Historic Medindie villa has the best of both worlds
Old meets new in this primely located Victorian villa, which has hit the market for the first time since 1998.
When Jane Copley, a radiologist, moved into her Medindie home in 1998, it was the location and the blend of historic grandeur with modern family living that set 62 Hawkers Road apart.
“It was sold previously quite derelict and a builder had bought it and renovated it, so it had that nice mix of big old rooms with tall ceilings, but a modern family room at the back,” says Jane.
Jane says the area was another major drawcard, being a stone’s throw away from Hawkers Reserve, a five-minute walk to Wilderness School and a short drive to North Adelaide and the city.
“It’s a beautiful suburb with big, nice, wide streets and trees,” she says.
Known as Cheivelea, the Victorian villa was built circa 1883 by bookbinder William Fowler Bowser and his wife Mary, who lived there for some 60 years.
It was this history that also drew Jane to the property.
“I like old houses that have lived a life before … things are not quite square and you can see that it was made at a time when it was not just cut and paste from every other project.”
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Set on an allotment of 770 square metres, the property includes four bedrooms, three bathrooms and space for up to two cars.
The house also features an open plan kitchen, living and dining area, a study and TV room, and a formal lounge and an outdoor entertaining area, while the master suite includes a spacious ensuite and walk-in wardrobe.
Although the existing layout of the house worked well for Jane’s family, she has carried out upgrades of her own over the years.
This includes redoing the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry as well as enlisting award-winning landscaper David Baptiste to relandscape the garden, which was showcased as part of the SA Landscape Festival in 2023.
The garden includes plants such as Japanese maple, box balls, hellebores, formal layered hedging, ornamental pears, cycads, dragon trees and succulents, while Glorious Gardens put in the nearby pool.
“When the kids were in those years when they’re safe in the pool on their own, but you still need to be able to see them, I could stand up in the kitchen and see everything that was going on out there,” says Jane.
The outdoor entertaining area, also designed by David Baptiste, features a centrepiece hanging fireplace, which is a favourite spot for Jane and her family to sit around.
“Through winter, we’d light the fire and sit outside wrapped up in blankets. My son would be doing his university work, my daughter would be doing her school work and I’d be knitting or reading,” says Jane.
“Then even on Christmas Day when it was boiling hot, we shut the door, cranked up the aircon, and had the big long trestles in that back room, but you could still see all of the garden through the windows.”
Indoors, Jane used JAG Kitchens for the joinery in her new kitchen, which features Gaggenau ovens, a sub-zero fridge/freezer and abundant bench space.
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“I like things to be exactly right. I love storage and I’m a big cook, so the kitchen is magnificent … the laundry is fantastic, which is not something I’ve understood before I had children,” says Jane.
Jane tells SALIFE that this is her favourite part of the house.
“For me, it’s the kitchen and the outdoor entertaining area – that’s my happy place,” she says.
“You open up the big doors, and you can see from the kitchen out to the pool and out through to the garden; I’ve also liked the way that it blends straight through.
“There’s also an extra living area off the back of the main living area.”
After around 27 years of calling 62 Hawkers Road, Medindie, home, Jane has decided the time is right to downsize.
Jane says she will miss the area’s “rhythm of life” and “the sense of space” the most.
“I’ll miss the proximity to Wilderness; even though my daughter has finished, I like hearing the girls as they walk up the street and seeing that rhythm of life,” she says.
“It’s a terrific family home and we’ve been incredibly happy with wonderful memories. I’m looking forward to the next family coming in and hopefully enjoying it as much as we have.”
The sale of 62 Hawkers Road, Medindie, is being handled by Sally Cameron and James Campbell of Toop + Toop.
