Miss Porter's House facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Miss Porter's House
Location	434 King Street, Newcastle West, Newcastle, City of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Owner	National Trust of Australia (NSW)
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name: Miss Porter's House
Type	state heritage (built)
Designated	17 November 2000
Reference no.	1445
Type	House
Category	Residential buildings (private)
Builders	J T Owen
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Miss Porter's House is a special old home in Newcastle West, Australia. It was built in 1909 by John T. Owen. Today, it's a museum that shows what life was like long ago. The National Trust of Australia (NSW) looks after it. This house is so important that it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 2000.

History of the Porter Family Home

The Early Years

In the early 1860s, a 17-year-old named James Porter came to Australia from England. He started farming on the islands of the Hunter River. Later, he married Eliza Lintott. By the early 1870s, James became a well-known shopkeeper and carrier in Newcastle. He and Eliza raised their family in Blane Street.

In 1907, James Porter bought a piece of land behind his shop. Two years later, in 1909, he gave part of this land to his son, Herbert. Herbert and his new wife, Florence Evelyn Jolley, wanted to build their own home. They hired John T. Owen to build the house for them. It cost £498, plus £14 for extra features and gas fittings.

A Home in a Changing Area

When it was built in 1909, Miss Porter's House was a unique Edwardian-style home. It stood out because it was in an area that was mostly industrial. Across the street were large buildings for the Gas Company. To the west were the Steel Street produce markets. Over time, the area changed from factories to businesses. But Miss Porter's House remained the only home.

Herbert and Florence Porter worked to furnish their new house. In 1911, their first daughter, Ella, was born. Later that year, they added a "bush house" (a type of outdoor living area) to the property.

Family Changes and Challenges

In 1912, James Porter, Herbert's father, passed away. Herbert and his brother continued to run the family business. Sadly, in 1919, Herbert Porter died at only 41 years old. This was during a terrible worldwide flu sickness after World War I. Florence Porter was left to raise their two daughters, Ella and Hazel, who was only five.

Life was hard for Florence after Herbert's death. She owned the house and some money. In 1925, she started receiving money from a trust fund set up for her daughters. This helped her support the family. Florence's mother also lived with them for a few years.

Growing Up and Working

Ella and Hazel went to Cooks Hill Public School, just like their father. Ella later worked as a typist, but she lost her job during the Great Depression. Hazel finished school at Wickham Domestic Science School. She then went to Newcastle Business College and became an office administrator. She worked in finance businesses in Newcastle from 1933 until she retired in 1984.

A fun event for Mrs. Porter and her daughters was when their family's old homestead, Hollingwood, was used for a movie. In 1949, the Australian film "Eureka Stockade" was filmed there. The Porter women visited the set and enjoyed the excitement.

The Porter family enjoyed visits to the Hollingwood homestead.

The Sisters' Lifelong Home

Miss Porter's House became the home where Ella and Hazel lived their entire lives. Neither of them ever married. Florence Porter, their mother, passed away in 1970 at 91 years old. Ella and Hazel continued to live at 434 King Street. They even fixed up the bush house in 1975. Ella died in 1995, and Hazel passed away in 1997.

Before Hazel died, she thought about what would happen to her family home. Many people wanted to buy the land for new buildings. But Hazel decided to give the house, everything inside it, and some money to the National Trust of Australia (NSW).

The house and its contents show what life was like for a middle-class family in the early 1900s. The Porter family lived a quiet and private life. The sisters kept their personal belongings, like clothing, fabrics, and household items. Because of this, the house is like a time capsule. It offers a rare chance to see how people lived in another time.

The house is filled with original items from the Porter family.

Since 1997, volunteers from the National Trust have taken care of the house, its gardens, and the valuable collection inside. They also raise money to keep it going.

Surviving the Earthquake

On December 28, 2014, Newcastle remembered the 25th anniversary of the big earthquake that hit the city in 1989. Miss Porter's House is very close to where most of the 13 deaths happened. Photos and reports from that time show that the house was badly damaged. The outside brick walls and the balcony roof fell down. You could see daylight between the walls and ceilings. Soot from 90 years of industry covered the furniture and floors.

Some people thought the house should be torn down. But Ella and Hazel Porter wanted to save their home. Hazel wrote letters to the insurance company and the local council asking for help. Her arguments were strong. While the house was being repaired, the sisters lived in a rented place. Don Barnett, an architect who worked next door, became friends with the women. He helped them during this time. Don, who first thought the house couldn't be saved, ended up being the architect in charge of the repairs. He did the work for free.

