Schwerkolt Cottage

Last updated

Schwerkolt Cottage
Schwerkolt Cottage.jpg
Schwerkolt Cottage
Schwerkolt Cottage
General information
Location10 Deep Creek Rd Mitcham, Victoria
Coordinates 37°48′41″S145°12′40″E / 37.811314°S 145.211142°E / -37.811314; 145.211142 Coordinates: 37°48′41″S145°12′40″E / 37.811314°S 145.211142°E / -37.811314; 145.211142
Construction started1865 (1865)
OwnerWhitehorse Historical Society
Website
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~ndhsinc/

Schwerkolt Cottage is a pioneer cottage built around 1880 at Mitcham, Victoria.

Contents

This heritage site encompasses the original stone cottage, associated replicated outbuildings and a local history museum, surrounded by 2.25 hectares of gardens and bushland, and adjacent to Yarran Dheran bushland park. [1] The stone cottage has been restored to its original condition and furnished in a style of the period and houses items curated by the Whitehorse Historical Society. [2] The cottage is of an unusual design with three rooms opening onto a verandah with individual external doors but no doors between the rooms. There are communication holes between the rooms. This is believed to be a vernacular style from Schwerkolt's homeland. [2]

History

August Schwerkolt (1822-1886) emigrated with his wife Paulina (1823-1884) from the town of Świebodzin in Prussia arriving at Hobson’s Bay on 20 December 1849. They settled initially in Northcote, where a number of fellow Germans had already become established. On 14 December 1861, the Schwerkolts purchased 88 acres of land beside the Mullum Mullum Creek or Deep Creek, Mitcham, and with their children worked both properties for a time, with a market garden at Northcote, and charcoal-burning at Mitcham, while they cleared the Mitcham property for mixed farming. Schwerkolt built the first house at Mitcham in 1864 using stone excavated from near the creek, and progressively added a number of other outbuildings, including a stone smokehouse, a second timber cottage and stables, blacksmith and a wine cellar. Schwerkolt built a third cottage in stone with three rooms around 1886. August married a second time (to Wilhelmina) in 1885, and the cottage was only partially finished when he died in January 1886. [2]

The cottage was rented out to tenants for a period of time but was condemned in 1960 by the Department of Housing, but the impending demolition resulted in the local community campaigning to preserve it. The former City of Nunawading purchased the site in 1964, and restoration was carried out by a group of volunteers committed to local heritage issues. The restored building was opened by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Rohan Delacombe, on 17 November 1965. Further reconstruction of original buildings including the blacksmith, barn, stone smokehouse, and the underground wine cellars were undertaken, and new buildings were erected to house the collection of the Whitehorse Historical Society. The smokehouse has been reconstructed using original photographs from the Schwerkolt family whilst not on the original location. The cellar however was reconstructed on its original place after archaeological excavations located its existence. This local history museum was opened in 1977 and has had several extensions added to it over the last 15 years. An orchard shed was also constructed in mid 2000.

Collection

Whitehorse Historical Society holds a wide ranging collection of 2D media from photographs to newspapers as well as objects and textiles relating to the history of the residents of Blackburn, Blackburn North, Blackburn South, Forest Hill, Nunawading, Mitcham, Vermont and Vermont South highlighting their domestic and working lives. They also have an oral history collection and a range of publications relating to local heritage [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Whitehorse</span> Local government area in Victoria, Australia

The City of Whitehorse is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 64.3 km2 (25 sq mi) and an estimated residential population of 171,167 as of June 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburn, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Blackburn is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse local government area. Blackburn recorded a population of 14,478 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Manningham</span> Local government area in Victoria, Australia

The City of Manningham is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne and is divided into 12 suburbs, with the largest being Doncaster and Doncaster East. It comprises an area of 113 square kilometres and had a population of 125,508 in June 2018.

