Lameroo Walk Two - cover both sides of the main commercial st

Lameroo Heritage Walks | Walk One | Walk Two | Walk Three | Walk Four | Visit Lameroo

Covers both sides of the main commercial street and includes an optional walk around Lake Roberts - approx. 45 minutes

Exit the Craft Shop, turn right, walk towards the bakery, cross the road to the corner of the main street and then cross to the …

34 Palm Tree

This tree was inside the garden of the railway station master’s house.

Walk towards the railway line …

35 Australia Day Tree Plantation (1)

These trees were all planted by people recognised for their charitable and voluntary work carried out in the town and district.

Go to the pathway next to the Apex playground …

36 SA Dry Trail

This trail was set up by the Historical Society, using a Centenary of Federation grant, to remind people of the importance of water and its availability which led to the establishment of the railway and the town and the continuing prosperity of the area.

Follow the trail and read all the information signs. Exit the trail onto Railway Terrace North next to the toilet block. Turn right to look at …

37 CFS and SES Station

This emergency services station was built in 1973/1974. Previously the first fire vehicle, a cut down school bus, was housed at the hotel until the original fire shed was built on railway land in 1951.

38 Dental Clinic

This was opened in 1978 and a chiropractic clinic is also conducted in the same rooms.

Turn left and walk along Railway Terrace North past …

39 Southern Mallee District Council Offices

On 26th Oct 1908 the State Government decided to establish a council to cover the Pinnaroo/Lameroo area. This was originally called the Pinnaroo Council but offices were set up in Lameroo in the home of the first District Clerk, Mr Alfred Townsend, on Railway Terrace South. By 1910 it was realised that the council area was too big to be administered due to the problems with travel so in 1913 the council was split into Pinnaroo and Pinnaroo East but the similarity of names caused problems especially as the Pinnaroo offices were in Lameroo! Consequently in 1919 the councils were renamed Lameroo and Pinnaroo.

In November 1918 Council were using a timber and iron office building on Railway Terrace South. In 1938 they moved to new offices further along the same street privately built by the then District Clerk Mr HH Perrin.

Council purchased this property in 1950 and when they moved to the new main street location in 1969 the old offices were sold as a private home.

After approx. 90 years the council again covers both Pinnaroo and Lameroo as they combined to become the Southern Mallee District Council.

40 Water Fountain

This fountain was a joint project between the CWA and WAB to commemorate the SA 150th Jubilee celebrations in 1986.

41 CWA Rooms

The branch was formed in 1939 and meetings were first held in a room at the rear of the Eudunda Farmers Co-op on the corner of Chandos Terrace and Railway Terrace North. This hall was formerly Tink’s billiard saloon adjacent to the boarding house on Vardon Terrace (point 57). It was moved, using horses and a jinker, to Yappara South and used as a school and hall. When the school closed the hall was moved back again, this time by tractor, and has been used by the CWA since 1946. It has had a kitchen and toilet added and has been reclad twice. Note the wrought iron emblem over the front porch.

42 Apex Playground

This childrens play area was established by the Apex Club in 1998.

Cross the street diagonally and go to the building on the corner by the roundabout. Proceed east along the main street …

43 Historical Society Archives Building (old Westpac Bank)

This was a vacant block which stretched right to the corner of the road. Two buildings were relocated here and joined together, one of them being Miss McMahon’s shop from Railway Terrace South. They were used as a tea room on the western end (mainly by Mr and Mrs H Carr) with Griffiths bootmaker on the eastern end. When the tearoom moved further up the street this shop was used by an electrician.

In 1981 the site was redeveloped and the new Commercial Bank built. This later became Westpac and is now the Archives Centre for the Historical Society. It is open to the public for research on Wednesdays and on other days by appointment.

44 Lameroo Traders (the IGA supermarket and arcade of shops)

Traders IGA

This was the site of the National Bank and later the building became the private house of Mr and Mrs Griffith who owned the adjacent bootmakers shop.

IGA Garden Shop and the Lameroo Butcher Shop

This was the site of Geisler’s Store, later owned by Clem V Scott, Cappers and Bridges.

Redevelopment

In 1960 the Griffiths home was relocated to Leckie Avenue and the old store demolished. The new Lameroo Traders shopping centre was officially opened in February 1961.

45 Newsagent

There were originally four small shops on this site occupied by a hairdresser, saddler, tailor and general agent. Following a fire the shops were demolished. The new shop was first occupied by Mr Arthur Cornish, commonly known as Bun, who was a hairdresser, sold cigarettes, lollies and icecreams and his wife Thelma had a tearoom. They lived in the back of the shop. The Cornish’s also had a piecart and used to cater to the patrons of the picture theatre held regularly at the Institute. The shop was later developed into a newsagency by Mrs Scroop and is now owned by Mr and Mrs Andrew Cornish a great nephew of Arthur Cornish.

