Allandale Homestead

Statement of Significance

• Has a landmark quality within the local environment because of its prominent location on an elevated site. • Has a close association with the development of the fishing and fish canning industries in the Mandurah region. • Associated with the Dawe family, one of the first families to settle in the area. • Contributes to the community's sense of place by demonstrating evidence of the once thriving commercial fishing industry in the region. • It is rare and has survived relatively unchanged since construction through the continuous ownership and occupation by one family for most of the twentieth century.

Physical Description

A single-storey stone and timber dwelling with a corrugated iron roof and an adjacent water tower and stone cellar. The property overlooks the Peel Harvey Estuary. It has six rooms, interior floors of jarrah and a front jarrah gable. A cement floor veranda surrounds the whole building. A 2.5 metre deep limestone buttery is located on the southern side of the house.

History

Louis Dawe was a South Australian tinsmith who came to Mandurah to become involved in the fish canning industry. He was employed in the Tuckey Brothers’ Peel Inlet Preserving Works and later settled and began canning fish at Pleasant Grove. He took over a building used as a fish cannery by the Leighton brothers, who had both tragically drowned. The cannery was a simple lean-to adjacent to the original homestead with a smokehouse constructed of wattle and daub. Dawe built a weatherboard school on the Ward’s property at Pleasant Grove in 1907 for the 15 or so children in the area. Mrs Edith Tuckey rode out there daily from Mandurah to teach the pupils. In 1913 Dawe left Pleasant Grove to build Allandale at what is now called ‘Dawesville’, approximately 10 miles south of Mandurah. The homestead was built from local limestone. Here Dawe established a second fish cannery in a factory built from weatherboard and corrugated iron, and also kept bee hives for honey. A jetty was also constructed into the estuary. The cannery was destroyed by Cyclone Alby and the jetty has been demolished. Commercial fish canning ceased at Allandale in 1930 when it became more lucrative to send the fish fresh to Perth. Louis Dawe’s son, Allan, remained at Allandale for some 70 years. The property was sold in 1996 and is currently being restored.

Integrity/Authenticity

Authenticity : High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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