Old Gawler Home

This is a fairly classic look house in 'old gawler', near 'Luther Square'.

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Backyard Swing

Just across the road from the above cottage was a magnificently purple swing, just waiting for some young child to come and make the most of it.

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Gawler - colonial architecture

Gawler used to be a railroad town. Both of the cottages in this post overlook the railway line on its way to Gawler Central station. This one is a fairly simple example of old colonial housing - solid and functional:

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This is a rear view of a cottage facing King Street. There's a stop sign just in front of it, and to its left is the bridge over the line as it pulls into Gawler Central. I like it because it shows some of the ideosyncratic design features that lie behind the stolid exteriors of most colonial architecture.

King Street, Gawler.

King Street starts (or, ends) at the stop sign just to the right as you go up the hill past the cottage by the Bridge near Gawler Central train station. Near the other end lies Eagle Foundry, where we spent a couple nights a fortnight ago. This is the view looking towards the railroad end of King Street, from the driveway into Eagle Foundry:

... The unusual road marking in the bottom right of the road was caused the night before the photo by a car which took out a roadsign (you can still see the 'stump') and then, having managed to impale itself, drive around the block grinding the roads down with the impaled pole.

King Street housing

Here's a pair of King Street Cottages up the railroad end, near the corner.

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This one had the classic 'Gawler' look:

King Street's most stately home.

Every street has one

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And, like many such, you find that ...

It's mainly in the detail ...

The iron lace is fairly intricate and well maintained:

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The place is surrounded by (composed of) ornate flourishes that keep the eye happy without overwhelming it. For example, these under roof pinnings:

Here's a view to help put the above two details in perspective...

Opposite Eagle Foundry ...

... lies this old home. It has a very comfortable aura, and a lived-in look. Pity it doesn't have the old iron fencework which features on most of the other King Street homes.

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Here's a detail of the entrance. Could be made to look imposing:

Cottage at the bottom of King Street ...

Gawler Books

Round the corner from King Street, over the river and next to the Willaston Post Office, lies Gawler Books - a most excellent discovery on a Sunday morning at 10! There is a good selection of good books, new and preloved, reasonably priced. What makes it special as a bookshop, however, is that the whole building is dedicated to being a shop, each room in the holding different collections in 6 1/2 foot bookcases.

Well worth dropping in for a visit if, like me, you like books or old buildings.

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The bookseller had a broadband modem which I took as a hopeful postmodern sign, considering the surroundings.