The land on which Cranford House sits was purchased in 1861 by shoemaker William Crabb. It passed through various hands until 1878 when it was sold to builder William Robertson, who most likely constructed the house. Certainly by 1879, Robertson was the owner/occupier of the house with an annual assessed value of £80. The Smith Survey of 1880 indicates the outline of the building. William Watts bought the completed dwelling in February 1880, and Watts’ wife Jane became the owner in 1887. In the same year ownership passed to Harold Fisher and William Culross, and the title remained in their names until 1927.

From 1942 until the early 1950s the house was used as a residential Home School, to provide ‘intensive courses by which, in a short time, girls can make themselves proficient in household management’. The school catered for two categories of pupils: those who were about to be married, and unemployed girls who were taught to be ‘home assistants’ or servants. The school was established and managed by Dr Ethel Hillier. South Australian Directories indicate that she was a physician, and that she qualified ca 1912 – 1914. The school closed in 1950 when she died aged 65 years.

In 1960, Kingsway Motels Pty Ltd intended erecting a first class motel on this and two adjacent properties in South Terrace, but the project did not proceed, and the dwelling was used as a lodging house. In July 1963, the dwelling comprised 11 rooms, two toilets/bathrooms, laundry and a rear verandah with 12 adults and two children residing in the premises.

 

McDougall & Vines (1993) with additions by Donovan and Associates (2008)

My thanks to Malcolm Wicks/Gaye Wohling for providing this information.