YDHS Friday talk November 2023

Rob Kirk delivered a fascinating account of the life of Mitchell Cottage and the land on which it stood. He traced the history of the title on which Mitchell Cottage stands, from its initial purchase in 1851, to current times with the ruins located on Rob’s property at Bald Hills. He also brought to life the people who lived in the cottage which was lived in for around 100 years. George Mitchell lived his entire life of 86 years in the Yankalilla district, moving to Mitchell Cottage at the time of his marriage to Sarah Hoskin in 1875.
Since owning the land on which Mitchell Cottage stands, Rob has done extensive and often delicately managed clearing of bush to uncover several structural artefacts and surrounds such as the buggy shed floor, an inground, hemispherical brick water tank and ancient fruit trees. Using aerial photography he has been able to reconstruct the likely roads to the cottage, with an entrance dominated by a grand oak tree, still standing.
In 2018 Rob arranged an archaeological dig during Heritage Fleurieu Coast. Flinders University found many small treasures including bottles and cans, dog tags, shoes, coins, glassware and crockery. Rob displayed several of these items which attendees could peruse after the talk.
His talk was beautifully illustrated with slides which he has kindly agreed to share. [link to Rob’s presentation]