Watermark Kilns, Northcliffe

Statement of Significance

Historic, Aesthetic, Rarity and Scientific

Physical Description

Watermark Kilns, Northcliffe is a collection of former tobacco farm
buildings in a farmland setting, including a framed and asbestos clad
drying shed with an iron roof, framed and custom orb Colourbond clad
single and twin kilns adapted for holiday accommodation with Zincalume
custom orb roofs, single men’s or worker’s quarters (fmr), and a framed
and asbestos clad former soldier settler’s homestead with an iron roof.
These were built to standard plans as part of the development of a
tobacco farm for Roy and Peg Bell, under the War Service Land
Settlement Scheme in c. 1950-51. In 2000-03, the kilns and workers’
quarters have been extensively repaired and converted to farm stay
accommodation by Trevor and Jeanette Hulcup.
So far as possible, re-cycled materials have been employed. As the
timber corner posts of the kilns had rotted off the floor plates and were
sitting on the ground, with only the cladding holding the buildings up,
they were jacked up and the studs and floor plates replaced as required. A
new sand pad was put in and a concrete base with new floor plates bolted
to it. The kiln buildings have been re-roofed, maintaining the original
roof lines and the ventilation structure, with Perspex fitted in place of
mesh to either side of this portion of the roof. Roof timbers were retained
where possible, and also the twin ventilation slats, whose pulley
mechanism was transferred from the exterior to the interior to suit the
buildings’ change in use. The external corrugated iron cladding of the
buildings was replaced with Colourbond of a similar gauge, and windows
were fitted to each building. The former workers’ quarters were extended
at either side and a veranda added to convert it to accommodation
suitable for disabled access. The original fireplace was retained. In 2003,
termite damage to the soldier-settler’s homestead, in particular to
replacement karri beams, necessitated demolition of the fireplace and
chimney, and interior stud walls and roofing timbers have been exposed
for inspection and treatment to ensure removal of affected timber and
eradication of the termites.
In 2004, the Hulcups applied for a grant under the Heritage Grants
Program 2004/05 to restore the drying/grading shed, which retained the
grading bench and some of the original wall lining. The stumps have
been rotting at ground level, causing the floor to slump; the interior lining
has deteriorated and sections have been falling; some windows require
re-glazing and window frames require replacement or repair. Subsequent
to its restoration, they propose utilizing the drying shed for interpretive
purposes. At some future date, they would also like to renovate the
homestead so that future visitors may see the group of buildings which
formed a typical War Service Land Settlement Scheme tobacco farm.

History

These historical notes have been taken directly from the Documentary Evidence prepared by
HCWA in the Register of Heritage Places Assessment 31 January 2005.
The kilns were built to standard plans as part of the development of a tobacco farm for Roy and
Peg Bell, under the War Service Land Settlement Scheme in c. 1950-51. In 2000-03, the kilns and
workers’ quarters have been extensively repaired and converted to farm stay accommodation by
Trevor and Jeanette Hulcup.
In the early 1850s, tobacco was first cultivated in the eastern colonies of Australia. In 1854, it was
suggested that tobacco be cultivated in Western Australia. In 1860-62, Ralph Mews experimented
with tobacco growing, and Bishop Salvado grew a crop at Victoria Plains in the early 1860s, but
concluded that the high rate of tax on tobacco precluded a profitable industry. In 1863, James
Morgan’s efforts at Avon Valley also came to naught. In the 1860s, the Muirs grew tobacco at
Deeside, in the Warren district, mainly for medicinal purposes. During the American Civil War
period, when imported tobacco leaf was in short supply, attempts were made to grow it at Hester,
near Bridgetown, and also in New South Wales and Victoria, and it was also being grown in
Queensland by 1884. In 1904, Peter Michelides (arr. 1901), who had prior experience in cigarette
manufacture in Egypt, set up a tobacco manufacturing business in Murray Street, Perth, utilising
tobacco imported from Turkey and Greece. Experimental plantings of tobacco by two ex-Victorian
farmers at Waroona caught his interest, and led the Michelides family to experiment with tobacco
crops at Waroona under the direction of an Egyptian grower whom they brought to Australia, but
the soil and rainfall proved not to be suitable. In 1912, the government nursery at Hamel
successfully grew tobacco. However, it was concluded that production would be uneconomical
without the protection of import duties, and there were no further investigations into the viability of
commercial production until 1923.
