David Roche was an Adelaide lawyer and obsessive collector who spent decades assembling an extraordinary private collection of English furniture, silver, paintings, and objets d'art, all of which he housed in his North Adelaide mansion. After his death the house became a museum — unusual in Australia, which has few house museums of this quality.
The collection ranges from Regency furniture and 18th-century portraits to Staffordshire ceramics and show dog memorabilia (Roche was a serious breeder). Tours run hourly and are led by knowledgeable guides who bring the collection and its eccentric owner to life. The museum is small, admission is charged, and it is unlike anything else in Adelaide.