David Roche Gallery — Attraction in Adelaide

We had previously done the house tour in 2016 but decided to do it again. There had been quite a lot of changes to both the items displayed and the museum itself, so it was definitely worth a second visit. The house is incredible with an amazing number of antiques. As beautiful as the individual pieces are, the house really displays the personality and interests of David Roche himself which makes it all the more interesting. As a champion dog breeder, he obviously had a great love of dogs and other animals which is displayed throughout the house and particularly in one of the rooms. His many ribbons won throughout his time as a breeder and show judge are displayed beautifully. Even the bathrooms are beautifully decorated and painted. The museum section has different exhibitions which are very interesting and will incorporate items from David Roche's collection that are relevant. The exhibition currently is about Wedgewood ceramics which seemed very interesting. The beauty of this museum and house is that not everything is hidden behind glass. You can take photos and see things close up. The price to see the house is not super cheap but is understandable given the incredible collection and the risk involved in having too many people passing through. You certainly do see a lot though. Even though we got about two hours in the house, it feels rushed as there is so much to see. I saw that they have made the house completely accessible now, with a wheelchair lift for the one short set of stairs. The house is cramped but there is room for a wheelchair to move through. The toilets are beautifully maintained with massive individual unisex bathrooms with a disabled toilet and ambulatory toilet. The car park is very good now too with lots of shady trees. When we came in 2016 there was little to no parking on site. I would definitely be interested in coming back to see exhibitions which you can do without the house tour, and maybe doing the house tour a third time...

Well as an ex Adelaidian, I was so impressed with the tour of David Roche's home. As my husband and I are always interested in culture, history, art and generally how people live we found the tour ticked all the boxes. David's eye for beautiful historic pieces was outstanding, along with his love for dogs. We were so impressed and were grateful to the wonderful volunteers who are not only expertly knowledgeable but kindly gave the group time and answered all of the questions asked. Thank you Jenny. You were amazing! Thank you to the society for all the upkeep and preservation of the past. All the rooms were special, but as I have some family history from Prussia, I did favour all the stories from this period. My husband and I were thrilled to visit today. Kind Regards Belinda and Bill Van Kessel (Melbourne)

P. S. We did have to wait but only because we saw the exhibition earlier, however, staff kindly guided us to the cafe next door, to relax till the 2pm tour. Lunch and coffee...

A world class collection. A hidden secret prior to David's passing this is a world class decorative arts museum hidden inside the collector's unassuming former residence. You will see paintings, jewelry, ceramics and bronzes that are as fine as anything you would see in museums in Europe. What stands out is the sheer quality across all the different art forms, David was serious about "upgrading" his collection whenever possible and the end result is spectacular. We also really appreciated how down to earth and approachable the staff were, this is a house museum that is about allowing the public to enjoy beautiful objects without being intimidated or talked down to. Looking forward to...