The future site of Watermark Kilns, Northcliffe was first cleared and the first house built as part of
the Group Settlement Scheme. In 1931, Nelson Location 10251, which would later become Nelson
Location 12152, the site of Watermark Kilns, Northcliffe, was first registered in the ownership of
Stanley Bassett.5 Details of his use of the land have not been ascertained to date, and by the post-
World War Two period, it was no longer in his ownership. The Group Settlement Scheme proved
to be ‘a social and financial tragedy’, and the State eventually bore a loss of more than £6.5
million.
In 1923, the Agriculture Department carried out successful trial plantings of tobacco at Perth. This
was followed by trial plantings at Peel Estate, Coolup, Boyanup, Bridgetown and Manjimup in
November, but the first two failed, and only poor growth was obtained from the latter. In 1923-24,
tobacco was grown and harvested at Manjimup by J. Murphy and J. Turner, but they experienced
difficulty in curing the leaf. Samples of this tobacco was sent to tobacco manufacturer Michelides
Limited in Perth, and also to Melbourne Group Settler Herbert John ‘Jack’ Limmer, who was also
associated in this venture, and who established a plantation at Dixvale in 1926, where the first
tobacco curing kiln in the Victoria was built. In 1928, the first crop of tobacco grown by
Macedonians Nick Palasin, Tom Milentis, Vic Milentis, and Louis Mitchell failed, but thereafter
they were successful in its cultivation. Macedonians would predominate in tobacco growing in
Western Australia throughout its history.
In 1928-29, experimentation by the Australian Tobacco Organisation also established that the soil
and climate in the Manjimup district was suitable for tobacco growing. In 1930, the first
commercial crop of 25 acres of tobacco was planted, which proved successful. Consequently, in
1931-32, the acreage planted increased to 348 acres, which yielded 211,230 lbs., the total value of
the crop being £18,000. It was in this year that Michelides established his first tobacco plantation.
These results encouraged more extensive plantings of 466 acres in 1932-33. Through the 1930s
and into the World War Two period, the area under tobacco was centred around Manjimup. The
initial costs of clearing the heavily forested land for tobacco planting were heavy. The crop was
grown and harvested during the spring and summer months on water retentive soils. Other than
Michelides’ tobacco manufacturing company’s plantations, most operations were on a small scale,
with plantings ranging in area from four to 10 acres, ‘the majority worked by Southern Europeans.’
Growing tobacco was labour intensive, and often all family members would be engaged in the
various tasks involved. By the late 1930s, tobacco farming in Western Australia was well
established. Most of the practices which had evolved would continue through into the post World
War Two period, as did the general requirements with regard to the necessary buildings.
In December 1938, in an article on the harvesting and curing of tobacco leaf, the Agriculture
Department’s tobacco adviser, A. Sharp, described the various buildings which were part of the
operation at this period, and which were to remain much the same throughout the period in which
tobacco was commercially grown in Western Australia, i.e. through to the early 1960s. The
stringing shed was ‘usually a more or less temporary erection of hessian stretched over bus poles’,
which was conveniently located in proximity to ‘the curing barns’, as the kilns were sometimes
known. The size and number of barns was dependent on the extent of the tobacco plantation. Most
in this State were small operations, of five to 15 acres, for which ‘a number of small barns, each 12
ft. by 12 ft. inside measurement, and carrying four tiers of leaf, will be found most suitable’, one
barn being sufficient for each four acres of crop, whilst for larger operations, ‘barns 16 ft. by 16 ft.
with four or five tiers’ would suffice for each seven acres. Sharp advised that it was preferable for
the barns to be built ‘in a fairly well sheltered position on slightly sloping ground, the furnaces
being built on the lower side in order to lessen the amount of excavation necessary.’ The framing
of each barn should be 4ins. x 2ins. jarrah timber, ‘with wall studs set at 2 ft. centres’, the building
being lined with timber, corrugated iron, asbestos-cement sheets, or re-cycled hessian bags, sewn
together and cement washed, which was the cheapest option. The smaller barn would be readily
heated by a single brick furnace, whilst two were recommended for a larger barn, with the flue
pipes arranged as indicated in the accompanying ground plans. Drawings show the side section
and sectional elevation of a 12 ft. x 12 ft. barn, with an air inlet at ground level and an open ridge
ventilator at the apex, controlled from the exterior, for efficient ventilation was essential. The 16 ft.
