Edwards House

Statement of Significance

This house has high historic significance given its connection to the first tillage leases in the Irwin District and to the Edwards family who have owned the property for many years. The place demonstrates the use of local materials and is a rare example of a vernacular mud brick cottage of its era. The mature palm trees and old garden shrubs add to the significance of the place.

Physical Description

1997
This simple rendered mud brick cottage is set in an old garden with mature palm trees and a large bougainvillea. The gable corrugated iron roof has broken back extensions which cover a verandah to the east and form a skillion to the rear (west). The front verandah is supported on timber posts and has been partially enclosed with fibro as is the rear skillion. The north wall has been protected with corrugated iron sheeting. There is a small chimney to the apex of the gable to the north.
2004

History

Expiree George Edwards was granted a 40 acre block of land close to this site in 1859 as a reward for his part in the Gregory Brothers expedition of 1858 and he subsequently built a one room cottage. In 1868 he married Rose Ann Poole and a second house was built about this time on Loc 1269. In the Greenough River floods of 1888, this house which had been constructed of mud brick, was destroyed and a temporary house was built on higher ground in the sand hills. The cottage shown in the photograph is the next (fourth) house built by the Edwards family and is believed to have been built about 1900. In about 1905, at the time of the construction of the Seventh Day Adventist Church [Place No. 2], stone foundations for a new house were laid on the property by the builder of the church, however this house was never completed.
(Source: "Dictionary of Western Australians", IDHS Records, J. Edwards, S. Gratte)

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Medium

Condition

Fair

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.