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Published: 10 June 2026.

Ilfracombe Drive in Wattle Park takes its name from Ilfracombe House, which once stood nearby. The house was built circa 1847 for Dr James George Nash, South Australia’s second Colonial Surgeon, on the cooler slopes of his 40-acre property—just below the present site of the Wattle Park Reservoir—so he could better escape the summer heat.

Dr Nash named the home “Ilfracombe” after the seaside resort in Devon, England. The Nash family lived there until returning to England in 1856, after which the property passed through several tenants. In 1870, the house was converted into a reformatory for destitute and criminal boys. As the house itself offered limited space, the boys constructed a dormitory on the hill behind it. However, once the children were relocated in 1877 to the Magill Orphanage or the boys’ reformatory hulk Fitzjames, the poorly built dormitory quickly fell into disrepair. By November 1879, a picnicking party reportedly witnessed its roof being completely blown off in a storm.

In the 1890s, Ilfracombe House and its surrounding land were purchased by Joseph Crompton, who subdivided the property into five large allotments, creating the estates of Bell Yett and Chiverton. The house itself remained on an eight-acre parcel and was used for various purposes, including serving as the head office for Stonyfell Vineyards. Eventually, however, it was left vacant, fell into disrepair, and was demolished in 1960, after which the land was further subdivided.

Photograph: Ilfracombe House facing north and a friend of the Martin family, Laura Gee, sits with her poodle Fifi (circa 1925-1930). Burnside Local History Collection.