x 16 ft. barn was designed on similar lines, other than arrangement of furnaces and flues. Curing
the tobacco leaf generally took three to five days, by which time the colour had been fixed and the
leaf was brittle and dry. In the next stage, known as conditioning, a certain amount of moisture
was re-absorbed, the optimum being a moisture content of around 12%, before the leaf was ‘bulked
down’ in the bulk shed, often referred to as the drying shed, which generally included the grading
shed under the same roof.14 This building was ‘a well-built shed preferably set on stumps at least
two feet off the ground.’ Bulking involved making a stack, 3-4 ft. wide, where the leaf was stacked
‘with the butts to the outside’, and, as each cure was added to the stack, two or three heavy planks
would be placed ‘on top to consolidate the bulk and exclude air as much as possible.’ It was
recommended that the bulks be covered with hessian to protect the leaf from sunlight, and ‘later on,
against excessive absorption of moisture from the air after the Autumn rains
have set in.’
In March 1939, Sharp described the grading and marketing of tobacco leaf. The grading shed
should be built well off the ground, and lined with either asbestos-cement sheets or other damp
proof material to prevent moisture during handling leading to mould. The south wall should be
fitted with ample windows for diffused light on the grading bench, which was fitted with
compartments for the various grades of leaf. Grading generally took place in May-July. It was
important that direct light not fall on the tobacco leaf, as its true colour cannot be judged in direct
light. In 1939-40, 1,019 acres of tobacco were planted in Western Australia. After war-time
restrictions limited tobacco imports, the Commonwealth urged for increased home production. The
State government advanced growers £10 per acre to assist in the costs of planting and cultivation,
and 1,365 acres were planted in 1940-41, of which Michelides grew 650 acres.
Meanwhile, in 1943, the Commonwealth Government appointed the Rural Reconstruction
Commission to examine the problems that had been faced by rural industries in the inter-war and
World War Two periods. In 1944, the Commission reviewed the post-World War One soldiersettlement
schemes and outlined proposals for post-World War Two reconstruction. In 1945, the
War Service Land Settlement Agreement Act was passed whereby the Commonwealth would
provide funds for the purchase and development of farms in a scheme to be administered by the
State. Ex-servicemen were to be carefully selected and trained before taking up farming properties
for development in areas and with products ‘where reasonable prospects of economic success were
evident.’ The structural improvements were to be purchased by the settlers, who entered into a
lease in perpetuity of the land and ground improvements, with an option to purchase the freehold.
In the late 1940s, tobacco production in Western Australia increased with some growers returning
to this crop after costs increased in the potato industry and with growing confidence in the stability
of the tobacco industry. It was proposed to expand tobacco growing in Western Australia through
the War Service Land Settlement Scheme, in the belief that it could be grown successfully beyond
the Manjimup-Pemberton area, through ‘a belt embracing Busselton, Karridale, Manjimup,
Northcliffe, Walpole and Denmark’ where 50 War Service tobacco farms were to be established, on
Crown land, which had been previously forfeited or purchased or purchased for this purpose. After
a 12 month training programme in tobacco growing, the ex-servicemen were to be allocated land to
develop as a tobacco farm.
In 1949, the first 20 trainees commenced at the training school at Manjimup, of whom 17 moved to
farms in 1950. In 1950-52, two further training schools would be held. Some of the lots allocated to
ex-servicemen, including Nelson Location 12152, had been part of the inter-war Group Settlement
Scheme. The soldier-settler was provided with sufficient funding for growing his crop and living
costs. After the crop was sold, these costs would be re-couped, along with re-payments on the land
and machinery. Once the settler’s farm was self-supporting, its administration was to transfer from
the Department of Lands and Surveys to the Rural & Industries Bank.
