Dhurringile is a heritage-listed mansion and former rural estate in northern Victoria, Australia. It is listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

for its architectural significance as "one of Victoria's grandest homesteads", for its associations with the Winter-Irving pastoral family, and for its later uses as an internment and prisoner of war camp, boys' training home and most recently, as part of

HM Prison Dhurringile HM Prison Dhurringile is a minimum security prison located in Dhurringile, Victoria, Dhurringile, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Situated 160 km north of Melbourne near Murchison, Victoria, Murchison, it is based around the hist ...

. Dhurringile was built in 1876-77 for James Winter, a member of the established Winter-Irving pastoral family, replacing an earlier wooden homestead on the property. The double-storey brick mansion, designed in the Victorian Italianate style by prominent

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

architectural firm Lloyd Tayler and Wyatt and built at a cost of £30,000, had between 65 and 68 rooms, with a large entrance hall, a tower, hand-painted windows and hand-carved staircase, extensive staff quarters, stables, a woolshed, its own gasworks, and a "village of numerous buildings". At its height as a pastoral property, the Dhurringile estate carried 50,000 sheep. Winter remained at Dhurringile until his death in 1885, and it remained in his family until 1907. It subsequently had a number of owners and was vacant for long periods of time. It was leased by the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...

in 1939-40 as an internment camp for detainees of German and Italian descent during the early stages of World War II, and again from 1941 to 1945 as a prisoner of war camp for captured German prisoners. It was sold to the

Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...

in 1947 for use as a home for migrant boys from the United Kingdom, and operated as the Dhurringile Rural Training Farm from 1951 to 1964. It was then purchased by the

Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive ...

in 1965 for what would become HM Prison Dhurringile. The historic mansion subsequently underwent restoration by prisoners, and is now used as a training centre.

References

{{reflist Victorian architecture in Victoria (state) Houses in Victoria (state) Victorian Heritage Register Victorian Heritage Register Hume (region) City of Greater Shepparton