Ashville is situated on Princes Highway midway between the Murray River crossing of Wellington to the north and the town of Meningie on the shores of Lake Albert to the south.
Located on country originally inhabited by the Yaraldi clans of the indigenous Ngarrindjeri Nation, the surrounding hills and waterways are depicted in the Dreamtime stories and culture of the local Aboriginal people.
From the mid-nineteenth century, land in the Lower Lakes and Lower Murray River Region was taken up by Europeans who established extensive sheep and cattle stations. A ferry crossing at Wellington and the discovery of gold in Victoria in the 1850s led to the establishment of an overland route from Adelaide to Melbourne, through Meningie following along the Coorong.
During the 1890s smaller allotments of land in the Ashville and nearby Albert Hill area were surveyed and offered to settlers. Ashville was proclaimed and named after George Ash MP.
In the residence across the road, the Ashville Post was opened on June 9th 1892, the first postmistress being Mrs Eliza Tiller. Telephone facilities were established in March 1916 and the business continued to serve the community for another fifty years.
In 1895, the new settlers together with station owners and workers established the first Ashville Provisional School on privately owned land at Albert Hill, seven kilometres south towards Meningie. The first teacher was Miss Elizabeth Flint whose yearly wage was £78. The 1895 foundation families were Jury, Joy, Robinson, Tiller, Wright, Scott, Smith, Trosser, Moorhouse and Morris.
When the school was opened on April 18th of that year, “The South Australian Register” reported –
“The Ashville School was opened on Thursday. After Mr Joy had opened the school, the children had a picnic and tea, which was also provided for the visitors, Mesdames, Jury, Tiller, Joy and others presiding. In the evening a ball took place, dancing being kept up till the early hours.
The schoolhouse, a substantial, well-ventilated stone building – was erected by Mr T Joy on his own property. It is rented to the Education Department, who provide a provisional teacher. It will prove a great boon to the inhabitants, some of whom previously lived from ten to fifteen miles from the nearest school. The new one is ten miles from Meningie, and will accommodate thirty children.”
The school’s name was officially changed in 1906 to Albert Hill School and it continued to provide education to the local children until its closure in 1925.
The Albert Hill Post Office, pictured above, was built near the school and opened on October 15th 1901. Mrs Emma Wilks, standing in the doorway, was the first postmistress, being paid £13 a year. The post office closed in April 1919.
In 1918 a second school, pictured above, was built here on this site at Ashville, the first teacher being Miss Mabel Jeffery.
“The Advertiser”, December 28th 1918 reported the opening of the new school:
“The trustees and others responsible had every reason to be gratified with the success attending the opening of the Ashville School Hall, which took place on Thursday. The building, with furnishings, cost £600. The large attendance included visitors from Adelaide the surrounding districts.
The building is a fine, commodious stone structure, ideally situated, securely enclosed, and presenting every convenience. The walls within are beautifully6 adorned with frames works of art, the gift of Mrs K D Bowman. Mr H B Hacket was architect and Mr Donald McBain the contractor. The land was secured from the government many years ago, largely through the instrumentality of Mrs John Wilks and Mr Hacket.
Mr Thomas McCallum performed the opening ceremony. The chairman of the trustees (Rev W Perry Hart) spoke of the three-fold need the building was designed to meet – the education of the children, a place of meeting and wholesome recreation for the young people, and a place of worship.
Mr McCallum thanked the trustees for the honour conferred upon him. He heartily congratulated the people on their fine hall. A sale of gifts, an excellent concert, and a dance followed, over £100 being realized.”
The families of Ashville and Albert Hill formed a tight-knit and thriving community. They held “Strawberry Fetes” and played cricket and football on their local oval across the road from the Ashville School. For many years the Lake Albert Picnic Races were a regular event at the nearby Poltalloch Bluff Racecourse. The school buildings were also used for church services, dances and concerts.
From the late 1940s, for almost ten years, the community tirelessly raised funds for a Memorial Hall to honour family and friends who gave lives and service in war. They held gymkhanas, dances, gala days, strawberry fetes and produced a community newsletter called ‘Lake-Views’ which they sold for one shilling per copy. The newsletter reported the excitement of a new hall soon to become a reality:
“Building is in the air! Birds are building new nests, bees are swarming and the people of Ashville are all working and planning to build a Memorial Hall.
There is (already) a hall at Ashville, built in 1918, but the residents of this enterprising district have outgrown it, and now propose to leave this smaller building for the school and school activities, while they erect a much larger and more convenient edifice for community interest.
Services, meetings, concerts, dances and entertainments of various kinds will be held there, but essentially it must be a building that will hold and seat comfortably, all the residents of the district, plus those visitors who are invariably attracted by the excellence and variety that are always features of Ashville entertainment.”
The Ashville Memorial Hall, still standing and now a private residence, was opened on July 11th 1958. It ceased use as a community facility in 2006. On July 10th 1959 the Ashville School closed and the children moved to Meningie School.
