

Tea Tree Gully SA 5091

Symmetrical stone cottage in historic Steventon. According to a Council Heritage Guide published in 1999, "This cottage is the oldest surviving dwelling in the township of Tea Tree Gully. It is associated with the early residential development of the area and demonstrates the local way of life during the late 19th century." Built in 1865, according to that same guidebook, it has not been left behind by the march of progress. A modern kitchen and bathroom, plumbing with instant gas hot water, evaporative cooling to help those thick stone walls keep the interior cool and two gas fires for those winter days and nights. There are two telephone lines, plus Foxtel connection. All this topped off by the addition of a substantial outdoor living area and private garden at the rear. Shared driveway with a highly workable self-managed strata gives extra space for the generous front garden aspect.

Having lived here for 10 years the current owner writes:

"What I feel about my home/cottage is that it has been my sanctuary. It has this feeling of calm quietness - a place to create. A beautiful home. Close to nature, birds, lizards everywhere."

If it were not for family responsibilities elsewhere this unique property would not be available to a new owner today.

Entering from the period verandah into the main living room you walk into a different era - a place of peace and refuge behind thick stone walls with polished Baltic pine floorboards and tongue and groove ceilings. Experience the comfort of exposed stone around the cosy gas log fire, and the polished timber joinery of windows and doorways. The subdued drama of the main bedroom with character built in wardrobe provides a comfortable place to lay your head. Further on is the separate dining room with its feature chimney piece (which you could easily turn back into a fireplace, or keep as a display space or mini wine cellar). This room is also equipped with a gas wall furnace and then there's the second bedroom or office. The kitchen provides an excellent work space and room for casual meals with garden views and leads to the tastefully updated bathroom with its very practical skylight.

Outside, the covered pergola provides all year round usable space for family and friends, with mains gas provided for the BBQ, and protection for the car. The workshop is available to the serious hobbyist while the garden tools find their own space in the garden shed out the back. The side garden with its shady pepper tree is another place of refuge.

On top of all this, your home is walking distance from historic Tea Tree Gully hotels and adjacent restaurants. Anstey's Hill is just a short walk away and you have all the benefits of schools, shopping, OBahn with access to TTP or the City if you choose. Being slightly elevated you have views that give you that rural feeling on the edge of the suburbs.

Historical Note: The first European to own the land on which this cottage stands (Section 51) was John Stevens, a miller who subdivided the land and built the original Tea Tree Gully Hotel. The area was known as Steventon until the end of the 19th Century. This cottage was possibly originally built by Robert and James Gilmour with extensions added by James Averis in 1895.

For further information, contact the Tea Tree Gully and District Historical Society Inc. and refer to their website (http://www.ttghistoricalsociety.org/index.html) and the Tea Tree Gully Library.

You could consult also: 'Tea Tree Gully Township Precinct Plan', showing Council's commitment to preserving and developing the ambience of the historical precinct.