On Sunday, Rudolf and Conny took us for a visit to Barwon Park, in Winchelsea, Victoria. It was a very imposing 42 room bluestone house, in the middle of farmland. It was built in 1871 for the Austin family, on their very large farm. Sadly, the husband, Thomas Austin, died within a year of having this grand house built. However, his widow, Elizabeth, lived here for forty years. Initially some of their children lived in the house also. Elizabeth Austin was responsible for the building of Austin Hospital for the Incurables in Melbourne and the Elizabeth Austin Cottages for widows in Geelong.
The grand staircase, with high ornate ceilings, an open landing at the top, plus open passages around the balustrades.
A view down to the front door.
The view up from the front door. All very imposing and grand.
The area under the stairs was open. I wonder how many bumped heads have occurred over the years. People must have learnt the hard way to lower their heads as they walked under the stairs.
The huge dining room. Interestingly the walls were plastered and then left without paint. Over the years the plasterwork has developed interesting patterns and shadows.
An original loo, only two in the building.
A view over the flat farmland. The land around the house was never developed or landscaped into formal gardens. It stood alone in the grassland, except for a few garden beds at the front and a kitchen garden to one side of the house. The wide shady verandahs looked over farmland.
An Aussie windmill, used for drawing water from deep within the earth.
The accomodation above the stables was reasonably comfortable. Actually the servants quarters within the house were very comfortable. I think the servants were well cared for, and there were many of them.
A little spooky. Ned Kelly hiding out. Not really, just a figure lurking in the storage area above the stables. Thomas Austin bred and kept blood horses, one of which won the Melbourne Cup. He was well known for introducing rabbits into that part of Australia, and what a curse that has been to the land since.
The back of the house, with the two servant quarter wings above the service areas of the house. After Elizabeth Austin, the house and some of the land was sold to the Batson family, who donated it to the National Trust, when the last member of the family died.
Winchelsea, the local town, came into being in 1854, before that it was known as Austin and then Barwon, as Thomas Austin owned all the land in that area.
The old council offices, which still displays shire photos and names, plus the beautiful window in the photo below, is now a restaurant, serving delicious foods.
We drove home via the beautiful beach suburbs of Torquay,
and Barwon Heads.
A very enjoyable and interesting day, despite the overcast skies and cold wind.
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