Cotswold Cottage, Maroon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cotswold Cottage, Maroon
Cotswold Cottage ruins, 2009
Location	Boonah Road, Maroon, Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia
Design period	1870s - 1890s (late 19th century)
Built	1888 - 1890s circa
Queensland Heritage Register
Official name: Cotswold Cottage
Type	state heritage (archaeological, landscape, built)
Designated	21 October 1992
Reference no.	600037
Significant period	1880s-1890s (historical, fabric)
Significant components	trees/plantings, vista/s, views from, residential accommodation - main house, views to, tree groups - copse
Builders	Frederick William Cook
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Cotswold Cottage is a special old house in Maroon, Queensland, Australia. It was built a long time ago, between 1888 and the late 1890s, by a carpenter named Frederick William Cook. Today, it's mostly ruins, but it's still an important historical site. It's even listed on the Queensland Heritage Register because it shows us how people built homes in the past using local materials.

The Story of Cotswold Cottage

Frederick William Cook came to Australia from England in 1878. He was a carpenter, which means he was skilled at working with wood. In 1888, he decided to start a new life in the Maroon area of Queensland. He bought a piece of land, which was called a "selection" back then. This land was about 160 acres, which is a bit like 120 football fields!

Frederick moved his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children from Brisbane to Maroon. He first built a simple hut for his family. Then, he started building Cotswold Cottage, named after his home area in England. He used materials found right on his property.

Building the Cottage

The walls of Cotswold Cottage were made from strong iron bark wood slabs and stones. To hold the stones together, Frederick used a mix of clay and cow manure. He also built three fireplaces into the stone walls.

The house was built in stages over several years. By 1893, it had four rooms. Later, more rooms were added, including a living room. Frederick's great-granddaughter, C Gillies, described the finished house. It was quite large, measuring about 18.3 by 7.6 metres.

The cottage had two bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, a sitting room, and a workshop. Most of the inside walls were painted with a special mix of whitewash and milk. Frederick even painted a pattern on the dining room floor to look like linoleum! The roof was made of wooden shingles, which were hand-cut from trees on the property.

Unique Windows

One very unusual thing about Cotswold Cottage was its windows. Many of them were made from small glass lantern slide plates. Each plate was put into a tiny frame. Then, these frames were joined together to make a complete window. This shows how clever Frederick was at using whatever materials he could find.

Life at the Cottage

Frederick Cook tried to grow crops like maize, potatoes, and fruit on his land. But it wasn't enough to support his family. So, he also worked as a builder in the Maroon area. He helped construct many community buildings, including the local school.

In 1899, Frederick was able to officially buy his land. Later, in 1922, the property was passed down to his son, Edgar. After Frederick Cook passed away in 1937, the cottage slowly started to fall apart. In 1954, the land was sold to the Weatherall family, who didn't use the cottage anymore.

What Remains Today

Today, Cotswold Cottage is a ruin. It's located in a cleared field near Cotswold Road in the Maroon district. What's left shows us how the house was built.

The Walls and Rooms

You can still see parts of the thick stone walls. One wall, about 600 millimetres thick, is from a former living area. It's made of two layers of stone with smaller stones and mortar in the middle. In this wall, there's a low doorway with three thick timber slabs as a lintel (the beam above the door).

Other parts of the walls are much lower, but you can still see where windows used to be. There are also signs that a chimney might have been part of the northern wall.

Veranda and Trees

Outside the main room, you can see old hardwood posts. These posts likely supported a veranda that wrapped around three sides of the house.

The ruins are on a raised area. Many stones from the old walls are scattered around. You can also see native trees like Crow's Ash and Leopard Ash nearby. Some of these trees might have been there when the cottage was built. There's even a group of trees to the southwest that might have been a windbreak.

Why Cotswold Cottage is Important

Cotswold Cottage was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992. This means it's recognized as a very important historical site.

A Look into the Past

The ruins of Cotswold Cottage help us understand Queensland's history. They show how people from other countries, like Frederick Cook from England, used their building skills in a new land. He used local materials like iron bark wood and stone. He even used clay and cow manure for mortar!

The cottage also shows us different ways people made floors, like stone paving or hand-painted floorboards. It gives us clues about how early settlers lived and built their homes in rural Queensland. They often used materials they found nearby or recycled old items.

Learning from the Ruins

The remains of the cottage can still teach us more about how buildings were made in Queensland long ago. We have old family stories and descriptions from Frederick Cook's descendants. These details, combined with what's left of the house, help us imagine what life was like back then. It's a way of life that isn't common anymore.

Images for kids

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  Cotswold Cottage in 1891, showing its original appearance.

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  The ruins of Cotswold Cottage in 2009, with prickly pear plants.