The practices and the buildings associated with tobacco farming changed little in the post-war
period, and the tobacco farm operation that would be developed, in the early 1950s, at Nelson
Location 12152 by Roy and Peg Bell followed the established pattern. Ex-serviceman Roy Bell and
his wife, Peg, both of whom had previous experience of farming, were living in Fremantle when
they decided to take up a soldier-settlement tobacco farm. Roy moved to the training school at
Manjimup, whilst Peg remained in Fremantle. At this period, Cross Hickory was the tobacco grown
at Manjimup. After Peg Bell read an article about the Smith Brothers growing a new, larger leafed
variety, Virginia Gold, at Nathalia in South Australia, Roy Bell wrote to them, and in reply they
sent a teaspoon of seed. He would be one of the first farmers in Western Australia to plant this
variety, which became widely used. After Roy Bell completed his training course, the family took
up occupation of their tobacco farm at Northcliffe, at Nelson Location 12152, which he had
selected ‘as it had the right soil and was well drained.’ In 1949-50, there were 68 tobacco growers.
In 1950-51, including the 17 recently graduated ex-servicemen, there were 99 growers, 20 of whom
were ex-servicemen, of whom seven were at Karridale and nine at Northcliffe. The total acreage
under tobacco was increased from 670 acres to 930 acres. This was the first year in which tobacco
was commercially grown at Northcliffe, and the nine growers harvested a total of 75 acres. In
1951-52, 1,230 acres was planted, the greatest acreage since the early 1940s. At Northcliffe, there
was considerable expansion, with 24 growers, including Roy and Peg Bell, planting 199 acres.
Houses provided to the soldier-settlers were timber-framed asbestos clad with an iron or asbestos
roof. The Bells’ house was built on the site of the original group settler’s house, where a rose bush
and a few bulbs were all that remained of the earlier garden.32 In the 1950s, a photograph shows the
timber framed seed beds in the foreground, the double kiln and the drying/grading shed near by,
and the single kiln and the workers’ hut a short distance away. A second photograph shows the
Bell’s house, the machinery shed and the dairy shed, both of which remained from the earlier
Group Settler’s farm. There is also a small shed which the Bells had re-located from beside the
house to the site shown in the photograph to house Peg’s ducks. There was also the small stringing
on shed, which was located between the kilns. Roy Bell ‘worked very hard to make a success of
tobacco growing.’ He constructed the seed beds of timber with rolled calico tops to cover the
seedlings at night. In June-July, the seed was sown. Benzol, was placed in small disks, evaporated
and these measures prevented mould. At 6 ins to 8 ins. in height, about mid-October, the seedlings
were planted out in the 10 acres which had been prepared, including the application of fertiliser.
During the growing period, the fields were weeded, and insecticide applied to the crop until it was
ready to harvest in late November, and through December-January. At this stage, many hands were
required on the tobacco farm, and the Bells appreciated the assistance of numerous local dairy
farmers who came to work there through to 4 p.m., when they had to return to their farms for
milking. The picked leaves were placed in bags, then taken to the shed for stringing before being
placed in the kilns to be cured. The temperature was raised to 50 degrees as the leaf turned from
green to lemon, and ‘then fixed at that colour by raising the temperature rather quickly and holding
that temperature for anything up to 50 hrs.’ Then the fires were extinguished, and the tobacco
‘allowed to take up moisture so it could be taken from the kiln to the grading shed’. Roy Bell
would sleep the night in the stringing-on shed, getting up at intervals to fuel the kiln fire and check
the thermometer. At ‘picanniny daylight’, he would call Peg to come and assist him in shifting the
cured tobacco to the grading shed before the atmosphere became too dry. The cured tobacco was
stacked and stored in bulk in the grading shed, which was simply furnished with a long table,
‘divided into small slots where each leaf was placed’ according to its grade.
Four girls were employed for this task, each with her own division. There was also a heater and a
press. After grading into six grades, from poorest to best, in February-April, the tobacco continued
to be stored in this shed, where it was compressed into bales ready for transport to Perth for sale at
auction in May. Whilst the Bells worked full-time on the farm, assisted by one or two tobacco
workers accommodated in the small workers’ hut near the single kiln, other workers were mainly
seasonal. They lived elsewhere and travelled to the farm when required, either on a daily basis or
camping in tents at the farm. Joanne Flanagan recollects working on three tobacco farms in Karri
Hill Road, including the Bells’. The farmers ‘got together’ and the workers would spend a day on
each farm, before moving on to the next. Roy Bell was responsible for several further innovations
in tobacco farming subsequent to his introduction of the Virginia Gold variety. He imported Guinea
Gold tobacco seed from Queensland, which he grew successfully, and which at sale topped the
Western Australian price record. He developed a different method of stringing. Rather than putting
the tobacco leaf on sharpened wires before it was placed in the kilns, he tied it to stocks, which
were safer and more easily handled. He installed kerosene heaters to the kilns, enabling him to set
the temperature ‘and relax.’ By February 1955, there were eight kerosene fed kilns installed by
seven growers in the Manjimup district.