Box Hill North is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 km east from Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse local governPoment area. Box Hill North recorded a population of 12,337 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box Hill South, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Hill South is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse local government area. Box Hill South recorded a population of 8,491 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burwood East, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Burwood East is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 17 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse local government area. Burwood East recorded a population of 10,675 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitcham, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Mitcham is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 26 km east from Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse local government area. Mitcham recorded a population of 16,795 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermont South, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Vermont South is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, 26 km east of its Central Business District. It had a population of 11,954 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donvale, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Donvale is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doncaster East, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Doncaster East is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Doncaster East recorded a population of 30,926 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburn Lake Sanctuary</span>

Blackburn Lake Sanctuary is an example of regenerated and remnant bushland in suburban Melbourne, Australia. It is located in the suburb of Blackburn. It is the most significant of the many parks in the City of Whitehorse, featuring areas of regenerated bushland and various walking tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mullum Mullum Creek</span> Creek in Victoria, Australia

Mullum Mullum Creek is a creek in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the main watercourse of the Mullum Mullum Valley, a tributary of the Yarra River and Yarra Valley. For tens of thousands of years it was used as a food and tool source sustainably by the Wurundjeri people, Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who spoke variations of the Woiwurrung language group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penwortham, South Australia</span> Town in South Australia

Penwortham is a small town in the Clare Valley, South Australia, along the Horrocks Highway, approximately 10 kilometres south of Clare and 14 kilometres north of Auburn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Box Hill</span> Local government area in Victoria, Australia

The City of Box Hill was a local government area about 15 kilometres (9 mi) east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of 21.50 square kilometres (8.30 sq mi), and existed from 1927 until 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarran Dheran</span>

Yarran Dheran Nature Reserve forms part of the Mullum Mullum Valley and is an important riparian bushland park, located in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne on the border of Donvale, on the banks of the Mullum Mullum Creek. The Reserve comprises 7.2 hectares and hosts a mix of remnant and regenerated bushland, and many native species of wildlife, particularly birds, of which some 85 species may be seen over time. The Mullum Mullum Creek Trail runs through the Reserve and there are many unsealed bush tracks through the native bushland. There is an Information Centre in the Reserve which is open on Sunday afternoons from 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm subject to volunteer availability. The Reserve includes a series of ponds that feed a cascade to the creek during wet spells. There are toilets and mown areas for picnics and seating. Yarran Dheran is a Dogs on Lead Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LaGrange (Cambridge, Maryland)</span> Historic house in Maryland, United States

LaGrange, also known as La Grange Plantation or Meredith House, is a historic home located at Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. It was built about 1760. The house is a 2+1⁄2-story Flemish bond brick house and is one of the few remaining Georgian houses in the town. Sun porches and a frame wing were added to the main house in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Three outbuildings remain, including a late 19th-century dairy, an 18th-century smokehouse, and a 20th-century garage.

44°22′40.07″N73°13′46.21″WStone Cottage and The Smokehouse are two exhibit buildings at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.

Troy Park is a regional park comprising 101 acres in Elkridge, Maryland. The park is located at 6500 Mansion Lane off Washington Boulevard, near the intersection of Maryland Route 100 and I-95.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennant Creek Telegraph Station</span>

The Tennant Creek Telegraph Station is an historical site about 16 kilometres north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridge View Inn</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Bridge View Inn is a heritage-listed former hotel and bank building which now contains bed and breakfast accommodation, a museum and commercial enterprises at 28-30 Louee Street, Rylstone, Mid-Western Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1860 to 1870. It is also known as Bridge Hotel, Rylstone Historical Society Building and Bridgeview Inn. The property is owned by Rylstone and District Historical Society. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

References

  1. ↑ Yarran Dheran - History url = accessdate = 2011-03-27 Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 M Summerton & D Wixted, SCHWERKOLT COTTAGE and MUSEUM COMPLEX Conservation Analysis & Management Plan
  3. ↑ "Whitehorse Historical Society Inc. - Victorian Collections". victoriancollections.net.au. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.