46 Café and IGA Everday Store

This double block was the site of Martin’s blacksmith shop. The forge stood where the cafe is now and the rest of the area (now part of the supermarket) was the holding yard for wagons and horses. After the property became vacant Mr JG Shearer built a shop in front of the forge. He ran a mixed business and had an underground room in which he served meals and refreshments and where he stored his bottled cool drinks. The former horse yard was used as a cycling arena which was floodlit at night. The shop later burnt down.

A new double shop was built and Mr and Mrs Carr relocated their tearooms from the corner (point 39). Mr Carr was also a hairdresser. Mr and Mrs Scroop later ran the business and sold home grown fruit and vegetables.

The vacant area (horse yard/cycling arena) was redeveloped and the Eudunda Farmers Co-op (branch no: 7) built and opened in 1937. The business was then relocated from the old premises on the corner of Chandos Terrace and Railway Terrace South. The store was enlarged on the eastern side in 1973. Eudunda Farmers became Tom’s, then United and finally IGA.

47 Bob Moulds Motors

Parts of the original building still stand and the old fireplace can still be seen in the office area. It was first built as two shops. There was always a butcher on the eastern side and the western side was a greengrocer, then a café and then a newsagent and sweetshop. The building use changed to a garage firstly operated by WE Peake.

48 ANZ Bank

The first bank was built in 1909 and 1912. This new red brick building was erected in 1967 when the bank was known as the Bank of Adelaide.

49 National Parks and Wildlife

This was the site of Mr J Potter the saddler. During WWI he diversified as a bootmaker. The current building was firstly used by EJ Walter as a garage and when Mr Walter’s son Peter took over the business and went into partnership with Mr Koch it became Walko Motors. It later became Heinzel Ford and then was used as a craft shop and café before finally being converted into government offices.

50 Chemist

This site was set aside for government use for many years and a permanent structure could not be built on it. For many years there was a temporary building used as HV McKay’s agency. Later the block was sold for private use and the Commercial Bank, with dwelling at rear, was erected. Part of the building was rented out as office space and was used by Elders agency. After the bank moved to new premises (point 39) the front of the building was altered and it became the chemist shop.

51 Post Office

A temporary iron building was put up in 1911, replaced with a brick one, dwelling at rear, in 1912. A manual telephone exchange was also included. When the building became too cramped a separate house for the postmaster was built elsewhere and then in 1962 the old Post Office was demolished. During rebuilding services were temporarily offered in the old Walter office building on Railway Terrace South. The new Post Office, with telephone exchange at rear, was opened in 1964. Since the exchange went automatic in the 1980s this area has been rented out as office space.

Cross North Avenue …

52 Hotel/Motel Complex

Three blocks were bought for the hotel in 1904 but only two were ever used (the current BankSA stands on the third).

In 1905, on the corner block, a pug and pine building was constructed and called the Settlers Hotel. New additions at the rear were built from bricks made from local clay and sand at Davies brickyard in Taylors road. The hotel was used for local meetings and when accommodation was booked out, as frequently happened, travellers were billeted out in private homes.

In 1909 on the second site (approx. where the dining room entrance and driveway sit now) a temporary bank was built used first by the National Bank and then by the Commercial Bank. Later this block housed several buildings variously used as sample rooms by the commercial travellers visiting Lameroo, a cordial factory, a betting shop, greengrocer and book-maker.

The hotel installed a water trough on the railway reserve opposite and provided free water for stock and horses. In 1913 the name was changed to the Commercial Hotel and in 1925 it was demolished and a Mt Gambier stone building erected which at the time was the largest single story hotel in SA.

Following a public meeting in 1949 the hotel changed status to a Community Hotel allowing all profits to be used for community development.

There were lots of changes in the 1960s. The land opposite the hotel was bought from the railways and lawned, staff accommodation was built on Vardon Terrace and in 1965 the motel units were built fronting North Avenue.

Continue walking east along Railway Terrace North …

53 BankSA Building

Here there was a blacksmiths shop later used as a printing works. The site was then developed as a garage by Frank Bowman until 1945 when it was taken over by Kevin Deane and Ivan Cooper. In 1957 the garage closed and the building was vacant until the site was redeveloped and a branch of the Savings Bank of South Australia opened in 1962.

