Greenmount Homestead facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Greenmount Homestead |
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Greenmount Homestead
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| Location | Greenmount Road, Walkerston, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1915 |
| Architect | William Sykes |
| Architectural style(s) | Classicism |
| Official name: Greenmount Homestead | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape, built) |
| Designated | 6 September 1993 |
| Reference no. | 600987 |
| Significant period | 1910s (historical) 1910s-1920s (fabric) ongoing (social) |
| Significant components | machinery/plant/equipment - pastoralism, out building/s, residential accommodation - main house, trees/plantings, garden/grounds |
| Builders | Arthur Carter & Co |
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Greenmount Homestead is a special old house in Walkerston, Australia. It's listed on the Queensland Heritage Register because it's an important part of history. The house was built in 1915 for Albert and Vida Cook. Today, it's a museum where you can learn about life in the past.
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What is Greenmount Homestead?
Greenmount Homestead is a historic property with a main house and many other buildings. It sits on a hill, offering great views of the surrounding area. The property includes beautiful gardens and old trees. It's like stepping back in time to see how people lived over a hundred years ago.
The Cook Family's Story
The story of Greenmount Homestead begins with the Cook family. Albert Alfred Cook was the son of John Cook, a pioneer who settled in the area in 1862. The land for Greenmount Station was first claimed in 1861 by John Mackay, who the city of Mackay is named after.
In 1914, Albert's wife, Vida Cook, bought the Greenmount land. Even though the Cooks had another large home nearby, they decided to build their new family home at Greenmount.
Building the Homestead
The famous Mackay architect, William Sykes, designed Greenmount Homestead. He used some of Albert Cook's ideas but made them even better. Local builders, Arthur Carter & Co., constructed the house between July and December 1915. It was built on a spot overlooking the Cook family's sugar mill, Pleystowe.
Many of the smaller buildings needed for a working homestead were also built in 1915. Some buildings, like a motor buggy house and a garage, were even moved from the Cook's old property, Balnagowan, to Greenmount. This shows how resourceful people were back then!
Over the years, a few changes were made to the house. In the 1950s, some verandahs (porches) were enclosed with glass or flyscreens. The roof was also replaced in 1988. But mostly, the house looks much like it did in the 1920s.
Cattle Breeding at Greenmount
The Cook family were also important in Queensland's cattle industry. Around 1917, they started one of Queensland's first Aberdeen-Angus cattle studs at Greenmount. This type of cattle was not very common in Australia at the time. Albert Cook was a leader in bringing this breed to Queensland.
After Albert passed away in 1948, his son Thomas took over. In the 1950s, Thomas introduced Brahmans and Brahman crossbreeds to the stud. This helped improve cattle farming in the region.
Greenmount Becomes a Museum
When Thomas Cook passed away in 1981, his wife decided to give the homestead and everything inside it to the local council. This included three generations of the Cook family's furniture and belongings.
Now, the Mackay Regional Council owns the property, and the Mackay Historical Society manages it as a museum. The beautiful gardens are now called the Tom and Dorothy Cook Memorial Park. There's even a large fig tree that some believe was planted by John Mackay himself in 1862!
Some other old timber buildings have been moved to the site since it became a museum. These include the old Walkerston railway station and two barracks from the Marian sugar mill. These buildings are interesting to see, but they weren't part of the original Greenmount Homestead.
Exploring Greenmount Homestead
Greenmount Homestead is a single-storey timber house with a special corrugated iron roof. It has verandahs all around it, which connect to a kitchen and an office building. The house is built on timber stumps.
Outside the House
The front of the house is very grand, with a central entrance porch. The verandahs have pretty railings and timber posts. Many of the verandahs have been enclosed with windows or flyscreens, which would have made them more comfortable. The kitchen and office buildings are covered in corrugated iron.
Inside the House
When you step inside, you'll see beautiful pressed metal ceilings and timber walls. There are French doors with fanlights that open onto the verandahs. The main entrance door has special leadlight glass with "GREENMOUNT" etched into it.
The house has bedrooms, a drawing room with a large bay window, and a big dining room. You can see how families lived in the early 1900s. The best part is that the house still has much of the original furniture and items that belonged to the Cook family. It's like they just stepped out for a moment!
Gardens and Outbuildings
The formal garden in front of the house has a circular driveway and a lawn surrounded by hedges and palm trees. There's also a fernery (a place for ferns) to the west. An avenue of mango trees, which used to line the original driveway, is still there.
Around the property, you'll find many other buildings that were important for running the homestead. These include:
- A blacksmith's workshop
- A laundry
- A shed for the lighting plant
- A sulky shed (for horse-drawn carts)
- A garage
- A staff shed
- A seed house
These buildings still contain much of their original machinery and tools. It helps you imagine all the work that went into running a large property like Greenmount.
Why is Greenmount Homestead Important?
Greenmount Homestead is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register for several reasons:
- It shows how Queensland's history developed: The homestead, with its house, outbuildings, gardens, and all the family's belongings, shows a way of life that is no longer common. It helps us understand how people lived and worked in the early 20th century.
- It's a great example of an old homestead: The way the house and all the other buildings are set up shows what a typical early 1900s Queensland homestead complex looked like.
- It's beautiful and well-preserved: People in the local community value the homestead for its beauty. The buildings and grounds stand out, and the inside of the house, with its original furniture, is very well-kept. The gardens are also largely unchanged.
- It's important to the community: The local community sees Greenmount Homestead as a significant historical place in the Mackay/Walkerston area.
- It's linked to the Cook family: The homestead has a special connection to the Cook family. They played a big part in developing the Mackay region and growing the sugar and cattle industries in Queensland for over 120 years.
Greenmount Homestead is a fantastic place to visit to learn about Queensland's past and the lives of the pioneering families who helped shape the region.
Images for kids
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Greenmount Homestead
