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Mr. Burnard's father [Robert
Burnard], who was an artist and portrait
painter, opened a business in conjunction with his eldest son, as a
painter and glazier; and their first shop was in Leigh street. The family
afterwards moved to the old "castle", at Plympton, which still stands. On
the walls of various rooms, paintings may yet be seen that were done by
Mr. Burnard, sen,. and the late Dr. Campbell once stated that if those
pictures had been painted on canvas, instead of the walls of the rooms,
they would have been worth well over £1,000.
Another memorial to the late Mr. Burnard, is the original Black Bull sign,
painted for the hotel of that name. Charles Stodden Burnard, Memories of Early Adelaide
[THE OBSERVER, ADELAIDE, July 28, 1928]
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Two historic homes will be reduced to rubble after West Torrens Council
recently decided only to save them on film. West Torrens Council will
capture the historic homes in photographs before they are knocked over for
new units being built on the blocks at Camden Park and Plympton. The
council said there was no reason why the ``rundown'' homes should not be
pushed aside for newer developments. Councillor and local historian Dulcie
Perry agreed but said the council first should photograph and view the
houses' historic value. ``We hope to be able to look for interesting
fireplaces or wooden shingles or bottles from the old rubbish heap out the
back, that's the way you build up a history in the area,'' she
said.
The two
houses, one at 38 Curzon St and the other at 37 Mooringe Ave, were among
the first built in the area. Photographic artist Robert
Burnard built the Mooringe
Ave house before 1853 and Ms Perry said interior walls should be checked
to see if the interior wall murals he had painted still existed. She said
the house was one of few local structures built using the pise technique
where a straw, limestone and mud clay mixture
was rammed hard in frames to form the walls. Another disappearing
construction technique was used in the Curzon St house. Those walls were
built from iron stamped and painted to look like freestone. Ms Perry said
the house probably had been built by shepherds living in the area when it
was still a farming district.
Both Ms Perry and West Torrens councillor Reece Jennings would have liked
this house to be re-erected and maintained on another site. ``I
think we have to be realistic about this though, these are not beautiful
homes and it would be hard to develop the land with the houses on them,''
Ms Perry said. ``It would be nice to see this house to perhaps be
demolished and re-erected on a site where the historic building could be
maintained . . . I can't see that happening though, it would be expensive
and who would maintain it?''
Messenger - Westside, Edition 1WED
22 APR 1992, Page 003
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