Surrey Farm (Section .2141) G.R.O. Application 26310
- G. Angas, H. Kingscote, J.R. Todd (S.A. Company), October 22, 1842 (Land Grant)
- Charles Smith, 1853 (Western Moiety*) – John Smith, 1864 Richard Smith. 1876
- Richard Smith, 1853 (Eastern Moiety*) Farmers
- Richard Smith Senior died 1892
C.T. 1006-96
- Richard C. Smith 1914
- Vincent A. Zed 1925
- Edward Erskine Cleland 1927
C.T. 1497-30
- Colin Claude & Harold Bruce Bowden – Pastoralists 1928
- John H. Tilley Tennants in
- Howard James Ross. Common 1944
C.T.1951-190
- Ethel Rita Grace Ross, 1945
- John H. Tilley
- Samuel, David Victor, Allen VVynn,1946
- Wynvale Vineyards Pro Ltd (1954 became Modbury Estate Ltd) 1949
C.T. 3565 -174
- S.A. Land Commission 1975
Moiety – An antiquated term meaning- one or two parts of divisions of something.
The 1853 Assessment Records for the District of Highercombe shows that R. Smith Senior. leased from the S.A. Company 120 acres on sections 2130, 2142. He had a further 80 1/2 acres that he owned and leased from the S.A. Company these being sections 2141, 2150, 2283. Charles Smith also owned 120 1/2 acres of land on sections 2141, 2140, 2150, 2283. It is noted on these sections were `House etc. and land of various qualities’. The dwelling house of Surrey Farm consisted at this time of a cottage style home.
There were almond orchards and hay paddocks at Surrey Farm, with fruit trees around the house, but the majority of land was given over to vineyards. There was also a very steep hill and quarry on the property where the land was unable to be used for cultivation.
Richard Smith Snr, helped George Chapman, a runaway sailor, by giving him work and lodging. George eventually married Lavinia Dowton, from the property next door that was to become Elder Green.
Not forgetting that George Chapman had worked for them, apparently when Mr. & Mrs. Smith and family saw the large house that was being built at Elder Green in 1888, they were prompted to build an equally and if not larger residence!
The `new’ `Surrey Farm house had an entrance hall which was a very imposing 40ft x 20ft. Large rooms with high ceilings were on each side of the long hallway. Some of the rooms had fireplace surrounds of beautiful white marble. There were three cellars under the house with access from inside as well as outside. The verandahs around the house were edged with beautiful wrought iron `Lacework’, which still survives today.
The building is testimony to what once was Surrey Farm – so much a part of the farming and viticulture of the area.
With the compulsory purchase of land by the S.A. Land Commission in 1975 for development of the area, the `Surrey Farm’ building is now used as ‘The Golden Grove Homestead Community Child Care Centre’ and sits just off the lower entrance to Pedare School, on Surrey Farm Drive