McAdam Slab Hut
David McAdam son of Henry, a weaver, was born in Cloncore, Ireland in 1834. He married Ann Jane Castles of Tartaghan Ireland in 1854 and they sailed to Australia on the Constantine, arriving in Adelaide in 1855. Having survived illness due to no employment and therefore no food or housing, David, Ann and young son William moved to Bringalbert, Victoria, about 1857. Three more children were born there and one at Roseneath, Victoria. They then moved to Penola in about 1863 and it was here that David became a ‘carrier’. The last six of eleven children were born in Penola.
David died at Lillimur in January 1908 and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Kaniva cemetery.
David McAdam Jnr married Jane Jones of Dergholm. He was a Warden of the Penola Church of England, a long serving officer of the Oddfellows Lodge and a member of the Penola P.A. & H. Society. David was the last person to live in the slab hut, which then became the kitchen for the cottage.
Penola High School Council donated the hut to the Penola Branch of the National Trust of South Australia in 1975 and it was moved to this site in 2019.
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