Damage to Miss Porter's House after the 1989 Newcastle earthquake.

Ella and Hazel were private women in their late 70s who had lived in the house their whole lives. Having to move out for repairs gave them a chance to connect with the outside world a bit more. They also used the opportunity to add an indoor toilet to their bathroom during the renovations. Some original details were lost during the repairs to save money.

The house after repairs, showing the new brick fence.

Since 1997, volunteers have been organizing and listing over 5,000 items and documents from the Porter family. These items are part of the collection in the house. In 2015, a grant helped the Trust take photos of the collection. By 2017, all the items were cataloged and photographed. You can now see the collection online at www.ehive.com or by contacting Miss Porter's House.

What Miss Porter's House Looks Like

Miss Porter's House is a two-story house built in the Federation style. It is made of brick and has a corrugated iron roof. The top floor has a balcony with a fancy cast iron railing. Even though it's in a business area, the house stands out as a unique home.

The house is very well preserved, including its gardens, inside rooms, and all the items within. The inside of the house is almost exactly as it was. It shows two main styles of decoration: the original look from 1909 and changes made between 1935 and 1939. You can see special stenciled timber ceilings and a beautiful Queensland maple staircase. There are also Art Deco rugs, linoleum floors, and Art Deco light fittings. The collection of items, including old bills and papers, is very valuable for learning about life in Australia. It's rare to find such a complete collection showing one family's life over 90 years.

When you enter, a sitting room is to your right. It has a velvet lounge suite and coffee table that Florence bought in 1939. A radiator from the 1940s still heats the room in winter.

The hallway leads to a large dining room. It has a table, chairs, and sideboards, many of which Herbert Porter bought in 1909. This room also has the only fireplace in the main part of the house. The decorative details inside are amazing. A beautifully decorated linoleum floor leads from the dining room to the hallway. A lovely timber staircase goes up to two bedrooms. The stenciled timber ceilings in the hallway and two main downstairs rooms are truly special.

From the dining room, a door opens onto a verandah. Next to it is the "bush house." The veranda and bush house together create a lovely outdoor living space that the family used often. From the veranda, you can enter a back kitchen with a large fireplace. This room has a table, sideboard, and couch. A small scullery (a room for washing dishes) has been changed into a small kitchen. A large bathroom and laundry are also nearby.

Outside, there is a small yard with a water tank, an outdoor toilet, and space for storing household and garden items.

Why Miss Porter's House is Special

Miss Porter's House, built in 1909, is very rare. It's a complete package: the house, its grounds, the inside rooms, and all the items within. It's important because the same family, the Porters, lived there for 90 years. The house and its furnishings give us a clear look into what Edwardian homes were like. They also show the quiet, city life of the Porter family in Newcastle. The collection of items, including old bills and papers, is very useful for research.

The inside of Miss Porter's House is very well preserved. It shows two styles of decoration: the original look from 1909 and a second style from 1935 to 1939. The stenciled timber ceilings, the fine Queensland maple staircase, Art Deco rugs, linoleum, and Art Deco light fittings are especially notable.

Miss Porter's House was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on November 17, 2000, for several reasons:

• It shows the history of New South Wales.

It's a great example of a 1909 family home in Newcastle. The house, gardens, other buildings, and everything inside are still in their original places. It helps us understand how Edwardian homes were designed. It also shows how family life changed, especially after Herbert Porter died in the 1919 flu sickness. It highlights how the Porter women worked to keep a comfortable life until the 1990s. The living room from the 1930s, with its Art Deco style, shows Florence's changing tastes and her ability to keep the family's good standard of living.

• It is beautiful and well-designed.

The house feels welcoming and well-kept. The way personal items and furniture are neatly arranged lets us experience the private home life of the Porter women.

• It can teach us a lot about history.

The house, its contents, and how things are arranged are important for studying homes from the Edwardian period and the 1930s. It also helps us learn about family life in Newcastle from 1909 until 1997. We can see how the Porter women managed to keep a comfortable home after losing the main income earner. Studying the clothes and fabrics might also tell us about their shopping, dressmaking, and social activities. The old bills and papers give insights into the lives of the Porter family and other people in Newcastle at that time.

• It is a rare example of its kind.

It's rare to find an Edwardian home that is so complete, with so many original furnishings and personal items. This gives us a unique look into home life in Newcastle and the lifestyle of the Porter women. The original interior finishes, like the linoleum, and the well-preserved kitchen and other rooms, show how people lived and worked in their homes from 1909 to 1997.

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