1935

In December 1935, the Church’s prayer was answered. Rev. Charles Schafer secured the purchase of a beautiful property at Payneham: ‘Shirley Gardens’.

The 19th century home was set on two acres of an old-world garden, with delightful surroundings of the Payneham fruit gardens that sloped gently down to the River Torrens at the rear of the property.

With 17 rooms in the house, the available space was soon occupied with the women who had boarded at Brighton, transferred from Rev. and Mrs Potts’ care. At Shirley Gardens, they were supervised by the first matron, Mrs Northey, whose husband became the caretaker of the property.

The purchase of Shirley Gardens caused one writer to state his views on what Resthaven stood for:

‘It is not a hospital for the mentally weak, nor a shelter for the incurable, although, it is under the supervision of a matron with the necessary medical and nursing experience. It is a home for aged women, who are accepted on the recommendation of a minister of religion and on the presentation of a doctor’s certificate … [It is] a Christlike service to the aged.’

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^{1936 'A Serene Old Age', Australian Christian Commonwealth (SA : 1901 - 1940), 31 January, p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215838822}

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