Macpherson Homestead

Condition

Shire advised Dec06 - Homestead has been restored and is managed by the local historical society as a tourist feature / museum piece.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Statement of Significance

The MacPherson Homestead has high historic significance for its association with the MacPherson Family who played an important role in the settlement and development of the Carnamah district. Further, the place is highly valued by the local community as as a reminder of the early European settlement of the district. The MacPherson Homestead has particular structural interest with its high walls and steeply pitched roof and is evidence of the use of local materials. It is as a good example of rural, vernacular homesteads in Western Australia.

Physical Description

Located approximately 1km east of Carnamah the MacPherson Homestead is a large building of stone construction with a steeply pitched corrugated iron hipped roof which extends to cover the verandahs. The building is 74 feet in length and 34 feet wide with thick stone walls approximately 14 feet high. A verandah runs along the west elevation and wraps around the north and south corners. The verandah is supported on timber posts and features criss-cross bracing to the balustrades and bush battens underneath the verandah roof. The homestead consists of 4 bedrooms, lounge, passage, dining room, and a bathroom. There are two rendered stone chimneys and windows are timber framed with small panes. There is cement rendered quoining around the openings and corners. Originally a timber sleeper path led to the adjacent cookhouse, storeroom and cellar; the ruins of which are located immediately south-east of the homestead. Nearby are the ruins of a three roomed stone building and a two roomed stone building. The Carnamah Spring is located approximately 200 metres to the north on the edge of a water course. It has been developed and is rock lined.

History

Duncan MacPherson and George Slater took up land in the vicinity of what became known as Carnamah in September, 1861. Construction of the Homestead commenced in 1869, the building taking five years to complete. Following the alterations to the mail route in 1877 Duncan MacPherson is recorded as having the contract to cart mail from Walebing to Mingenew for the period 1883-1885. Indeed the MacPherson family formed an important part of the remote line of communication that linked Toodyay to the Greenough area. Duncan's daughter Margaret was in charge of the Carnamah Post Office which was housed in the MacPherson Homestead. It was upgraded to become a Post and Telegraph Office in 1895 and remained in use as such until 1913 when Margaret MacPherson retired. The Homestead was also a popular resting place for travellers until 1894 when the Midland Railway Line was completed. When Duncan MacPherson died in April 1898 he left his land to his family of five sons and two daughters who gradually sold the land and moved away from the district. The last of the land owned by the MacPhersons, consisting of 250 acres, including the Homestead, was sold after the daughter Elizabeth passed on cl940. The Homestead continued to be used as a private dwelling, but over the years it was allowed to deteriorate. In 1979 as a committee formed with the aim of restoring the building. (Heydon, pl2 & pi82 and Local Information Sheet) The Carnamah Spring is believed to have been as a watering point for local aborigines. It was purchased as part of Duncan MacPherson's holdings.

Integrity/Authenticity

High

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Statement of Significance

This house, as the home of the original settlers in the district and long the centre of the community, is historically important and in its construction reflects the way of life in those early days. It has structural interest with its high walls and steeply pitched roof, bush rafters and battens for the roof and log joists still visible below some of the floors. It is now owned by the Shire and is proposed for use as a historical museum, with landscaped grounds containing old agricultural machinery.

Physical Description

Stone walls, rendered inside, bush timber rafters, originally thatched roof with battens still in place, steep pitch to roof.Restoration and repairs commenced. Original use : dwelling. The house has thick stone walls 14 feet high, rafters are of bush timber and roof, now corrugated iron was originally thatched, the bush battens being still in place. The pitch of the roof is such that the guttering is about head height. Large, carefully selected stones were used on the outside of the walls with smaller ones on the inside with has been roughly rendered. There are four rooms, with a passage at the centre, at the front of the house and verandah on three sides. Five small rooms and a bathroom are along the back - ceilings are low and the log joists below the floor can be seen. The separate kitchen and outhouses are now in ruins. The house was built by Duncan McPherson, a Scottish shepherd who came out with the Drummonds and worked for them at Hawthornden, Toodyay. He later had the contract to cart mail from Walebing to Mingenew and took up the first land at the Carnamah Spring in 1862, starting to build his home there about 1870. His daughter conducted the Post Office from the house from 1875 and later transmitting telegrams became part of her duties. Wayfarers and passing settlers enjoyed the McPherson's hospitality until the railway went through in the 1890s.

History

Assessment 1984 Approx date of construction: 1870's

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