Nestled in Adelaide’s leafy eastern suburbs, Cottage Homes Toorak Gardens is a community where neighbours know one another, Sunday morning catch-ups are a regular fixture, and small gestures – from sharing home cooking to returning a container with a Cherry Ripe tucked inside – help make a collection of cottages feel like home.
Today, Toorak Gardens comprises 20 one-bedroom units, including 14 row cottages within the original heritage building and six more recently constructed units. But the story of this site stretches back more than a century.
The original homes were built in 1908, at a time when they were designed for two people to share. As expectations around privacy and independent living changed, so too did the cottages.
In 1961, the first pair of two-bedroom attached homes was converted into three individual, self-contained flats, with the work funded by the Olive Eva Braund Estate. Further conversions followed after a special appeal supported by the Apex Club and The Advertiser raised more than £5,000 in 1964, complemented by a legacy from the late Dr Constance Davey.
Then, in 1965, six additional units were constructed at the rear of the Prescott Terrace homes, making good use of the site’s large gardens. Their construction was supported by a Commonwealth Government subsidy, donations from Florence Emily Thomas and Mary Hughes Fotheringham, and contributions from the six incoming residents.
Walking through Toorak Gardens today, you can still find stones recognising some of the benefactors who helped establish and grow the community, along with a tribute to Cedric Wells, who served as Cottage Homes President from 1973 to 2006.
Each unit at Toorak Gardens features a living room, separate kitchen and bathroom, and private verandah. Residents can also enjoy lawn and garden areas, a modern communal pergola and shared barbecue area.
Fruit trees can be found throughout the grounds, while raised garden beds give green-thumbed residents the opportunity to grow vegetables. The location also offers easy access to public transport, nearby Dulwich Village and community services.
But perhaps one of Toorak Gardens’ greatest features is its sense of community.
Resident Allan Woodman has called Toorak Gardens home for more than six years and has happily taken on the role of bringing people together. He coordinates Sunday morning teas, Christmas parties, Australia Day celebrations and happy hours.
Each Sunday morning, residents gather for a cuppa and a chat, often with Allan providing the soundtrack.
For some of Toorak Gardens’ newer residents, arriving at Cottage Homes has brought welcome relief after facing increasing pressure in the private rental market.
Phil moved to Toorak Gardens after a significant rent increase forced him to leave the rental he had called home for 10 years. He describes his former home as “half the size for twice the price”, so walking into his spacious new Cottage Home was quite a surprise.
“I couldn’t believe the size of the place,” he says. With plenty of storage and a large galley kitchen, he joked, “I could get lost in the place!”
Even more important has been the welcome he received from his new neighbours.
“Everyone looks after each other,” Phil says. “You feel safe, but you’re not in each other’s pockets. There’s always someone to say hello.”
His neighbour Heather has experienced that same feeling of belonging. After facing her own financial rental pressure, Heather heard about Cottage Homes through a friend who was already a resident.
Now, she says there is a sense of “relief” as soon as she walks through her front door. She has personalised her home with pictures and potted plants, and her two-year-old granddaughter particularly loves visiting and looking at all the photographs.
Heather enjoys gardening, dog sitting, Friday drinks with neighbours and cooking – often sharing what she makes with others. Phil has been one appreciative recipient. After enjoying some of Heather’s treats, he returned her empty container with a Cherry Ripe tucked inside as a small thank you – a simple gesture that perfectly captures the neighbourly spirit of Toorak Gardens.
For Trish, who moved into Toorak Gardens in December after years of rising rent and financial pressure, her Cottage Home has also provided the opportunity to finally settle.
“It’s a place where I can stay and settle,” she says. Since arriving, Trish has formed friendships with neighbours, welcomed friends and Cottage Homes Volunteer Visitors into her home, and found more time for her creative interests.
From its heritage cottages and leafy gardens to Sunday morning teas, shared food and conversations between neighbours, Toorak Gardens shows how the right home can provide much more than four walls.
More than a century after the first cottages were built, the site continues to evolve while staying true to the purpose at the heart of The Cottage Homes – providing older South Australians with affordable, secure housing where they can live independently and feel part of a community.
At Toorak Gardens, that sense of belonging can be found in many forms – sometimes in a Sunday morning cuppa, sometimes in a friendly hello, and every now and then, in a Cherry Ripe left in a returned container.
