Burnt-out ruins with stunning views of Adelaide Hills for sale after 38 years

Buyers looking for a slice of history with views stretching out to the Gulf of St Vincent can now purchase a piece of land containing the burnt-out ruins of the heritage-listed Arthur’s Seat house.

Adjacent Cleland Park in the Adelaide Hills, the 2.5 ha property at 103A Mount Lofty Summit Road Crafters is an important part of local history with spectacular views across Mt Lofty.

Destroyed in 1983 due to the Ash Wednesday fires, the ruins were once a two-storey dwelling with a brick paved veranda, rendered brick chimneys, bay windows and a tiled roof.

Initially known as ‘Tinline’ Court, construction of the building began in the 1850s for George Tinline, a member of Parliament. The building wasn’t completed until 1875, when Gavin Young finished construction and re-named it ‘Arthur’s Seat’. In 1926 it became a girls school and was later used as a convalescent home during the second world war, according to Environment SA.

Now owned by the SA Government, the local heritage property is currently available via EOI through Renewal SA, its sale evoking emotion because of its classification as a memorial site by locals, due to the lives lost during the Ash Wednesday bushfires.

But selling agent James Juers of McGees property says it’s highly unlikely a potential buyer will demolish the much-loved ruins.

“People would be strapping themselves to bulldozers if someone tried to knock this one down,” Mr Juers said.

McGees have been inundated with inquiries about the property, which is 1.6 kilometres to the historic Crafers Hotel and South Eastern Freeway and 19.2 kilometres away from the CBD. There is potential for further development, dependent upon approval. The property is listed as a heritage site with the Adelaide Hills Council.

“It would have been a grand property at some stage,” Mr Juers said. “There are remnants of gardens and some flat areas that are subject to the zoning, which you could look at perhaps erecting a home on.”

But for those looking to renovate the existing ruins, caution and consideration is a must, according to heritage architect Damien Chwalisz of Fireside Architecture who is familiar with the ruins.

“The conceptual approach to it should always be to hold the heritage item with quite a lot of respect,” Mr Chwalisz said.

The property will be sold via an expressions of interest campaign. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale

Nine years ago Mr Chwalisz won a project to renovate what was thought to be the property’s Stable House, a dwelling that was cut off from the main house in the 1920s and is now adjacent to 103A Mt Lofty Summit Road, but is not heritage listed.

“It will require someone who is dedicated to the cause and who is realistic that it will need to be stabilised and refreshed,” he said.

The original Arthur’s Seat building was a hybrid of styles that employed asymmetric fenestration and was made from local sandstone containing brick quoining.

Buyers looking to renovate the existing ruins should be prepared to spend some cash.

“With the stable house, we spent about $40,000- $50,000 just stabilising the old ruin even before we got started,” Mr Chwalisz said.

“The new architecture that is brought to it will need to be self supporting so you won’t be able to rely on that building for its structural integrity. But that’s not to say you can’t do something fantastic with it,” he said.

Mr Chwalisz said the ruins are all that remain of an important building with a rich history.

“There are a host of people who walk past there once a week and to them it feels like a family member. They’re probably afraid as to what’s going to happen to it,” he said.

Expressions of interest close Friday 22nd October at 4pm (ACST).