Kurralta Park and the Wyatt Benevolent Institution
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Kurralta Park and the Wyatt Benevolent Institution: Dr William Wyatt (c.1804-1886) was one of early South Australia's most prominent identities. Wyatt was born and raised in Plymouth, Devon, England and arrived in South Australia with his wife Julia nee Darby (c.1813-1898) aboard the John Renwick in February 1837. A surgeon by training, Wyatt was a man of wide interests and formidable energy. As well as working occasionally as a medical practitioner, during his life in Adelaide Wyatt served in an almost bewildering variety of other positions, among them as Protector of Aborigines 1837-1839, Colonial Naturalist 1837-1856, visiting magistrate and Coroner 1837, secretary of the Medical Board of the Royal Adelaide Hospital 1838-1885, Director or Trustee, Savings Bank of South Australia 1840-1846, Governor, St Peters College 1847-1886, foundation Trustee and examiner of Pulteney Grammar School 1848-1869, Trustee, Holy Trinity Church 1847-1886, Chief Inspector of Schools 1851-1874, Governor, Botanic Gardens 1857-1878, Governor, Public Library 1862-1868, Treasurer, RSPCA 1875-1885 and as a justice of the peace. Wyatt accumulated extensive property interests in South Australia. His most valuable land assets turned out to be four city acres between Grenfell and Pirie Streets, city intersected by Wyatt and Chesser Streets (town acres 146,165-166 and 208). Wyatt's largest holding in what is now suburban Adelaide was the 80-acre (c. 32.4 hectares) section 93, Hundred of Adelaide, which he acquired by a preliminary land order in March 1839 for £80. Today section 93 takes up a large portion of the suburb of Kurralta Park. Wyatt leased out most of his Adelaide land. Section 93 for example was leased to farmer Henry Wood in 1842-58, while after Wyatt's death in June 1886 the land was leased to Mrs Annie Green in 1888-1904 at an average yearly rent of about £75, and for ten years from April 1909 to Hubert Charles Wright of Marleston, agent, at a yearly rent of £57 18s. During these years the property was known variously as 'Wyatt's Estate', 'Hilton Farm' or 'Richmond Farm' and observers considered it to be first-class pasture land. At Wyatt's death his section 93 land was valued by his executors at £2,000. Wyatt's executors valued his total land holdings at £38,523. In his will Wyatt created the Wyatt Benevolent Institution, which would use the rent from Wyatt's various properties 'to benefit persons above the labouring class ... who may be in poor or reduced circumstances ... [and who are] of good moral character'. In November 1917 the trustees of the Institution decided as a revenue raising measure to sell Wyatt's section 93 land. In May the following year the property was sold to Henry Allchurch, farmer and storekeeper of Port Broughton, for just over £6,472. Allchurch used this and nearby land to in March 1919 create the 370-allotment subdivision of Kurralta Park. Wyatt's former home at Burnside was known as Kurralta, an Indigenous word meaning 'set on a hill'. Allchurch included Wyatt Street in the Kurralta Park subdivision. The Wyatt Benevolent Institution - also known as the Wyatt Charitable Trust - is today one of Australia's oldest philanthropic institutions and has given away over $62 million in grants to South Australians in need. In 2013 it was named as one of Australia's top fifty charitable trusts. .