Lowlands Homestead
| Lowlands Homestead | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Mardella, Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale, Western Australia |
| Address | 509 Lowlands Road, Mardella |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 32°20′06″S 115°54′08″E / 32.334897°S 115.902178°E |
| Designations | Register of the National EstateState Register of Heritage Places |
| Designated | 21 March 1978 |
| Type | Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale Municipal Inventory |
| Designated | 31 July 2000 |
| Reference no. | 3307 |
Lowlands Homestead is a heritage building in the locality of Mardella, in the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale, Western Australia.
History
The area around the Lowlands Homestead has been described as the only sizable section of good land in the Peel Estate.[1] Known as Serpentine Farm and located on the Serpentine River, the property was originally owned by Thomas Peel, who gave it to his son Tom as a present. The younger Peel had the first building at the site erected in the 19830s, a hut, located west of the current buildings and no longer in existence. A wooden barn was errected in the 1840s and a house in 1845. A second house was added by him in 1859.[2]
Peel had to declare bankruptcy in 1859, and Serpentine Farm was actioned off to John Wellard on 18 November 1859. Wellard had arrived in Western Australia in 1841, aged 15, as an apprenticed seaman, with the ship he was one being wrecked at Woodman Point. He based himself in Fremantle and became a successful businessman. Wellard married Ann Woodward in January 1850 and the two had three children, Selina, Ellen and Pierce.[2]
During the 1860s, Wellard added a brick two-storey storehouse, a stable and men's quarters. His household was large, including trades people like brick makers and layers. Wellard's daughter Ellen married Alexander Robert Richardson in 1874 and the two initially lived at Pyramid Station, in north-western Western Australia.[2]
In 1876, an indenture between John Wellard, his son Pierce and his son-in-law Richardson saw the latter two jointly purchase Serpentine Farm. This agreement lasted for only a few months, Richardson buying out Pierce Wellard and moving to the farm, renaming it to Lowlands. Richardson subsequently moved into politics, becoming a member of the Legislative Council and, later, the Legislative Assembly, serving as the Minister for Lands.[2]
Richardson's large family, six sons and six daughters, required additions to the homestead, with a large residence added. Richardson retired to South Perth in 1922 and left the property to his two youngest sons, Rupert and Lennox.[2]
Rupert Richardson renamed his part of the holding to Riverlea and eventually subdivided it between two of his sons in 1946, with one property retaining the original name and the other being named Kalga.[2]
Lennox Richardson carried out substantial stabilisation works of the older buildings at Lowlands in the 1950s. On 21 March 1978, Lowalands was listed as a registered place by the Australian Heritage Commission.[2]
In the early 2000s, the bushland around the homestead was designated as a Bush Forever site and, in 2013, the Western Australian state government purchased the bushland for the purpose of flora and fauna conservation.[2] The area east of the homestead as well as some land to the south-west are now the Lowlands Nature Reserve, having been gazetted on 2 December 2014, officially as the Unnamed WA51784 Nature Reserve.[3][4]
The Richardson continues to own the homestead.[2]
Heritage listing
The homestead's heritage listing is based on the cultural heritage significance as very early rural residence. It was built by convict labour from local materials and is associated with early European settlers Thomas Peel and John Wellard.[2]
The architectural style of the buildings varies from Old Colonial through to Victorian Georgian. The buildings have high-pitched broken-back roofs and spreading verandas and are joined by breezeways. The older out-buildings on site are mostly ruins.[2]
References
- ^ "The 'Lowlands' Estate". The Farmers' Weekly. Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 25 March 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Lowlands Homestead". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "NationalMap". nationalmap.gov.au. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Terrestrial CAPAD 2022 WA summary". www.dcceew.gov.au/. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Retrieved 18 November 2024.