About Ayers House
Ayers House is Adelaide’s finest Victorian-era home, and one of the last remaining grand 19th century residences that once lined the North Terrace cultural boulevard.
At first a small cottage, the site evolved in several stages from a nine-roomed brick house built by chemist William Paxton in the early 1850s. Upon returning to England, Paxton leased the property to Henry Ayers, a fellow businessman poised to become one of the colony’s most wealthy and influential politicians and financiers.
From 1855 to 1897 the house was extended in stages to encompass more than 40 rooms over a two acre property. Henry and his wife Anne created an opulent home with fine furnishings and fixtures, most imported from England, that showcased the wealth and status they had acquired since emigrating in 1840. For 40 years, the house was central to Ayers’ family life and an entertainment destination for Adelaide’s social and political elite.
Find out more through the story of the Ayers Family.
