Kingston House is the oldest building in the Holdfast Bay Council area, and is situated on a three acre reserve above the Kingston Park Caravan Park, commanding a magnificent view of the coast.
It was the country home of the Kingston Family - a family who were extremely influential in the founding of the South Australian Colony and of the Nation.
George Strickland Kingston came to South Australia aboard the 'Cygnet' in 1836 as Deputy Surveyor to Colonel Light.
He purchased the property on which
the House stands in April 1839. In 1840 he granted Robert Bristow
permission to build an Inn on it, which was to cater for the workers
from the nearby Quarry and sailors from ships using the Pier at the
proposed harbour in Marino Bay (which never enventuated).
Bristow built the
original 3 rooms from prefabricated timber panels shipped out from
England and built a verandah all around it. However this venture only
lasted a few years when the building and land was leased to Samuel
Oakley, a farmer, until about 1850.
In 1851, George returned to the house to make it his permanent residence. He set about improving the existing structure and added the two storey eastern wing resulting in the attractive and substantial building seen today.
The house remained in the Kingston family for another seventy years - until the death of his grandson's widow, Lucy, in 1919.
The State Government purchased the
property in the 1920's, and it was restored due to popular demand in
1983.
Click on the links to the left to discover more about the Kingston family.