Postans' Cottage Group

Child Places

• 03804 Frederick Postans' Cottage, Hope Valley
• 25318 George Postans' Cottage (fmr), Hope Valley

Statement of Significance

The Postans’ Cottage Group, Hope Valley, comprises a limestone cottage ruin and archaeological site located within a small former farming property and wetland, and built and occupied by Frederick Postans (c.1900), and the remains of an earlier cottage, constructed in the 1880s by his farther, George Postans, a former convict during the early settlement of the Hope Valley area.
The place has the potential to yield information contributing to a wider understanding of the European occupation of the locality and of the State, through comparison of the archaeology of the place with other archaeological and heritage sites that represent different phases of Western Australian settlement from the nineteenth to twentieth century; and
the archaeology of the place is representative of archaeological deposits and surface finds associated with dwellings and farming properties from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Western Australia.

Physical Description

George Postans' Cottage is the site located within a small former farming property and wetland, thought to have been built and occupied by George Postans, a former convict and his family, in approximately 1882, as part of the early settlement of the Hope Valley area. It is not currently known how much of the original cottage remains.

Frederick Postans’ Cottage, Hope Valley, a limestone cottage ruin and archaeological site located within a small former farming property and wetland, and built and occupied by Frederick Postans (c.1900), the son of a former convict during the early settlement of the Hope Valley area, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
the place has the potential to yield information contributing to a wider understanding of the European occupation of the locality and of the State, through comparison of the archaeology of the place with other archaeological and heritage sites that represent different phases of Western Australian settlement from the nineteenth to twentieth century; and
the archaeology of the place is representative of archaeological deposits and surface finds associated with dwellings and farming properties from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Western Australia.

History

George Postans arrived in Western Australia as a convict aboard the Scindian in 1850. Convicted of housebreaking at 16, he received his ticket-of-leave by 1851.15 Postans married Harriet Green, widow of Edwin, in 1854 and was granted a full pardon in 1858.
Postans worked in the Murray District and Pinjarra as a labourer, small farmer, and bricklayer. In the 1850s, he jointly worked on a farm in North Dandalup of 15 acres with his friend, William Pollard. He is also recorded as having employed five ticket-of-leave men in Toodyay, which may also have been while working with William Pollard. By 1880 he and his wife had saved enough to settle their large family, by then numbering fifteen, on 100 acres of land in what was to become Hope Valley.
A plan of the property in a surveyor’s field book (name of surveyor illegible) is dated August 1880. The plan, drawn to scale, shows a 100 acre block of land attributed to George Postans, with two fields, one approximately 10 acres and ‘under cultivation’ in the southern half of the allotment. The survey plan was drawn during the very early settlement of the allotment, prior to the official transfer of title of land to George Postans in 1882. There are two other small features noted on the plan, in approximately the middle of the block, which may illustrate the presence of a dwelling or other structures.
In 2014, descendants of the Postans and de San Miguel families identified an extant structure located at 233 Hope Valley Road (Lot 241, P245456) as the original Postans’ homestead, built by George Postans. This structure corresponds with the general location of the Postans’ Homestead indicated in the 1880 plan.
In 1900, 28 acres of the original Cockburn Sound Location 241 allotment was transferred to George and Harriet’s son Frederick.40 George Postans retained the remaining 72 acres, in addition to the extra 100 acres he acquired in 1887. Frederick Postans’ Cottage, Hope Valley is located in the south-western corner of the property located at 41 Hendy Road. In 2014, descendants of the Postans and de San Miguel families identified this structure as Frederick Postans’ cottage, built circa 1900.

Archaeology

There is a high level of potential for surface and sub-surface archaeological material to be present in and around the Frederick Postans’ Cottage, Hope Valley. Archaeological material (artefacts and deposits) of this sort would be highly significant for its potential to provide information regarding the construction and occupation of Frederick Postans’ Cottage, Hope Valley.
There are at least two known artefact scatters located in close proximity to Frederick Postans’ Cottage, Hope Valley.
Evidence of the agricultural activities and incidental artefacts (such as nails, implements, personal items) might also be expected to be found the areas frequented by the Postans family. Areas of moderate archaeological potential include the surrounds of Hendy Road Swamp, former garden beds, including self-sown plantings, and the tracks and surrounds.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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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.