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Thorpe Knoll - The Gameau Family

Mary Gameau ObituaryAt this point it has been difficult to establish where Thorpe Knoll was located exactly or why it was named thus, but it was in the Campbelltown area and probably in section 309.

A search of the Trove website reveals that the earliest reference to Thorpe Knoll was on 21st January 1863 when the SA Register on page 2 reported that on the 16th January at Thorpe Knoll, Campbelltown a Mrs. H A Payne had given birth to a daughter1.

All later references to Thorpe Knoll are linked to the family of Gerard and Mary Gameau.

Gerard’s parents, John and Rachel Gameau with their children Victor, Emma and Thomas had emigrated to South Australia about 1850 and settled near Gawler. Soon after their arrival Gerard was born and later another girl, Susette.

In the late 1860’s or early 1870’s it is likely that the Gameau family moved to Thorpe Knoll2. Victor and Thomas took up property in what is now a residential area bounded by the Paradise O-Bahn Interchange, the River Torrens and Darley Road. The access road to this pocket of homes is Gameau Road. In the late 1800’s the area was known as Sydenham.

This is unsubstantiated, but John and Rachel may have purchased Thorpe Knoll and when John died in 1872 (his place of death was listed as Campbelltown3), Gerard may have inherited or taken on the responsibility for running the property.

'Sydenham House' is located at 1 Lorraine Avenue, Paradise. It was the former Gameau Homestead of Thomas Edwin, Victor & Gerard Gameau (C 1878) then leased to William Lewis (1890). Thomas Victor Gameau regained the property, date unknown. The building is now heritage listed.

In 1874 Gerald married Mary Elizabeth Partridge and they lived out their lives at Thorpe Knoll with Gerard dying in 1934 aged 83 and Mary in 1938 in her 90th year.4

In the intervening years at Thorpe Knoll they had welcomed the arrival of 5 children but been saddened by the loss of two at very young ages5 & 6, celebrated marriages and the arrival of grandchildren. In some editions of the Sands and McDougall Directories, Gerard and his brothers were listed as gardeners or nurserymen, their nursery possibly printing Montacute Road7. Newspaper reports suggest they had a very active role in the community. Mary had conducted schools during the 1870s8 and was well known as a gardener and floral decorator9. Dances10 and fetes at Thorpe Knoll to raise funds for the St. Martins Church were also reported on11.

Researched and compiled by Geoff Burton, 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

  1. 1863 'Family Notices.', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), 21 January, p. 2, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50180071
  2. 1916 'CONCERNING PEOPLE.', The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929), 11 April, p. 4, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59634396
  3. 1872 'Family Notices.', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), 31 July, p. 4, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39258889
  4. 1938 'Mrs. M.E. Gameau.', Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), 22 September, p. 49, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92424328
  5. 1877 'Family Notices.', South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), 7 September, p. 4, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40793567
  6. 1880 'Family Notices.', The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889), 2 September, p. 4, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30805961
  7. 1904 'DISTRICT COUNCILS.', The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929), 25 February, p. 9, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55689869
  8. 1880 'GENERAL NEWS.', Adelaide Observer (SA : 1843 - 1904), 15 May, p. 26, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160132525
  9. 1915 'SEEN THIS WEEK.', The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954), 11 December, p. 18, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59396415
  10. 1901 'IN SOCIETY.', Quiz (Adelaide, SA : 1900 - 1909), 18 September, p. 7, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article169156136
  11. 1911 'THE COUNTRY.', The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929), 25 October, p. 5, viewed 26 May, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59214693
  12. 1938 'Mrs. M.E. Gameau.', Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), 22 September, p. 49, viewed 2 June, 2015, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92424328