Mindarie Pastoral Company Homestead (ruins)

Author

City of Wanneroo

Place Number

14284

Location

650 Connolly Dr Clarkson

Location Details

Local Government

Wanneroo

Region

Metropolitan

Construction Date

Constructed from 1888

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type Status Date Grading/Management
Category
Municipal Inventory Adopted 25 May 1994 Category 4

Statement of Significance

The Mindarie Pastoral Company Homestead (Ruins) has historic significance as an example the development and settlement of the Wanneroo district. The place has social significance to the community of Wanneroo and in particular to local residents as evidenced by local interest in the place at the time of inspection.

Physical Description

The Mindarie Pastoral Company Homestead (Ruins) were located on Lot 304 on Plan 21925 Vol 2098 Folio 905 at 650 Connolly Drive, Clarkson within the City of Wanneroo's Coastal Ward. On inspection (March 2004) the ruins were approached via a dirt track with Clarkson Community High School to the east and a recent housing development and between Victorsen Parade and Lesima Way to the west. Evidence of a homestead comprises established landscaping including lilac trees, bougainvilleas and grape vines. Remnants of building materials which appear possibly to have been part of a former homestead include old bricks, surface limestone and pieces of corrugated iron were found on the site. The ruins were not extant.

History

The suburb name Clarkson was proposed by the Shire of Wanneroo in 1979 in honour of an early settler who held large land leases in the area. Before pastoral leases were purchased in the 1880s, grazing without legal authority occurred on Crown land. Among the earliest families to purchase leases in the Wanneroo district were the Gibbs, the Highams, Maleys and the Clarksons. In 1888 Bernard Drummond Clarkson took up a 18,000 acre grant at Mindarie to graze his sheep which he brought down from his Yalgoo property, Meeka Station to sell. The ruins of the original homestead are situated on the original lease area. John Clarkson is also noted as bringing sheep from Yalgoo. He was a Major in the Light Horse Brigade and died of a heart attack in the late 1950s. A house was built near the ruins around 1951, however this house is also no longer extant. The property was sold in 1958 to Kemp Hall and Archie Pearce and subsequently transferred to Harry and Lynn Kemp Hall. Dorothy and Robin Miles were caretakers on the property until the 1990s. The land has been subdivided for redevelopment, the first subdivision taking place in 1959. In 1961 Quinns Road (fmr road no 7723) was constructed on land resumed from a portion of the Mindaire Pastoral Company land. Currently (2004) the land is under redevelopment as Somerley Estate.

Condition

Site

Place Type

Individual Building or Group

Uses

Epoch General Specific
Present Use RESIDENTIAL Other
Original Use FARMING\PASTORAL Homestead

Construction Materials

Type General Specific
Other BRICK Other Brick
Other STONE Limestone
Other METAL Corrugated Iron

Historic Themes

General Specific
OCCUPATIONS Grazing, pastoralism & dairying
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Land allocation & subdivision
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Settlements

Creation Date

11 Oct 1999

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

01 Jan 2017

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.