Warrock Homestead

Warrock Homestead

Warrock near Csterton is an outsranding nineteenth century Western District pastoral complex. developed in the 1840’s. It was first settled by a Scotish Cabinet Maker George Robinson, who educated himself in many aspects of agriculture and architecture before immigrating in 1840.

He gained experience working for his cousin at Wando Vale before acquiring the licence for Warrock Station.is 1844 and proceeded to put into practice his agricultural, architectual and social ideals. inspired by the agrarian and egaloitiorian reforms of 19th century Britain

The first buildings he constructed on the property were a one roomed hut for himslf, of split polings from Van Diemans Land with a roof covered with local Blackwood shingles, and a timber woolshed. The hut was moved on skids to the present Homestead site in 1846, and around it Robinson built an amazing 57 mostly timber buildings, a largely self sufficient village arranged around an area known as “The Green”.This included workers accopmmodation far superior to that on most other properties at the time. Rain water was stored in 15 underground brich lined tanks.

Robinson and his wife whom he married in 1853, had a great interest in gardening, and developed a formal garden around the hmestead which included a wooden sundial and a lych-gate, a croquet lawn and later a tennis court. Robinson had no children and after his death in 1890 the property passed to his nephew George Robert Patterson and remained in the patterson family till 1992.

The Buildings

Robinsons 1844 hut is at the rear of the homestead which he began in 1848 and extended when he married in 1853. A detached privy is next to it. West of the rear corner of the house is a cluster of buildings closely associated with the functioning of a 19th century houmestead, a dairy and storeroom (probably 1845) , a grainstore (probably 1844), a brick privy ( early 1850’s), a cottage ( 1840’s originally used to run as a shepards storeroom and moved to its present site in the 1860’s as a cottage for a gardener, housekeeper, cook or governess), a conservatory (1850’s) and propogation houses ( essentila for the garden) , a bacon smoking house, stables ( probably late 1840’s with a Stephenson screen for meteoroligcal measurements under is verandah) , a meat house and a coach house. Along side these, forming a buffer between the domestic and farm precents are a workshop for Robinson. which later became his office9Begun in the late 1840’s) bachelors quarters (early 1850’s) and a blachsmiths shop (1850’s) Further west of the house are the buildings associated with the handling of sheep, the old woolshed (1845) a new woolshed begun in 1865, shearers toilet, branding shed and foot dip, a slaughter house and skin drying shed. The farm precint south of the house includes a larger workshop( late 1850’s and 1860’s, which includes a brick lined sawpit, a bullock byre, pigsties,a brick store, draught horse stables ( probably built between 1844 – 1847), dog kennels. a hay barn, a hay shed, a cow barn,mens quarters and implement shed.Between the west and south clusters are the buildings used for the accommodation of the workers, a station hands cottage, two shearers quqrters, mens bathroom and toilets, a large brick mens dining room and kitchen, and a belfry for calling the men to work and meals.

The Gardens

The garden and some of the early plantings survive including a Laurustinus Hedge, a rare Hybrid Trumpet Creeper, Camsis x tagliabuana and particually fine specimens of Moritime Pine, Bunya Bunya, Blue Atlas cedar, Queensland Kouri, Canary Island Pine and Port Jackson Fig.