Historical: The Site: The Brunskills

George and Sarah Brunskill
Marryatville High School on Kensington Road at Marryatville occupies part of Section 290, which was first leased from the South Australia Company and first settled in 1839.
George and Sarah Brunskill leased the northern part of the section. The southern half was leased by the Reed family (the school's rear ovals are from this section).
Apart from clearing and farming the land, The Brunskills soon set about producing bricks from the good quality clay they found on their property and built a fine two-storey house. Lack of capital led them to lease the house and build a cottage near the brickworks where Second Creek crossed the property.
With the tightening of credit, in 1848 George passed the lease to twenty acres on the eastern side of his property to the bank in expiation of his debt. This land was subdivided and became the suburb of Marryatville. He also relinquished the lease on one acre fronting Kensington Road enabling it to be conveyed to the Anglican Church by the South Australia Company for the building of St Matthew's Church.
George Brunskill formed the Adelaide and Suburban Building Society and he became a corn factor in Grenfell Street.
On gaining the freehold to his land in 1850 at a cost of 250 pounds, George sold off part for housing. At that time the family was living in their third house encircled by the 26 acres of Sandford Park on the site of the present day Eden Park mansion where they remained for ten years and raised their son George and seven daughters.

In 1857 the family moved to Greenock Creek to run a grain store. George speculated on a land subdivision at Greenock to which he gave his name.

Bailliere's South Australian Gazetteer (1866), has the following entry; "Brunskill (Co. Light) is a small agricultural village adjoining the township of Greenock, on its S. side and consisting of 4 residences with a population of 28 persons. It is in the hundred of Nuriootpa."

The land speculation was not a success, the family returned to Kensington in 1863 in a much-reduced state and in 1866 George died.
Sarah and the daughters commenced teaching and over a period of time became comfortably off. By 1874 they had moved to Semaphore to a pleasant house and several of the girls had a school there.
Sarah Brunskill lived to the grand old age of eighty-seven and was said to be the finest whist player in the colony.

NEXT: Developing the Site.