The full buffet spread of history, preservation and great Australian Mid-Century mythology today on MA. With many thanks to Stuart Symons AKA Modernist Adelaide (follow now!) – a comrade in the Australian MCM scene, who recently held tours of this very home and has generously handed on all the delicious details to us.
To wit – a glorious Modern residence commissioned by a couple from Adelaide’s legal glitterati – Judge John Roder (AM) and wife Denise Roder. Originally designed and built in 1957/58 under architect Pamela Opie – the very fact of being a women professional in the field, making her a trailblazer for her time. Extended by Opie again in 1962 and once more in 1969 when a water tank (an existing rural vestige dating from the 1920s) was converted to house Denise Roder’s father. The result? Committed recycling, atomic age chic and intergenerational living all converging into one wildly cool, circular pad. One further addition was also made by firm, Simpson & Simpson, carried out in 1972 with partner Marjorie Simpson (female architect again – hello!) a key player.
According to legend the Roder’s – as regulars on the legal and political scene of 1960s and 70s South Australia – hosted many a soirée on the patio where discussion was deep, the cocktails chinked for hours and according to one witness statement, Don Dunstan himself (ultimate Mod Premier) was spied piffing oyster shells into the garden, careful to not let the seawater drips land on his safari suit – ooohh baby!
Fast forward 30 years to new owners purchasing this home in 2009 as a tired, deceased estate being marketed as (surprise, surprise) a knockdown. Many years of toil and finances followed, restoring flooring and electrics, the ripping out janky air-con units, reglazing and also navigating some unchangeable aspects such as the painted concrete brick and a brand new, not-so-mod kitchen. The new owners also set to adding some thrilling features like the gorgeous landscaping by Virginia Kennett and that to-die-for pool.
The only question now is; who among us deserves to take on such a beauty? Which one of you has the respect of the present owners plus the pink shorts chutzpah of the originals to continue the tale of this most glamorous slice of Adelaide Modernism? We shall wait and see……