54 Electrician Building

Murphy’s Store was built here and across the adjoining block (now Landmark). This store was taken over by W Campbell & Co and was a draper/grocer/general store. After it was sold to Horace Henry Skewes and business dropped dramatically it burnt down in very suspicious circumstances in 1920 but arson was never proved. Later the current building was erected by Dalgety, stock and station agents, and was then used for many years by Huddleston’s Electrical.

55 Vacant former Landmark building

As stated this site was firstly part of Murphy’s and then Campbell’s store. After the fire mentioned above Mr Day had a butchers shop later taken over by Bansemers. South Australian Farmers Union then had an agency on the site and it has been run as a stock and station agency since undergoing several name changes.

56 Private House

Spencer’s saddlery was on this site for a very short time until destroyed by fire. A private house was erected and used by the Bansemer family who had the butcher shop next door.

57 Elders

Mr P Constantine built a substantial general store on this site having previously operated from tents on Mr W Lehmann’s property. In 1908 he closed his business and the shop was then used as the first full time hairdresser and later Batten’s store. Elders had their first agency in offices next to the bank (point 46). This current building was erected in 1965.

58 Vacant Blocks

Probably there was a store on the site next to Elders at some time or another. Lots of shops were built in various parts of the town which were either burnt down or relocated.

The corner block is the former site of the Mobil fuel depot once operated by Christie Bros. The fuel was brought by rail and the infeed pipes ran under the road.

Cross the main street diagonally to …

59 Bicentennial Park

The trees here were planted by the schoolchildren.

Cross back over the road in a straight line to the information sign in front of the drainage pond at Lake Roberts and read all about the use of reclaimed water in the area.

You can now take an optional walk around …

60 Lake Roberts & Australia Day Plantation (2)

This used to be covered in reeds but has been cleared to provide a picturesque park area for the use of locals and visitors. The barbeque and shelter were erected by the Lameroo Rotary Club and adjacent is the second Australia Day tree plantation. The lake is named after Mr Jack Roberts who served for many years as the District Clerk for the Lameroo Council.

If you have walked around the lake exit on the path and proceed up the hill of Vardon Terrace. or

If you did not take the optional walk leave the information sign, turn to face down the main street, walk to the corner and then turn right into Bews Terrace. This leads to Vardon Terrace.

Walk up to …

61 no: 56 Vardon Terrace

Approximately on this high point there was a boarding house with an adjacent billiard saloon later to become the CWA rooms (point 37).

Look to your right …

62 Old Bore Site

There is an old water bore site under the vacant land towards Harvey Street.

Cross the top of North Avenue …

63 Masonic Lodge (on corner at left)

The Lodge was formed in January 1913 with meetings being held at the Court House. Dedicated in November 1914 a stone building was erected and can still be seen at the rear of the new Lodge which was built in 1967. The old building was then used as a supper room and kitchen (and for a time was the meeting place for the Brownie Pack). The Lodge was disbanded in approx. 2001 and the building is now privately owned.

Continue down the hill …

64 no: 35 Vardon Terrace

This house is built on the site of Scroop’s vegetable garden and the produce was sold in his delicatessen/café (point 42).

Cross Chandos Terrace diagonally to …

33 Dolly’s Golden Raintree Craft and Heritage Centre

This was built in 1911 and designed as a shop and dwelling with both doors opening onto the footpath. The shop door is recessed and has glazed display windows, there is a cellar under the floor (now unused) and the bullnosed verandah has horse hitching rails attached to the posts. The building was first used as a greengrocery then was vacant until Mr R Thamm commenced as a saddler and leatherworker in 1925. His wife taught piano and also accompanied the silent pictures shown at the Institute. Mr Roberts took over from the Thamms as a saddler and besides mending harness sold push bikes and motor bikes. (Mr Roberts son Jack later became the District Clerk). Later the building was bought as a private home by Mr and Mrs W Vandepeer. After Mr Vandepeer died his wife “Dolly” lived alone and was in the house for a period altogether of 52 years before moving to Pinnaroo.

Early in 1997 the Southern Mallee District Council bought the building to be made available to the Lameroo & District Historical Society. It has been extensively renovated in keeping with the original construction. The front section is rented by the Lameroo Craft Club and the back section houses a permanent display by the Historical Society and leads out to the new museum.

The beautiful old golden raintree in the garden is a feature.

The centre was officially opened by the late Roy Koch, life member of the Historical Society, on Sunday 15th Oct 2000.

This is the end of Walk Two . Please take time to explore the Lameroo Museum (Entry is by gold coin donation) and then perhaps enjoy a Devonshire Tea in the Craft Shop.

Lameroo Heritage Walks | Walk One | Walk Two | Walk Three | Walk Four | Visit Lameroo