Boolardy Homestead Group

Statement of Significance

The Boolardy Station has high historic significance as one of the oldest station sin the Murchison s=district and for it's associations with Frank Wittenoom. The older building illiustrate the use of local materials such as stone, mud bricks and mulga. Additional buildings erected over a period of approximately 60 years are evidence of how the station has developed over time. Furthermore, the large groupings of buildings reflects the way the station operated in the past, with a small community of people living and working on the station.

Physical Description

The Boolardy Station comprises two original stone huts, the main house, meat house, a blacksmith's shop, Jackaroo's quarters, Cook's House (1952), Store, Office and Bookkeeper's Room, workers' quarters and two shearing sheds. The oldest remaining buildings in the Boolardy Station Complex, which date from c1876, are two one-room stone huts. The first, known as the old store, is approximately 20x 20 with a fireplace and no windows. It was constructed from random stone collected from a nearby creek with mud mortar and hand hewn mulga. The whitewashed building has a corrugated iron lean-to at the rear. The second hut, located adjacent to the blacksmith's shop is also of stone construction and is approximately 6'x8' inside with a fireplace. The Homestead is a large, 'L' shaped building of mud brick construction completed in the late 1890s. The steeply pitched corrugated iron hipped roof extends to cover the verandahs which surround the building. The verandahs are partly enclosed to facilitate more use of the building. The main entrance is enhanced by a roof gable. Timber framed french doors open out onto the verandahs. Originally there was a detached stone kitchen, however this building was re-roofed and joined to the main house in the 1920's. The outside walls were plastered in 1929 by Tom Bryce. In the 1950's the bedroom wing at the west end of the house was added. At this stage the old mulga posts on the verandah were replaced with brick pillars and half wall, all the mud bricks walls were underpinned, a damp course was put in and the building was re-plastered. The garden around the house was originally enclosed by a mud brick wall with pillars linked by mulga rails. The front fence has been replaced with a stone wall to help keep the water out when the creek rises following heavy rain. To the east of the house are the storage sheds, the saddle room, and the blacksmith's shop complete with bellows. These buildings are all of stone construction with steeply pitched corrugated iron roofs and whitewashed walls. The adjacent Workshops are timber framed with weatherboard enclosures at each end covered by semi-circular corrugated iron roofs. The central section has a mono-pitched roof supported on large timber posts. This replaced an earlier curved roof which was damaged in a storm. Surrounded by trees the west section contains the worker's quarters. The Jackaroo's Quarters consists of a small timber framed building clad with weatherboard with a hipped corrugated iron roof and a broken-back verandah roof. In the 1950s a stone cottage called Wittenoom House after Mr F Wittenoom and a new cement brick store, office and bookkeeper's room were constructed. The collection of buildings also includes an asbestos house, the engine shed, the meat house, a number of recent farm machinery sheds as well as several aboriginal houses to the south. Boolardy Station has two shearing sheds; the Top Shed features a distinctive semi-circular corrugated iron roof and corrugated iron shearer's quarters while the Bottom Shed has stone quarters. Both have been damaged by storms in recent years.

History

First traversed in 1854, by Robert Austin, the discovery of the rich grassy plains of Boolardy and importantly, the Ngatta hole were credited to John Perks on his exploration trip for sheep country in 1873. The following year the first leases were taken up by perks and Edward Wittenoom. Boolardy Station was referred to as Gnatta Station in the late 1870's and consisted of 150,000 acres with 5,000 sheep. Throughout the 1880's the Wittenoom's, who also operated Murgoo and Nookawarra Stations, established a substantial sheep run on the property. In c1892 Frank Wittenoom established a sheep stud at Boolardy but it was later moved to a property near Moora. In 1894 George Thompson commenced managing the property until Frank Wittenoom's nephew Langlois Lefroy took over in 1903. Wittenoom's two other nephews, Edward and Frank Lefroy also had turns at managing Boolardy. Frank Wittenoom had no children of his own and set about re-structuring his estate in 1919 by forming the Boolardy Patoral Company Limited. When he died in 1939, the Lefroys continued managing the property, although there were other mangers who worked

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Medium
Modifications: Verandahs partly enclosed.

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.