Information on Picnic's "Appleyard College"

The information has graciously been provided by Garth Leggatt. Thanks, Garth!

I am an Australian citizen, residing within the New South Wales town of Cowra. I have traveled within the state of Victoria, yet have never visited the rock (although I plan to do so within the near future). However, I have visited 'Martindale Hall', (aka; 'Appleyard College', featured within PAHR). The building is an impressive showpiece, brooding over the surrounding countryside of Mintaro, it's yellow stone facade contrasting vividly with the surrounding red-gums.

The building is not situated in Victoria, but South Australia (over 1000 kilometres from Hanging Rock in fact!). This is obvious to a Melbourne-based Australian, for any such building would have been hued from the deep blue/grey basalt stone of Victoria and not the yellowish sand-stone of South-Australia. Yet I have been told that the cinematographer had been a resident of SA, and had fallen in love with the building, henceforth deeming it an appropriate setting for the telling of the Lindsay novel.

As for it's actual history...

In the late 1870's, a young Edmund Bowan, (the son of a wealthy pastoralist), returned from England deeply in love with a beautiful young woman (her name escapes me). To entice her to the harsh Australian surrounds of the family property in South Australia's Clare valley (140 kilometres North of Adelaide), he had this spectacular house built 1880.

This gullible 21 year old heir squandered the larger portion of his inheritance building Martindale Hall, only to be jilted by his girlfriend who never set foot on Australian soil. Nevertheless, he moved in and proceeded to entertain the social set of Adelaide with lavish parties, balls and dinners.

Unfortunately, the party did not last forever. The devastating 1890's drought and depression had forever eroded the Australian economy, (before this calamity, the Australian colonies were, per capita, the wealthiest countries with the highest living standards in the world), and Edmund Bowan was financially decimated, like so many neighbouring pastorialists. In 1891 he sold the hall for thirty thousand Australian pounds (the equivalent of six million Australian dollars today), and the surrounding 4400 hectares of land for thirty three thousand pounds.

The purchaser was one John Mortlock, a wealthy grazier who's passions were reading and travel. Dying without heirs in 1926, he bequeathed his property to the people of South Australia.

The property is exactly as John Mortlock left it; the oak paneled drawing rooms are lined with late renaissance paintings from Venice; the smoking room is filled with an eccentric collection of primitive tribal art from Oceania, amongst other wonders.

Today, one can dine, stay overnight or merely wander through the hall;

It's address...

Martindale Hall, Minoora road, Mintaro.

Open 11am - 4 PM, Monday to Friday and noon - 4pm weekends.

Phone; (08) 99 43 9088