The Agricultural Department and notable visitors who included a South African tobacco expert,
Tom Harvey, took ‘great interest’ in the Bells’ crops and innovative practices, and the Department
gathered seed from the Bells’ tobacco farm. The rainfall in the Northcliffe area proved to be too
variable for tobacco growing. The Bells were often concerned about even having sufficient rain
water for the house through summer, and there was no irrigation for crops. Whilst Roy Bell’s care
and expertise enabled the Bells to continue farming tobacco for a longer period, many of the 56
War Service Settlement tobacco farms in the Manjimup district failed by the mid-1950s, and
Commonwealth support was withdrawn. Some of the farmers remained on their properties and
converted to dairy farming, some transferred to other farming properties, and a number of the
tobacco farms were simply left abandoned. The Scheme demonstrated that tobacco could be grown
on the farms, but Thomas P. Field has suggested that due to the refusal of the soldier-settlers “to
enlist their families for full-time farm work” they were “unable to provided reasonable economic
returns.” Similarly, B. Giles noted that of 200 tobacco growers in 1959, only five were of British
origin, and maintained ‘Australian men and their families were not prepared to work hard enough. ’
In the post-war period, filter tipped cigarettes grew in popularity.
After post-war restrictions were lifted, the multi-national companies made in-roads into the
Australian market with their cheaper product, and, along with the advent of flip-top cigarette boxes,
reduced the economic viability of Michelides Ltd., which in turn adversely affected the Western
Australian tobacco industry. In the late 1950s, tobacco buyers were increasingly critical of Western
Australian tobacco leaf whose chloride content resulted in a poor burn. The Department of
Agriculture carried out trials of different varieties, fertilisers, and crop rotation, but the problem
persisted. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the downward trend in sales of Western Australian
tobacco continued, and less tobacco was planted each year in view of uncertainty whether the crop
would be sold or rejected. By 1959, only three of the 56 original soldier-settlers were still growing
tobacco.
Eventually, the Bells made the decision to leave their farm. On 10 February 1960, the Minister for
Lands was granted Nelson Location 12152, 107 acres one rood 17 perches in area, and was
registered as the proprietor on 15 February 1960. At this date, there was no electrical power to the
place as the electricity grid was not extended to Northcliffe until the 1960s. Nelson Location
12152 continued in the ownership of the Minister for Lands to 29 March 1968, when it was
transferred to Philip Richard Hazelgrove, mill hand, of Northcliffe. In the same year, a caveat on
the place was registered. The place was utilised for various agricultural purposes, with the kilns
and grading/drying shed utilised for hay barns, storage etc. The homestead continued to be
occupied as a residence by consecutive owners, who made various alterations including laying
parquetry timber flooring to some rooms, enclosing verandas and sleep-outs, re-lining internal
walls, installing some timber panelling, fitting a false ceiling, and building a lean-to addition at the
rear.
On 24 March 1976, the place was transferred to Marie Longmire, married woman, of Northcliffe,
who owned the place for nearly four years. On 26 February 1980, the place was transferred to
Phillip Charles Bruce, plant operator, and Judy Ann Bruce, of Manjimup, as joint tenants, who
mortgaged the place to the preceding owner, Marie Longmire, now a widow. On 15 December
1983, the place was transferred to Pascoe Holdings Ltd., of Perth.
On 24 June 1997, the place was transferred to Trevor John Hulcup and Jeanette Erica Hulcup, of
Swanbourne. Initially, they used it as a holiday home/weekender, utilising the homestead for
accommodation. It was re-stumped and a replacement hot water system was installed. They lived
there until their new, permanent residence, set at a distance from the group of tobacco farm
buildings, was completed in late 2002. Over a four year period, the Hulcups have undertaken
various works to convert the double kiln, single kiln and workers’ quarters to farmstay
accommodation, under the name Watermark Kilns, Northcliffe, at an estimated cost of $150,000.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Moderate
Authenticity: Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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