Kawaree facts for kids

Kawaree is a special old house in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia. It was built between 1886 and 1889. This historic house used to be a family home and later a parsonage, which is a house for a church minister.

Today, Kawaree is part of the Warrigal Community Village Queanbeyan. This is a place for older people, and Kawaree is used as a community space for them. Because of its important history, Kawaree was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999.

Discovering Queanbeyan's Past

In 1820, explorers Joseph Wild, James Vaughan, and Charles Throsby Smith were looking for the Murrumbidgee River. They found two small streams that joined to form a river. These rivers were later named the Molonglo River and the Queanbeyan River.

The first non-Aboriginal person to use the land in Queanbeyan was Timothy Beard. He called his property "Quinbean." This name is thought to come from an Aboriginal word meaning "clear water." This is how the city of Queanbeyan got its name.

The area became a natural stopping point for people traveling through. By 1824, new settlers started setting up farms. The population grew in the 1830s. A post office opened in 1836, and a courthouse followed in 1837. Queanbeyan officially became a settlement on 28 September 1838.

Kawaree's Early Owners

The land where Kawaree stands was bought by Robert Campbell in 1836. Campbell was a wealthy merchant, farmer, and politician from Scotland. He arrived in Sydney in 1798.

Campbell owned a lot of land in New South Wales. Before he passed away in 1846, he divided his land among his six children. Part of this land was later sold to James Brown in 1854.

When James Brown died in 1883, his daughter Eliza Richardson inherited the land. In 1886, she sold some of it to Earnest Edward (E.E.) Morgan, a local lawyer. Morgan then built Kawaree Cottage between 1886 and 1889.

Life at Kawaree

Kawaree was built in a late Victorian style. This was a time when many towns in southern New South Wales were growing fast. The house was designed to fit the popular styles of the late 1800s.

In 1892, Kawaree was sold to the Wesleyan Methodist Church. They used it as a parsonage, a home for their ministers in Queanbeyan. Ministers lived there for 30 years. However, it was quite far from the church, so the Methodist Church sold it in 1924.

The new owner was Herbert George (H. G.) Colman, a member of the church. Colman was the manager of J. B. Young's department store. He helped the store grow a lot, even opening a branch in Canberra when it was just starting to expand.

The Colman family lived at Kawaree from 1920 until 1962. During their time, Kawaree had large open spaces. There were horse paddocks, chicken runs, vegetable gardens, and fruit orchards. These spaces were very important for the family. They provided food and helped with transport, especially during tough times like the Great Depression.

The Colmans were very keen gardeners. They were known for their beautiful roses and many other flowers, shrubs, and trees. The garden had a mix of styles from the late Victorian era and the early 1900s. It showed a hopeful spirit, especially before the Great Depression of 1929.

Kawaree Today

After the Colman family, Kawaree was sold to the Allport family. They lived there until 1987. Then, a company bought the property and started building the Kawaree Village Aged Care Facility.

Since the late 1980s, the land around Kawaree has changed a lot. Many new buildings have been added for the aged care facility. The original Kawaree house has been extended and changed. It is now used as a community center for the residents of the facility. Even with these changes, some parts of the original Kawaree garden still remain.

Kawaree is protected because of its history. In 1988, a special order was made to preserve it. This was later replaced by its listing on the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999.

Kawaree's Design and Grounds

Kawaree's landscape has changed quite a bit since the retirement village was built in 1987. When the Colmans lived there, it was a large property on the edge of Queanbeyan. It felt like a country estate.

The house itself is in a late Victorian style. This style was popular when the house was built, during a time of growth in the region. In the late 1980s, the house was changed and made bigger to become the community center for the Kawaree Retirement Village.

The garden at Kawaree has also seen many changes over the years. When the Colmans lived there, they created a beautiful garden with many different plants. They were famous for their roses, flowers, shrubs, and conifers. The garden had a winding driveway and lawns, which were typical of the Arts & Crafts style popular in the early 1900s. There was also a picket fence, which was common in older Victorian gardens. The garden was designed with plants that could handle dry weather, like hardy roses and conifers.

Heritage listing

Kawaree was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.