Pinjarra Park Estate

Statement of Significance

The homestead at Pinjarrah Park Estate is representative of the colonial style, with cellars and kitchen underneath the house. It is a fine example of the way of life of wealthy pioneers.
Pinjarrah Park Mill is one of the few remaining mill structures in the region and was powered using machinery parts brought from Cooper’s Mill.
Pinjarrah Park Estate is associated with Theodore Fawcett, Member of Legislative Council, Resident Magistrate for Murray, and the only Western Australian distiller of brandy.

Physical Description

The homestead is a well constructed brick bungalow, constructed from locally made bricks
and originally roofed with locally cut sheoak shingles. Home was built in the 'typical' colonial style, with cellars and kitchen underneath the house.
Hipped timber-framed roof, clad in lapped timber boarding on exposed rafters and crossties, now clad in aluminium tile sheeting.
Contains a small grove of citrus trees and camellias. The camellia Society of Australia has
sourced the original import docket for the camellias, dating from 1860.
Olive trees located all around the property.
Pinjarra Park Mill is a large red brick building with a huge chimney and kiln. The mill is in
ruins and located approximately 200m south of the homestead.

History

The property was originally acquired by Francis Wickham on behalf of his brother-in-law, Theodore Fawcett, a captain of the Hussars, who was residing in England at the time. Fawcett (1832-98) came to the colony in 1858 to develop the grant. He engaged ticket-of-leave men to clear the bush and erect buildings. It has been noted that some of these builders must have been skilled craftsmen, since the homestead is one of the finest in the area. The bricks, as with other places in the district, were made on site and the timber and shingles were hand sawn. The homestead was designed in the style of an English country house, with a large cellar underneath, part of which was originally used as a kitchen. Fawcett returned to England to marry Eliza in 1864, returning to the colony with his bride. He continued to improve the property, building the flour mill and other outbuildings, although few additions were made to the homestead. Evidence suggests that the Mill was constructed in 1865, the year Fawcett acquired mill machinery from Cooper’s Mill at Yunderup which closed permanently in that year. The Pinjarrah Park Mill ground wheat for Fawcett’s use as well as for early farmers in the district. Because wheat as a crop did not thrive in the Pinjarra locality, together with the incursion of rust in wheat crops in the district, by the 1880s and 1890s Murray farmers could no longer compete with the successful wheat growing areas elsewhere in the Colony. Murray farmers concentrated on alternative crops – potatoes, meat, wool, hides and fruit growing. Consequently, Fawcett’s Mill fell into disuse and, up to the present day, into a state of dereliction. Theodore Fawcett earned recognition as well as a Justice of the Peace, for his election in May 1886 to the Legislative Council for the Murray and Williams, and for his assistance in framing the new Constitution for Responsible Government. Fawcett was twice Acting Resident Magistrate for the Murray District. He played a major role in the development of the Pinjarra district and was Captain and co-founder of the Pinjarra Mounted Volunteers, a Calvary Corps, until it was disbanded in 1882. He served on the Murray Roads Board and was elected to the Legislative Council as the Member for Murray-Williams from 1886 to 1889.
Pinjarra Park Homestead was the focus of the social life of Pinjarra society in Fawcett’s time there. The father of seven children:
- Theodore John Henry, b. 14/08/1865
- Mary Agnes, b. 06/10/1866
- Charles William Theodore, b. 23/06/1870
- Ernest Murray Johnson, b. 1868
- Agnes Constance Augusta, b. 01/08/1868
- Emmeline Eleanor May, b. 05/1875
- Eva Adela Julia, b. 1877
Fawcett died on 21 March 1898 at the age of 66 following a long illness, having for 25 years dominating the political and social life of the Murray district. He was buried in the Church of England Cemetery in Pinjarra. A caretaker’s dwelling was constructed in 2015.

Integrity/Authenticity

Good

Condition

Good

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Historic Themes

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