Newman Nursery Ruins Anstey Hill

It’s been well over a year since my last walk at Anstey Hill. I decided to rectify that yesterday, and I thought it would be nice to record highlights of my Anstey Hill walk. If you like, you can watch my Anstey Hill walk.

I love walking through Anstey Hill because it’s such a beautiful walk. Anstey Hill has tracks to accommodate everyone, from the casual walker to the serious fitness freak. Anstey Hill even has trails for BMX lovers.

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The thing about Anstey Hill is it stimulates your audio, visual and your sense of smell. The sounds of nature are exquisite, and you can get a hint of that from my video. It’s only a hint because you have to be there to be able to soak it all in. There was one particular bird who had a beautiful bird call. I managed to capture that call and bird in the video, and I’d love if someone could tell me in the comments the name of that bird.

I was lucky enough to come across several kangaroos, and one even had a joey in her pouch. I was sure that one of the kangaroos cocked an ear to hear what the kookaburras were saying. ?

Newman Nursery Ruins

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One of my favourite places to visit on my Anstey Hill walks is Newman Nursery ruins. As I do that I try and take myself back, to imagine what it would have been like to living when it was a bustling nursery. It’s almost like travelling back in time, leaving all the today’s troubling times behind.

CF Newman established the nursery back in 1856 when he and his young bride cleared the land in what then was known as the District of Highercomb. By 1880 it was a showpiece of the bustling colony listing 300 orchid varieties, 600 rose varieties and 300 different fruit trees. You can see photos of the original Newman’s Nursery when it was a bustling nursery.

Newman Nursery ruins

Today’s ruins show the location of the heated glasshouses, all that is left after the land was devastated by floods and bushfires. 

Today’s nursery, located on North East Road, was established in 1925. Their website contains a complete history of Newman’s Nursery.

I could have spent so much more time there, but I was excited to see more of Anstey Hill. Just a little way after the nursery, I came across a sign that told me the track I was on used to be the driveway to their homestead. It also informed me how the Newman family planted many exotic species, introducing hundreds of new varieties of plants to the South Australian public. The Ash Wednesday bushfire destroyed everything except for the Kurrajong tree pictured below. 

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As you see in my video above, parts of Anstey Hill still bears the scars from the latest Adelaide Hills fires. Fortunately, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as other parts of the State.

All images edited and enhanced with Luminar 4.

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This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Mitch Mitchell

    You know, I read the title as Newman Nursery “ruins” Anstey Hill and wondered how I missed that on the video. lol Also, I certainly didn’t see the kookaburra, though I was looking for it (I didn’t hear it in the background either).

    1. Peter

      I didn’t get to see the Kookaburra either Mitch, although I definitely heard it. You can hear the Kookaburra “laugh” at around the 10:52 mark. I couldn’t call the post ‘Anstey Hill’ because then I couldn’t link to my video using those keywords. Apparently, that would be bad SEO. ?

  2. Thomas

    Hi Peter

    It really seems like a great place for mind and body. Also some great photos you have taken of the place.

    1. Peter

      Thanks, Thomas, it was definitely the highlight of my day.

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