Land originally owned by early settler Young Bingham Hutchinson at Hindmarsh Valley on the market for the first time in 183 years
Nearly 100ha of land along Victor Harbor Rd, originally owned by one of Adelaide’s earliest settlers, is on sale for the first time since he bought it more than 180 years ago.
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A slice of one of South Australia’s first private landholdings is up for sale for the first time in its more than 180-year history.
The 95.8ha property along Victor Harbor Rd, at Hindmarsh Valley, is part of the original land bought by explorer Young Bingham Hutchinson in 1837.
Hutchinson’s great-grandson, Tom Hutchinson, said the property was one of the earliest purchases in the new colony of South Australia.
“My great grandfather came out on the Buffalo and he was a surveyor. He was involved in looking for the most suitable location for Adelaide,” Mr Hutchinson said.
“One of the earlier thoughts was to use Goolwa, or the mouth of the Murray River, so that they could use it for freighting stuff throughout the state.
“So he was travelling back and forth between Glenelg and the south coast when he came across this land and thought, ‘hey, this is some of the best land I’ve seen’, so that’s why he bought it.
“So it’s no coincidence that this is good land.”
Mr Hutchinson was selling a portion of the family estate to fund his retirement.
“I’m 70 years old now and if I were 30 years old, I wouldn’t be selling it as I’d know that there would be capital appreciation on it and double that in 10 years’ time,” he said.
“Because once Victor Harbor expands a bit further, the new owners will get into a situation where they can get the land rezoned and subdivided.”
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Selling agent Angus Campbell, of Ray White Woodside, said the property, which would be listed on realestate.com.au by the weekend, would suit a variety of buyers.
“While the property can’t currently be subdivided, it’s ideal for what we call generational land banking, which is something investors do in areas where they know there will be growth and township boundaries catch up,” Mr White said.
“In the meantime, it’s suitable for grazing with history in grazing sheep and cattle, and it also has a very good historical pasture program.
“It also has a lifestyle component so you could build something quite grand there without a problem at all, so it may even appeal to an executive from Adelaide looking for a bit of land to retire on.”
According to the History Trust of South Australia, Young Bingham Hutchinson was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy before coming to the new colony.
He was one of SA’s first justices of the peace.
His diary from his time aboard the Buffalo, published by the History Trust, include the day the ship and its crew arrived at Holdfast Bay, now Glenelg, on December 28, 1836.
“The Ship was dressed in all her colours, & fired a royal salute,” the entry reads.
“The Governor’s Proclamation was then read, after which His Majesty’s & His Excellency’s healths were drunk with great enthusiasm. The sailors then began to get pretty drunk, so that we had great difficulty to get on board, many staying behind.”