Karatta at Robe in South Australia's southeast inspired in 1860s by Frances, young wife of pastoralist Henry Jones
South Australian state-heritage-listed Karatta House from the 1860s in the 21st Century. Pastoralist Henry Jones had the has built for his young wife Frances Eliza Caton (at right), also source of the name for the southeast border town. Bottom: Governor James Fergusson, who leased Karatta as a summer residence for three years, sketched by Alexander Tolmer arriving with his entourage at Robe in 1869.
Images courtesy Elders Real Estate and State Library of South Australia
Karatta House, a South Australian state-heritage-listed grand home between Lake Butler and Guichen Bay near Robe was built by wealthy pastoralist Henry Jones so his English wife Frances could escape the inland summer heat.
Henry Jones and his brothers, Derwas and Heighway, started Binnum Binnum and Kybybolite stations north of Naracoorte, and had big runs just over the Victorian border. The Jones boys struggled to make a living until gold was found in central Victoria in 1851 with price sheep and cattle prices skyrocketing to the goldfields’ demand for meat.
With the stations prospering, Henry Jones returned to England and married Frances Eliza Caton, a “small lively woman, with a determined nature”, and nearly 20 years younger than him. South Australian governor James Fergusson named the new settlement of Frances, between Bordertown and Naracoorte, after her.
The high-profile Jones newlyweds were greeted from England at Robe’s Guichen Bay in April 1857 with a salute from the guns on Flagstaff Hill. After resting a few days, they took on 150 kilometres of rough bush tracks to Binnum, riding in a four-in-hand vehicle Henry brought with them from England. “Flash Harry” was a noted whip, fond of showing off his driving skills. He apparently once sought bets that he could manoeuvre his team around Robe’s famous obelisk.
In 1862, Henry Jones called tenders to build Karatta on land bought nine years earlier for £40. The two-storey house was based on plans by colonial architect Edward Hamilton, who also did Adelaide's government treasury buildings and old government house at Belair. Jones ran out of money before the full design could be completed but the initial result was considered a “magnificent marine retreat” where the Jones family entertained Robe society and the local squattocracy in grand style.
A bad drought, government moves to resume pastoral leases for closer settlement and his declining fortune resulted in Henry Jones selling Binnum in 1874 and returning to England.
Karatta was leased in the late 1860s and became a boarding house run by a Penola widow named Thompson. Lodgers included the southeast region’s stipendiary magistrate and future Northern Territory government resident George Scott. In December 1870, governor Fergusson leased Karatta as a temporary summer residence for three successive seasons. Painters and decorators made the house ready and more extensive renovations in 1871 added a separate servants' hall and kitchen. The governor’s wife Edith died in 1871 at 32 but Fergusson returned to Robe for another summer before leaving to become governor of New Zealand. His children apparently made use of the house until at least April 1873, when newspapers reported his son being rescued from drowning.
Over the next few decades, Karatta was associated with some of South Australia’s best known pastoralists, including Robert Stockdale, who owned Lake Eliza station near Robe and took up Kangaroo Island land he named after Karatta. By 1900, Robe's Karatta was being leased to Henry Dutton from Anlaby station near Kapunda, home of South Australia’s oldest merino stud. Sparing “neither money nor energy”, Dutton made renovations to make it "as good as new again’". He brought his sleek mahogany and oak yacht Mavis to Robe where he was often seen driving about town in a coach, with liveried coachman and footman.
In 1907, the house was leased by Kalangadoo grazier George Riddoch, who entertained governor George Le Hunte over breakfast during a quick summer visit. Twenty years later, John and Florrie Tonkin bought Karatta. They ran a guesthouse, while raising 11 children, altering the building to create additional bedrooms and a large guests’ dining room that hosted many community events and private functions.
