BANEMORE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX & WOOLSHED
Twomey's Bridge Road, GAZETTE VIC 3289 - Property No 0100
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Statement of Significance
Banemore Homestead Complex, located about 6 kilometres west of Penshurst, on Twomey's Bridge Road was formerly the 'Old Stockyard' pastoral lease. The lease was taken up by William Buckley, a shepherd and then purchased by the important Western District squatters, the Twomey family. The woolshed is the only nineteenth-century building remaining of what was once a substantial complex of bluestone structures. The woolshed is likely to have been built after 1866 when Timothy Twomey took possession of the run at the height of the late 1860s wool boom in Western Victoria. It is a long bluestone building of two rectangular wings radiating from a central hexagonal 'board'. It is built of particularly fine coursed basalt using fine details. The wings are paved with bluestone cobbles. The original board had 14 stands, with 14 exit holes and ramps, most which have been closed. Most importantly, the woolshed is similar in plan and construction to the Kolor woolshed, another property owned by the Twomey family. The roof was replaced after it was burnt in the 1939 bushfire and the floor of the western wing has been removed. The woolshed, with its yards still partly paved with bluestone, functions as originally constructed.
The original homestead was completely razed in the 1939 bushfire with only the detached service wing servicing. The present red brick house was built on the original foundations in 1942. It incorporates some unusual Art Deco features and an unusual water tank tower. The house is surrounded by a garden at the front and rear (which includes a greenhouse), an orchard and various sheds.
How is it significant?
The Banemore Homestead Complex is of historical and architectural significance to the community of Penshurst and the Southern Grampians Shire.
Why is it significant?
The Banemore Homestead Complex is of historical significance through its association with the Weerangourt and Old Stockyard squatting runs and with the Twomey family. The woolshed is of architectural significance for the quality of its workmanship, its distinctive design, as a comparison with the Kolor woolshed and for the likely association with the prominent architect, Joseph Reed.
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BANEMORE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX & WOOLSHED - Physical Conditions
The woolshed is in good condition. The original homestead service wing, the new homestead and its outbuildings are in good condition although the greenhouse/conservatory is in poor condition.
BANEMORE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX & WOOLSHED - Physical Description 1
The woolshed is a long building of two rectangular wings radiating from a central hexagonal 'board'. The whole is built from finely crafted bluestone incorporating careful details. These include slit windows which, although it is unlikely, are said to have been designed for defence against Aboriginal attacks. The quality of the construction suggests an architect's design and supervision but none has been connected with the design. The woolshed is very similar to that at Kolor which may have been designed by the Melbourne firm of architects, Reed and Barnes. Kolor was also owned by the Twomey family at the time. The woolshed was seriously burnt in the 1939 bushfires when the roof was destroyed. The whole roof was replaced, after a delay of many years, with a much simpler design. This included the intrusion of reinforced concrete 'beams', at the centre, to bridge the angles created by the hexagonal shearing board and, at the gables, to increase the pitch of the roof. The original wool press has been removed. One wing with a slatted timber floor is used for holding sheep, the other with a bluestone cobbled floor being used for storage and cartage. Most of the 14 stands have been closed and the openings in the walls built in with bluestone. The woolshed is surrounded by yards fenced with modern timber but still partly paved with irregular and rough bluestone cobbles.
The original homestead was completely destroyed by the 1939 bushfire except for the detached bluestone service wing. This survives and it has retained its original form and functions although with new fenestration. The new house was built in 1942 in what might be described as the Art Deco style. It is a substantial single storey house, asymmetrical, built of red brick and raised on a high cement rendered plinth. The house has extensive columned porches at the front including a large stepped entry. The name "Banemore" is painted in large block lettering in the frieze over the main steps. The porch or verandah roof is contiguous with the main roof. All the roofs are covered with terracotta tiles. The plan of the house is conventional for its time. [The interior has not been inspected.]
There is a garage on the west side of the house built with similar materials and detailing to the house. In the rear yard there is a glasshouse/conservatory lined with corrugated iron around the dado, with wire mesh above and with glass on the roof. Also in the rear yard is a substantial water tank tower of red brick and concrete. The conservatory and tower appear to date from 1942. There is a conventional garden at the front and remnants of an orchard, which may be older, at the rear. A Cordyline and Norfolk Island Hibiscus may predate the 1939 fire. Other modern outbuildings are of no significance. The broader curtilege is surrounded by hedges of hawthorn (Craetagus sp.) to the south and east and pines (Pinus radiata) to the west and north.BANEMORE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX & WOOLSHED - Historical Australian Themes
Theme 3: Developing local, regional and national economies
3.5 Developing primary production
3.5.1 Grazing stock
3.5.2 Breeding animals
3.5.3 Developing agricultural industries
Theme 5: Working
5.8 working on the landBANEMORE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX & WOOLSHED - Usage/Former Usage
Functioning woolshed and agricultural property.
BANEMORE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX & WOOLSHED - Integrity
The woolshed's integrity has been compromised by the alterations required after the 1939 bushfire. The 1942 homestead appears to retain a high degree of integrity.
BANEMORE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX & WOOLSHED - Physical Description 2
The Twomey family
The Burger familyBANEMORE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX & WOOLSHED - Physical Description 3
Part of 'Old Stockyard' Pre-Emptive Right (PB Pastoral lease # 25)
Heritage Study and Grading
Southern Grampians - Southern Grampians Shire Heritage Study
Author: Timothy Hubbard P/L, Annabel Neylon
Year: 2002
Grading:
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BANEMORE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX & WOOLSHEDSouthern Grampians Shire
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'CARINYA' LADSONS STOREVictorian Heritage Register H0568
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1 Alexander StreetYarra City
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1 Botherambo StreetYarra City
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