Hillcott Farm (Section 2131)
- Mrs Emilia Grove of Staffordshire, (Land Grant) 1842
- James Nihil,1848
- Simon Boase,1852 Farmer
- Henry Tilley, July 1 Farmer
- John Tilley,1878
- John Tilley died 1907
- John Henry Tilley & George Casper Tilley,1910
The Tilley family of Wiltshire U.K. arrived in Adelaide aboard the migrant ship `Asceola’ in April 1851.
Henry Tilley with his son John, just 13 years old, set off in 1 853 to try their luck on the Victorian goldfields. On their return to S.A. Henry paid 800 pounds for 77 acres of land at Upper Dry Creek (Golden Grove), (section 2131) in 1854. This was to become Hillcott Farm named after his native village, Hillcott in Wiltshire, U.K.
The homestead was situated near the south-west corner of Yatala Vale Road and Golden Grove Road.
Much of the land was used for grain crops and hay – they had an extensive orchard, as well as keeping horses, cows, pigs, and poultry.
With the re-development of the area Hillcott Farm, as with many others, is no more. The actual homestead and outbuildings were finally demolished in 1998.
When visiting their cousins at Eldergreen, Mrs Beryl King nee Sandford, tells of the time she and her brother were asked to fetch some eggs from “Hillcott Farm”, next door. They were quite young at the time, so basket in hand they happily set off. Chained in the paddock was the Tilley’s big red bull, a very ferocious beast, with a bad reputation. Erring on the side of caution, Beryl and her brother decided to climb through another fence and into the `Hillcott’ orchard to get to the farmhouse. Half way through, they were confronted by these huge pigs, which were roaming around, they ran for all they were worth, finally making it to the farmhouse, where they got the eggs and returned safely to “Eldergreen” … by another route. , Quite a heart stopping adventure for two kids on holiday!