Windback Wednesday - Toorak Gardens

The suburb of Toorak (now Toorak Gardens) was first developed in 1912. Prior to this, the land had largely been used for farming, most notably occupied by Prescott Farm and the Fergusson Family’s Montreith Farm. Prescott Farm had covered almost 300 acres from Fullarton Road to Portrush Road and continued as a working farm throughout the first decades of subdivision, until December 1938. In 1853, the Fergusson family leased the land adjacent to Prescott Farm, where they also continued to live and work throughout subdivision, until the family home was demolished in 1923.

One of the most significant sites in Toorak Gardens is Attunga House (photograph), a large 14-room mansion built by Adelaide architect Frederick William Dancker for businessman and soap manufacturer Benjamin Burford. After Burford’s death in 1905, Attunga was purchased by an investor from Broken Hill, Otto von Reiben. In 1944, von Rieben donated Attunga House to the Burnside Council for use as a hospital, and its extensive Edwardian gardens for use as a rest and recuperation area for the hospital’s patients. While the Burnside War Memorial Hospital replaced Attunga House in 1956, Attunga continues its association with the hospital, housing Attunga Medical Centre, the Breast and Endocrine Centre, and Nurture Women’s Care Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Other significant sites in Toorak Gardens include Fergusson Square, Rose Park Bowling Club, and the Anglican Church of St Theodore.

Photograph: “Attunga”, c.1919. Courtesy of the State Library of South Australia B 49764.