Boondooma Homestead facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Boondooma Homestead
Boondooma Homestead, 2013
Location	Mundubbera - Durong Road, Boondooma, South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia
Design period	1840s - 1860s (mid-19th century)
Built	1850s - 1870s
Queensland Heritage Register
Official name: Boondooma Homestead
Type	state heritage (built, landscape)
Designated	21 October 1992
Reference no.	600967
Significant period	1850s-1913 (historical) ongoing (social)
Significant components	decorative finishes, post office, graveyard, kitchen/kitchen house, residential accommodation - main house, meat house, out building/s, garden/grounds, cow bails, yards - livestock, trees/plantings, orchard, store/s / storeroom / storehouse, fencing
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Boondooma Homestead is a special old farm property in Queensland, Australia. It's located on the Mundubbera - Durong Road in a place called Boondooma. This homestead was built a long time ago, between the 1850s and 1870s. Because of its history and unique buildings, it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on October 21, 1992. This means it's a protected site, important for everyone to learn about and enjoy.

Discover Boondooma's Past

Boondooma Homestead sits on land first settled in 1846 by the Lawson brothers and Robert Alexander. They were looking for new areas to raise sheep. The homestead today includes several old buildings. These include a stone building and a timber house from the 1850s, plus other timber buildings.

Early Days and Explorers

In the early 1840s, people started exploring north into Queensland to find new land for farming. One explorer, Henry Stuart Russell, came to Queensland in 1840. He was the first European to travel through the area that would become Boondooma in 1842. Soon after, other farmers, called "squatters" because they settled on land they didn't officially own yet, followed him.

The Lawson brothers and Robert Alexander started Boondooma Station as a sheep farm in 1846. They built temporary huts and sheds. By 1851, Boondooma was a very large property, covering several areas. The Lawsons managed the property for many years.

Growing the Station

Even with challenges like a sheep disease in 1853, Boondooma grew. They even built a special plant on the Boyne River to clean and bale wool. This made it easier to transport the wool. However, by the early 1890s, a type of grass called spear grass made it hard for sheep. So, the owners switched to raising cattle instead.

The 1850s to 1870s were a time of big growth for Boondooma. In 1855, Alexander Robertson Lawson got married. This led to plans for a bigger house for his family. Building supplies like door hinges, window glass, and furniture were ordered. Carpenters worked on the main timber house from late 1856 to mid-1857.

Building with Stone

Around the same time, a stone storeroom and a timber meat house were built. The stone building was made from local rocks and a special mortar from termite mounds. A stonemason named Wilhelm Brill built it. He was from Germany and arrived in Queensland in 1853. He worked at Boondooma from 1856 to 1857. This stone building is special because it's one of the earliest in Queensland built using metric measurements.

Other Important Buildings

The building known as the "post office" was built in the early 1860s. This was when a weekly mail service started passing through Boondooma. Later, in the 1950s, parts were added to this building. Another old building from the 1860s was called the "cook's room." It was used as a dairy, wash house, and cook's room.

In the 1870s, a separate dining room and a cooling shed were built. The dining room was later used as a kitchen. The cooling shed was made from Cyprus pine and had a wooden shingle roof, which is now corrugated iron.

Changes Over Time

Over the years, the ownership of Boondooma changed several times. In 1898, the McConnel family, who were famous farmers, took over the lease. They never lived at Boondooma but used it for their farming business.

In 1913, the land was made available for others to settle on. The McConnels kept a part of it, including the homestead. Later, in 1922, Fred Palethorpe got the homestead site. The property was then transferred to the Thomson family in the mid-1920s. They used Boondooma as a dairy farm, grew cotton, and raised cattle.

In 1975, the local council received money to buy the site. Since then, the council and the Boondooma Historical Society have worked together to protect and preserve the homestead. Even though some buildings are gone, Boondooma remains a very important historical site. It helps us understand Queensland's early farming history.

Exploring the Homestead Buildings

The Boondooma Homestead complex is located near Boondooma Creek and the Boyne River. It's close to the Boondooma Dam. The main buildings still standing include the stone building and timber house from the 1850s. There's also a dining room from the 1870s, a walkway, a cooling shed, and a building that was once a post office. All these buildings are arranged based on how they were used.

The Stone Building

The stone building is at the southern end of the property. It's made of large, rough stones from a nearby quarry. It has verandahs (covered porches) on both long sides. The roof is made of corrugated galvanised iron. Inside, it's one large room with stone walls and exposed timber beams. The floor is made of wide wooden boards.

The Timber House

The main timber house has a hipped roof covered in corrugated iron. A separate kitchen building is next to it. There's a covered walkway that connects the house to a dining room. Underneath the front verandah roof, you can still see many of the original wooden shingles.

The house has a central row of rooms. Some parts of the verandah have been enclosed to create more rooms. There's also a large fireplace inside. The outside walls are covered in different materials, like wide timber boards or weatherboards. Inside, the walls are made of wide timber boards, and you can see many layers of old wallpaper. The floors are mostly wooden boards.

Other Timber Structures

Other timber buildings on the site are built in a similar style. They have timber frames and corrugated iron roofs. Their walls are made of vertical or horizontal timber slabs. The covered walkway has parts covered in corrugated iron.

The old dining room, north-west of the timber house, now has open walls. Next to it is the cooling shed, which was part of the creamery. This small building has timber slab walls.

To the south-east of the timber house are the milk or cow bails and the stockyards. This long building has timber posts and rails inside for the animals. The post office building is west of the cow bails. It has a garage and awning attached. Its walls are made of vertical timber slabs. Further west is another garage building.

The Homestead Grounds

The area around the homestead shows signs of a planned garden. There's an orchard with citrus trees and mature trees like blackbean, bottle, oak, pine, and pepperina trees. You can also see old trellises for grapevines, garden beds, and fences near the timber house.

Why Boondooma Homestead is Important

Boondooma Homestead is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register because it meets several important criteria.

A Glimpse into History

Boondooma Station started in 1846 and shows how Queensland was explored and settled early on. The buildings at the homestead tell us a lot about what life was like for early farmers in Queensland. The way the site grew and changed also reflects times when Queensland was doing well economically, and times when farming was tough.

Unique and Rare Features

Boondooma has buildings that show old construction methods that are now uncommon. The stone storeroom from the 1850s is rare because of how it was built. It's also one of the first buildings in Queensland to use metric measurements. The main timber house and the post office are also important surviving buildings. The old wallpapers and floor coverings inside the main house make it even more special and rare.

Learning from the Past

The homestead is a great example of an early farm. It has many different buildings that help us understand how these large farms operated a long time ago. By studying the site and doing more research, we can learn even more about early European settlement in the Burnett region.

A Typical Homestead Example

Boondooma shows what a homestead should look like. It includes the main house, other buildings like sheds, old graves, fences, and mature trees. The way all these parts fit together helps us understand what life was like on an early farm.

Beautiful and Skillful Design

The homestead site is well-preserved and gives a clear picture of the architecture used on Queensland's farming frontier. The buildings show great skill and design. The use of local materials, like the stone from a nearby quarry and termite mound mortar, shows how clever and adaptable the early farmers were.

Special Community Connection

Boondooma is very important to the local community. It has strong links to the early pioneers of the Burnett district, especially the Lawson family.