Padthaway - Culture and History

Robert Lawson, a successful Scottish businessman moved into the area with his wife Eliza in 1847. He had acquired 21,500 hectares and subsequently increased the holding to 32,000 hectares. He built a relatively small cottage in 1847 and lived in the cottage for the next thirty years. It still stands on the Padthaway Estate. It was on the basis of this modest start that the Padthaway Estate was developed so that now it is one of the most impressive residential complexes in South Australia.