St. Michael's House ruins

The history of St. Michael's House is quite fascinating. The property, originally called Koralla, which was to become St. Michael's House was left to the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide in 1943 by Mrs Audine G. O'Leary, widow of Dr Arthur Pryce Evelyn O'Leary. He died in Colchester in 1929.

Soon after, the Bishop of Adelaide, Bryan Percival Robin, invited the Society of the Sacred Mission to establish themselves in Adelaide at the O'Leary property which would be their monastery and theological college. This location is only a couple of hundred metres from the summit of Mt. Lofty in the Adelaide hills.

This devastation occurred in the second Ash Wednesday fires, on 16 February 1983, when all hell broke loose. At lunchtime on that dreadful day, with the temperature around 40 degrees Celsius (well over 100F), and with a strong, hot northerly wind blowing, fires in the hills, and many other areas raged out of control.

During the afternoon more fires broke out in different locations through the Adelaide hills and by mid-afternoon the South East freeway and all roads to the hills were closed.

In all 26 people died, 14 in the south-east and 12 in the metropolitan area, including four at Yarrabee Road, Greenhill on the NE edge of Adelaide. Many homes and buildings were destroyed including the historic Bonython home "Eurilla", Mount Lofty House, St Michael's Church of England Seminary at Mount Lofty, the Eagle-on-the-Hill Hotel, old German houses at tiny Paechtown, and other historic landmarks. In all 118 houses through the hills were burnt down.

This burnt out cottage at Mt. Lofty is all that remains of the former St. Michael's Seminary complex. It was never rebuilt, no doubt being regarded as too hard, and not a suitable site to risk building on again. The nearby mansion of "Eurilla" was rebuilt and we had a look through it when it came on the market about 10 years ago.