Glentromie Farm Group

Statement of Significance

The Glentromie precinct is of exceptional significance. It has significant associations with Donald Mac Pherson, Walter Padbury, Davidson, and the Nixon family. It has links with the earliest settlement in the Victoria Plains, and shows the development since that time. It shows a number of ways of life associated with the property which are no longer practised. The property has associations with the broader community for the social, recreational, sporting and religious events that have taken place for generations.

Physical Description

The homestead was originally roofed with she oak shingles, which was replaced with corrugated iron, and then with tiles (c1950s?). The weight of the tiles forced the walls out. In c1995, the walls were reinforced with steel, and the roof was reclad with zincalume sheeting. The original hand sawn floorboards are still evident in the kitchen and dining room.

History

In 1842, D Macpherson took up the lease for Murra Murra which became Glentromie. Donald Macpherson had come to the Colony as an indentured servant for Captain John Scully who established a pastoral property at Bolgart.
Macpherson first applied for a pastoral rights in 1845 and was refused. However in July that year he successfully selected 12000 acres which included Murra Murra, Badji Badji and Noondagoonda (Priest's Place) Donald was in partnership with Ewen Macintosh, and his bothers John and Duncan Macpherson.
The polo field is believed to be the first cleared land on Glentromie and was used for polo.
Bricks used in the buildings on Glentromie were fired on site. Macpherson worked to establish a model farming institution. Substantial two storey brick stables housed 27 horses which were bred as remounts for the British Army in India.
From 1857, Macpherson was an unpaid postmaster and the mail terminus for the monthly mailrun from Gingin. Glentromie was a mail centre of the district from 1867. Between 1858 and 1884, Donald Macpherson employed 26 ticket of leave men. Included in those 26 men were two brick makers between 1869 and 1870, and 3 carpenters between 1873 and 1875. In 1871, Donald Macpherson was the inaugural Chairman and Treasurer of the Victoria Plains Road Board. Road Board meetings held at Glentromie from 1872 to 1876.
The first horse racing event in the Victoria Plains was held at Berkshire Valley in 1878. The following year, a grand horseracing day and banquet was held at Glentromie, which subsequently became an annual event.
In 1886, Macpherson resigned from the Road Board. After his death in 1887, it was revealed that Glentromie was heavily mortgaged and had to be sold. At the auction in 1888, Walter Padbury and Loton bid against Bishop Salvado at the auction, and they acquired the property for £11,200.
The new manager was Charles K. Davidson who married Padbury's niece, Amelia Payne, and came from Victoria to take charge. He had a keen interest in horses, and later also served on the Road Board.
The proposed railway through Waddington and Glentromie land resulted in objections from the new Glentromie owner, Padbury , and the railway was rerouted to the west.
After Moora town began developing, in 1895, an Anglican clergyman visited Glentromie to conduct services in the 'big' room. Burial services were also conducted at the burial ground near by. That continued for many years, until the 1950s.
In 1902, Davidson initiated Easter cricket matches at Glentromie. Glentromie was a social centre of the district, and the annual Marbro school picnics, concerts and social gatherings were held there.
In 1930, D. W. Edgar owned Glentromie.
During World War Two, the polo ground was an emergency airstrip for aircraft training from Pearce Air Base.
After the war, 12,000 acres of Glentromie sold by Edgar to the Rehabilitation Committee for Soldier Settlement. Four farms of 3,000 acres each were taken up by Childs, Bickford, Mackie and Overington.
In 1958, the Nixon family purchased the Glentromie property, and in 1997, it is still in that family's ownership.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Mostly Intact
Authenticity: Medium - High degree

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.