This is an outline of the history of Allotment 256, a portion of Section 343 of Terowie North Extension, from 1882 to 1923. The property is on the north side of Main Street, between Amelia Street and Frederick Street, one block from the corner of Frederick Street and Main Street. The address would be 75 or 77 Main Street, probably. The Google Maps street view shows a vacant allotment (https://goo.gl/maps/g7H3XBMLK1A8tZt17). The area is one rood (about one tenth of a hectare or just over 1,000 square metres).
1) George POTTER, baker, of Terowie, became the owner on 16 August 1882. He was born in 1832 in Sussex, England, son of Peter POTTER and Jane SINDEN. He arrived in South Australia per "Somersetshire" in August 1839. He was married in 1854 to Harriet Hunter WEBB, and they had a large family. George died in Adelaide in 1907, aged 75 years. He held Allotment 256 for just a few months.
2) James EGLINTON and William Frederic JACOB, auctioneers, of Terowie, purchased from George POTTER on 8 January 1883.
James EGLINTON was born in 1843 at Uddingston, near Glasgow, Scotland, son of William EGLINTON and Marion FORREST. The family emigrated to New South Wales in 1848, but moved to South Australia in 1850. They settled in Terowie at the end of the 1870s. The EGLINTONs became the proprietors of the Terowie Hotel about 1880 (it was previously held by Mr FARMER who took over from Sam DAVIES, who held the premises after the death of the first owner, John Aver MITCHELL). James also entered into partnership as an auctioneer, perhaps around the same time. James was a founding member of the Terowie Literary and Debating Society when it was formed in 1882, and served on the first Terowie District Council when it was formed in 1888. In 1889, he was instrumental in combining the Terowie Art Exhibition with the Agricultural Show. Later, he was the treasurer for the Defence Rifle Club, when it formed in 1901. He died in Adelaide in 1929, aged 86 years.
James Eglinton, about 1867.
William Frederic JACOB was born in 1852 at Sevenhill, son of John JACOB and Mary COWLES. He was a bank manager at Clare in the late 1870s. He was married in Adelaide in 1882 to Rosa Sarah PHELPS. He became the Manager of the English and Scottish Bank in Terowie in August 1878. He was at various times an accountant, land agent, and secretary, in addition to being the senior partner in partnership as an auctioneer with James EGLINTON. He was one of the founding trustees of the Anglican Church in Terowie in January 1883. In June 1883, William and Rosa left Terowie and by August 1883, they were living at Walkerville. He died in 1936 in Adelaide, aged 83 years.
EGLINTON and JACOB held Allotment 256 for about eleven months. On 3 December 1883, JACOB sold his half share to EGLINTON. EGLINTON retained the allotment for another six years or so.
3) John Henry WILLIAMS purchased from James EGLINTON on 5 March 1890.
John Henry WILLIAMS was born in 1842 at Redruth, Cornwall, son of John WILLIAMS and Honor CLARKE, and grandson of Thomas WILLIAMS (who died in 1844) and Joanna MICHELL. At the end of 1848, Joanna WILLIAMS nee MICHELL and many of her children and grandchildren emigrated to South Australia per "William Money" and settled at Kapunda, but John and Honor remained in Redruth until late in 1854, when they arrived per "Magdalena" and rejoined family members, at Kapunda. Honor died there in 1862. John Henry spent some time on the Victorian goldfields, but returned to South Australia, to work as a mason, and married in 1869 at Kapunda to Elizabeth Ann "Annie" CHRISTOPHERS. Their first three children were born at Sebastopol, Victoria, then they moved to Moonta by 1875, where more children were born. About 1880, Annie deserted John Henry for another man, taking some of the younger children with her. By 1885, John Henry had moved to Yongala, and in 1888, he and his older children and his younger brother were living at Terowie. A couple of years after purchasing Allotment 256, he purchased more allotments in Terowie (some of which were later purchased by members of the MATTEY, DEARLOVE, and LYDDON families). John Henry died in 1903 at Terowie, aged 60 years. The Public Trustee administered his estate, and took possession of Allotment 256 in October 1911. John Henry never discovered what became of his wife, but many years later, the children re-established contact with one another. Annie had died in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1885, and her younger children were raised with an alias surname adopted by her lover.
John Henry Williams, about 1885.
(John Henry WILLIAMS the first cousin once removed of the author.)
4) Arthur GOODE, medical practitioner, of Terowie, purchased from the Public Trustee on 15 May 1912.
Arthur GOODE was born in 1877 at Encounter Bay, son of Thomas GOODE and Jane Harkes JOHNSTON. His mother died in 1896, and his father later remarried. Arthur was educated at Glenelg Grammar School and Adelaide University. He was a fine runner and also a prominent player in the South Adelaide Football Club. About 1900, he joined the practice of Dr AITKEN at Terowie, and became a beloved member of the community as an outstanding country practitioner. In 1902, he was responsible for the formation of an ambulance brigade for the town, and acted as tutor and instructor for some years. In 1912, he agitated for a better quality water supply for the township. He also participated in the local tennis team and was the owner of the first motor car in Terowie. He served in WWI, in Egypt and in England (as medical officer at training camps), and later in the military hospitals in France. After returning to Australia, he sold Allotment 256 in August 1919. He then relocated to Peterborough, where he was instrumental in the establishment of the Soldiers' Memorial Hospital. He later relocated to Queensland. He never married, and died in 1938 in Rosemount military hospital in Brisbane.
5) Edith Alice REED, widow, of Terowie, purchased from Dr GOODE on 22 August 1919.
Edith Alice COLLINS was born in 1881 at Mount Bryan East, daughter of Henry William COLLINS and Charlotte Ann PRIOR. She was married in 1902 at Terowie to Arthur Whitney REED. They had five children in Terowie - Frederick Clement 1902, Frank 1904, Horace 1905, Eileen 1908, and Stanley 1910. Arthur died in July 1911 in hospital in Adelaide. Edith Alice sold Allotment 256 in July 1923. She died at Peterborough in 1977, aged 96 years.
Edith Alice Reed nee Collins.
Subsequent dealings regarding Allotment 256 include a drought charge in 1932 (discharged a year later), and several more transfers. In 1951, it was acquired by the Minister for Works. More than twenty years later, it was sold to a war pensioner.
Some Sources:
https://sailis.lssa.com.au/, Certificate of Title, Vol CCCXCVIII Folio 27.
Roma MATTEY, "Deceptive Lands: A History of Terowie and surrounding Hundreds in the mid-north of South Australia", South Australian Country Women's Association, 1968, Adelaide.
https://www.genealogysa.org.au/
(c) 2023, Peter J Williams, Grad Dip Local & Applied History
