Treasures of Waite

Out of the ashes

Plucked from the fire. Literally. When the Waite family was preparing to hand Urrbrae House over to the University, piles of personal correspondence were burnt on bonfires. Amongst the papers tossed into the flames was the 1876 Bill of Sale for the Waite family’s furniture, made in Edinburgh, including the dining room oak tables and chairs which remain in the house. Recognising at the last minute that the document might be of value to the University, it was pulled (by an unknown hand) from the flames and survives today – still singed around the edges.

Waite Insect and Nematode Collection

Formed in early 2001 through the merger of insect and nematode collections held by the University of Adelaide, the Waite Agricultural Research Institute and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the Waite Insect and Nematode Collection has more than 500,000 specimens, some of which date back as far as 1908.

Shrimp

On the western fringe of the Arboretum, under the shadow of a magnificent Bunya Pine, you can find this delightful Silvio Apponyi bronze of Shrimp. One of a succession of dogs to accompany Peter Waite, Shrimp was a white West Highland Terrier, who today still looks up quizzically from the feet of his master. The work is based on a photograph of Peter Waite and Shrimp published in 1908.

Clara Serena’s headdresses

These glowing Art Deco-era headdresses once adorned the brow of leading Australian opera singer Clara Serena, and now adorn a wall in Urrbrae House. Clara was discovered, aged 14, by Peter Waite when he and companions heard her singing at her aunt’s home in Woodside, as they passed by after attending an Oakbank race meeting. Peter helped fund her early career and Clara lived with the Waite family while studying at the Elder Conservatorium of Music. She became lifelong friends with Peter’s daughter, Elizabeth. The headdresses were worn by Clara when she performed on the stages of the grand opera houses of Europe and Great Britain in the 1920s and 1930s. Clara performed to an audience of 23,000 at the London Crystal Palace in 1936.

Giorgia

Giorgia the Harvester has been part of the Waite family since 2013, when she was purchased “for the price of a Ferrari”, Head of the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Professor Jason Able jokes, but “without fear of getting the speeding ticket”. Though she may be slow, Giorgia has covered plenty of ground. She visits up to 14 different trial sites each year, from South Australia’s upper mid-north across to Wimmera in Victoria, where she has harvested durum and bread wheat, barley and pulse crops. Giorgia has been active for around 1400 hours, and each year she reaps 10,000 breeding plots.

Save the trees

The Waite Arboretum is not only a gift to in-the-know South Australian locals who venture through the greenspace to marvel at is beauty and biodiversity, but it also serves a global purpose. There are 136 plants in the Arboretum that are currently on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List. The list catalogues threatened species. One such example in the Arboretum is the Pyrus tadshikistanica, a pear tree which is listed by IUCN as critically endangered. There are two in the Arboretum, and despite their mortal peril, the pair will still offer a shady hideaway to visitors beneath their branches.

‘Dancing into the Light’ sculpture

In the gardens to the south of Urrbrae House cavorts this beautifully fluid statue by Meliesa Judge. Ceres, the goddess of grain, swirls her robe, emblazoned with wheat varieties developed at the Waite. Dancing with her is daughter Proserpina, who heralds the arrival of spring. This bronze was gifted to the Waite Arboretum by the Jenner family, referencing the careers of both Dr Colin Jenner, a Waite alum who worked with cereals, and his wife Norma Jenner, a dance educator.

Australia’s first domestic refrigeration unit

In the 1890s, Peter Waite wanted to have all the latest mod cons in his home, including electric lighting and refrigeration. The very big walk-in fridge in his basement was installed in 1895 by Wildridge & Sinclair of Sydney. It is the earliest example of domestic refrigeration in Australia, cooled by ammonia and originally designed for installation in steamships but modified to fit into a family home. Three separate refrigerated chambers were used for meat, fruit and vegetables, and dairy produce. Behind the wood panelling, 150mm of charcoal provided insulation for the cold rooms. This significant historical piece is slated for restoration during 2024.

Weather station

A little out of the way, the campus Meteorological Station is sited a few hundred metres to the west of the main Waite building. Surrounded by experimental grass plots, it was one of the very first structures put in place by the founders – its first iteration being constructed in 1925, just one year into our history. Then, as now, an understanding of climate was critical.

Bird-proof cage

The almond trees contained within this bird-proof cage have spawned a bouquet of almond trees around the world. So coveted are these trees, their limbs are gilded with an insect-proof net prior to being pollinated by hand.

Very old sweet white

There’s a little bit of heritage in every bottle of the University’s Rare Liqueur Sweet White (a sherry-like tipple we can’t legally call sherry). The fortified wine is aged using a fractional-blending technique known as solera, where new vintages are blended into a long-standing original batch. This means some of the fortified produced and barrelled at Roseworthy Agricultural College prior to the University of Adelaide amalgamation in the ’90s is still present in this year’s bottle release. Taste the history.

Old lab

Tucked away in the Waite family’s old Coach House is this historic gem. Re-created from photos taken in the 1920s and 1930s, it is a fabulous approximation of what our first science laboratory was like. We’ve come a long way, but some of the equipment could still have a place in modern labs.

An artful ceiling

Some of the ceilings in Urrbrae House (and nowhere else in Australia) are papered with the work of famed English interior designer J. Aldam Heaton. A member of the 19th century neo-classical Arts and Crafts movement, Heaton’s designs were also (posthumously) used in prestigious commissions including aboard the doomed ship Titanic. The house’s grand Main Hall features stylised images of animals and nature.

Big, big billiard table

Weighing in at more than a tonne, the full size ‘Squatter’s Favourite’ billiard table, manufactured by Alcock and Co. (c.1892), was the centrepiece of the smoking room in Urrbrae House. It kept many a group of (mostly) men entertained after an evening dinner. The table is skirted on two sides by a raised lounge, allowing resting players a full view of their competitors’ shots. Famed Australian landscape painter Sir Arthur Streeton spent an enjoyable evening in 1895 playing at the table and discussing art with Peter Waite into the early hours. In later years, a rowdier element was allowed access to the table for a time – students.

Written by Mark Douglas and Johnny Von Einem

Photography by Isaac Freeman