The Council Assessment Panel will re-consider the OWNERS’ APPLICATION TO DEMOLISH LOCAL HERITAGE PLACE, 69 HIGH STREET KENSINGTON, at its meeting to be held on Monday 20th October at 6.30pm.

There is no further opportunity to address or ask questions of the Panel; however, the Kensington Residents’ Association encourages members and other locals concerned about Kensington’s built heritage to attend the meeting to quietly and respectfully observe proceedings. A packed gallery will show the Panel and the applicants how important heritage is to Kensington residents.

The meeting will be held at the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters’ Council Chambers on the 1st floor of the Norwood Town Hall, 175 The Parade, Norwood. Enter via George Street.

The meeting agenda and a report relating to the 69 High Street demolition application can be viewed at Norwood Town Hall, Council libraries or online at www.npsp.sa.gov.au from 10am Thursday 16th October.

Why is the building at 69 High Street so important? It is one of the oldest elementary school buildings in South Australia and one of the oldest single-room adaptive colonial buildings in existence. Built in 1847 it is the oldest still-standing example of a school associated with the Congregationalist movement championed by John William Roberts (1794-1875), who also built the 1848 Congregationalist Chapel, located in Maesbury Street beside Pioneer Park. The school at 69 High Street was specifically linked to Roberts’ ‘dissenter’ views and his desire to create Kensington Village as a model community based on the ‘Voluntary Principle’.

From the Book of Assessment for the Town of Kensington and Norwood 1849, the building was described as a ‘School Room’ and the occupier was Septimus Webster, a school master. An advertisement from the SA Register on 18 August 1856 shows that Mr Septimus Webster advertised for students for the Kensington Elementary School at the site.

Sandy Wilkinson, Heritage Consultant, in conjunction with Urathane Solutions, provided a report to the Council Assessment Panel at its May 2025 meeting when the Panel first considered the demolition application. The report outlined the heritage value of the building and argued that the building is not irredeemably beyond repair and should not be subject to demolition approval under the Planning and Design Code. The owners of 69 High Street have apparently has ignored this advice and are proceeding with the demolition application.

The Kensington Residents’ Association calls on the State Government to implement the 2023 recommendations from the Expert Panel for Planning Implementation Review, by changing the Planning and Design Code immediately to address “demolition by neglect”. The Expert Panel recommended that Councils be given the power to issue maintenance orders for Local Heritage Places and also to allow Council Assessment Panels to consider the cause of deterioration in demolition assessments (Reform 15: “To exclude deterioration due to neglect as a supporting factor for demolition”).

“The Panel heard that there is a penchant for local heritage places to be neglected and left to deteriorate to enable ease of their demolition in accordance with Performance Outcome 6.1 of the Code. The Panel considers this needs review to ensure the local heritage places are not being neglected and left dilapidated.” (Final Report and Recommendations: Expert Panel for the Planning System Implementation Review, page 225)

The South Australian Government may support this recommendation, but it has yet to be implemented.

If we lose the historic elementary school building, an important part of the story of South Australia will be lost forever. SOS! Save Our Schoolhouse!

—- THIS IS A RISING SUN INN EVENT —

The Rising Sun Inn will celebrate 180 years of history on 26th October from 12 noon to 7pm with

• live music

• giveaways from Coopers Brewery & Paracombe Wines

• prizes for the best period costumes, and

• special guest Robert Bria, Mayor of the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, cutting the birthday cake!

Outdoor dining available in the carpark (high tables & stools under umbrellas) with a duo performing live from 1pm.

The Inn’s restaurant will be open for lunchtime a la carte dining, phone 83330721 to book a table.

No dinner service in the evening; however, the bar will remain open as from 4.30-6.30pm live band Sound Factory plays music of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

This modest building at 69 High Street was formerly the Kensington Village school house. It is thought to have been built in the 1840s-1850s.

Although the building has stood firm for approximately 180 years, it now stands cordoned off, urgently requiring maintenance. In February 2025 the property owners submitted a Development Application under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (SA) seeking to demolish this Local Heritage building. The relevant authority considering the application is the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters Council Assessment Panel/Assessment Manager.

Both the built and natural heritage of Kensington – the character-laden buildings, the magnificent remnant river red gums, the ancient creekline – were here before we arrived. It’s important to remember that we are not so much ‘owners’ but rather ‘custodians’ of the living history in our suburb. The Kensington Residents’ Association was formed in 1977 by a group of concerned residents seeking to protect the suburb’s heritage and resolve other issues of community concern.

The Association was instrumental in the declaration of Kensington as an Historic Conservation Zone: three levels of heritage listing protect many buildings that otherwise might have been demolished. In 2014 the KRA campaigned to preserve 63 Maesbury Street (pictured below). Take a stroll down Maesbury Street to No. 63 and and you’ll see how subsequent owners successfully restored and extended this quaint cottage.

The KRA has now opposed the demolition of 69 High St through written and verbal presentations to the Council Assessment Panel (CAP). Approximately 30 KRA members and supporters attended the CAP meeting at Norwood Town Hall on 19th May 2025. Heritage consultant Sandy Wilkinson and Trent Kuchel from Urathane Solutions submitted their professional assessment that the damage to 69 High St is readily repairable, therefore demolition is not warranted. The Council Assessment Panel deferred their final decision on the 69 High Street demolition application pending further consultation.

The KRA will advertise to members when the demolition application for 69 High Street will next be considered by the CAP. The public can observe the meeting from the gallery and we encourage as many people as possible to attend to show the CAP how important heritage preservation is to the residents of Kensington.

Watch this space, watch 69 High Street, and if you share our concerns for its future write to :

Member for Dunstan, Cressida O’Hanlon MP (dunstan@parliament.sa.gov.au)

Council’s General Manager Urban Planning & Environment, Carlos Buzzetti (cbuzzetti@npsp.sa.gov.au)

Ward Councillors Christel Mex (cmex@electedmembers.npsp.sa.gov.au) and John Callisto (jcallisto@electedmembers.npsp.sa.gov.au)