Brentwood
Brentwood was built in 1913 by the Pope Family. Joseph Alfred Pope, his wife Elizabeth Pope, nee Harvey, moved from Broken Hill to start a Poultry farm in Rostrevor. Elizabeth’s family had settled in Moonta in South Australia. Joseph and Elizabeth’s two children lived with them, Olive Pope and Harold Wellesley Pope. Their business partner was Joseph’s brother Stephen Pope. Brother in law James Hebbard (Inspector of Mines) was a silent financial partner. Stephen Pope bought a property nearby, named Rossmore or sometimes spelt as Rossmoor 1 .
Joseph Alfred Pope had arrived in Australia with his parents and five siblings at the age of six months. The ship they arrived on was the latest and greatest in marine travel, called the S.S Great Britain. They established themselves in Bendigo, Victoria. Educated in Bendigo, Joseph studied mining engineering by correspondence. In the 1890’s he and his father, Richard, sailed to South Africa, to work in the Rand Mines. These mines were managed by a relation. For some reason they were not entirely welcomed by the family in South Africa2 . The Rand mines were on the brink of collapse, so in 1895 Joseph and his father returned to Australia. The Rand Mines did fail shortly after3 . The Pope family then moved to Broken Hill in N.S.W. They lived in Chapple Street. Joseph was employed as a winding engine driver in the mines. Working shifts, he was unable to sleep during the day, and it affected his health. Every summer to escape the heat of Broken Hill, the family would holiday in Adelaide. So when his health began to suffer, Joseph decided he would look for a business in Adelaide4 . His father Richard Pope had died in Broken Hill5, and his mother and a single brother, a widowed sister and a single sister, all decided to move with him. He came to Adelaide to seek out a business that could sustain the family. When he returned to Broken Hill, with what he thought might be a business venture, the family had been thinking over the move. His younger unmarried brother Stephen, who lived with Mum and his two sisters, had decided he wanted to start a poultry farm. The young brother was idolised by his mother and sisters. So they all decided, while Joseph was in Adelaide, that this was the way to go6 . They sold two houses in Broken Hill and moved to Adelaide. The heart of the poultry farm was to be at Rossmoor. The house was big and already had outbuildings that could be converted for a poultry farm. The family believed that Rossmoor had been built by Ross Reid, a rich local identity. Ross Reid indeed owned and subdivided the property but he did not build the house.
Joseph and Elizabeth and children built Brentwood on a block that was adjacent to Rossmoor, and between the two blocks, they owned sixty acres of land. There was also a small cottage on the land, and a gardener/farm labourer Jack Usher lived in it with his family. He looked after the fruit and vegetables growing on the property. Joseph’s daughter, Olive Pope who was 21 when they moved to Rostrevor, managed to get employment in Norwood7 .
A committed Methodist, Olive laid the foundation stone for the Methodist church on Montacute Road. The foundation stone was laid on 13th December 1924, and opened on the 14th March 1925. The church had been designed by C.E. Taylor on land donated by George White8.
The family poultry business began in 1912 as soon as they moved on to the property. In 1913 back in Broken Hill, an Uncle died on Christmas day. His wife aunt Mary and three children came to live with Stephen, in Rossmoor. Around the time the farm was getting established, South Australia was in severe drought. The feed for the poultry was in short supply and was extremely expensive. Large amounts of money had been spent on modern equipment, for breeding, housing and laying.
In 1914 the war started in Europe and the farm was struggling. Some income came from the land around Brentwood, from citrus and vegetables9. In 1922 mother became ill, so Olive left work to look after her. She died in that year and Olive stayed at home to look after her father10 . In 1935 when the property was broken up Olive moved to a house of her own in Glenelg. Her father also moved there and was cared for by his daughter, until his death. She supported herself by letting rooms .
She would often get office work in Adelaide or interstate and she also began writing books under the name of “Olivia”. Unfortunately Brentwood is no longer, it was demolished to make way for new housing.
Researched and compiled by Jim Nelson, a volunteer with the Campbelltown Library “Digital Diggers” group. If you have any comments or questions regarding the information in this local history article, please contact the Local History officer on 8366 9357 or hthiselton@campbelltown.sa.gov.au
References
- Pope, Olive, State Library of South Australia, Somerville Oral History Collection, Available at: http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/archivaldocs/oh/OH1_31.pdf [Accessed 2018], page 28
- trove.nla.gov/ Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931) Wednesday 25 April 1900 p 3
- trove.nla.gov/ Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931) Wednesday 25 April 1900 p 3
- Pope, Olive, State Library of South Australia, Somerville Oral History Collection, Available at: http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/archivaldocs/oh/OH1_31.pdf [Accessed 2018], Page 47
- trove.nla.gov/ Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931) Wednesday 25 April 1900 p 3
- Pope, Olive, State Library of South Australia, Somerville Oral History Collection, Available at: http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/archivaldocs/oh/OH1_31.pdf [Accessed 2018],
- Pope, Olive, State Library of South Australia, Somerville Oral History Collection, Available at: http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/archivaldocs/oh/OH1_31.pdf [Accessed 2018],
- https://www.flickr.com › aquilareen › Newton Methodist church
- Pope, Olive, State Library of South Australia, Somerville Oral History Collection, Available at: http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/archivaldocs/oh/OH1_31.pdf [Accessed 2018],
- trove.nla.gov/ The Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1923) Monday 11 September 1922 p 1