Emu Bottom Homestead is a historic homestead near Sunbury, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Built c. 1836, Emu Bottom is the oldest existing farmhouse constructed by settlers in Victoria. It was so named because "it was low lying ground and the haunt of numerous emus."Australian Council of National Trusts (1993 reprint of combined edition) ''Historic Homesteads.'' "Emu Bottom" by Elisabeth Grove, p.328. Canberra, ACT. The main homestead and some of its outlying buildings were constructed from "local stone, dry coursed with creek mud." Emu Bottom is also a rare example of early Australian colonial architecture, with its "twelve paned deeply recessed windows ... recalling the old world ... while the homestead (was) also intelligently adapted to the new environment" with its wide verandas and easterly aspect.

History

The building of Emu Bottom homestead commenced circa 1836. George Evans (1785–1876), who had arrived on the Schooner Enterprize from

Van Diemen’s Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

in 1835, settled near modern-day Sunbury. Emu Bottom, later called Emu Vale, was occupied by Evans, by squatting licence, as one of many large squatting runs on

Crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

. In 1843, Evans, aged 58, married eighteen-year-old Anne Holden. Six children were born from the union and grew up at the homestead. After 1851, many squatting runs, including Emu Bottom, became available for outright purchase. To Evans' dismay, "his" run was purchased by the immensely wealthy W. J. T.“Big” Clarke. The homestead block of stayed with Evans, but this was hardly viable. In about 1860, Evans leased the property and moved to operate a hotel in central Melbourne. He died in Melbourne in 1876, but his family eventually returned to Emu Bottom. In 1916 the last of Evans’ son’s died and the property passed through several owners, being renamed "Holly Green."

Restoration and revival

In 1968 under the direction of architects

John and Phyllis Murphy John and Phyllis Murphy were architects in Australia. Phyllis was also known for her work with wallpaper design and restoration. The Murphys completed a number of conservation projects through the National Trust (Victoria) in the 1960s and 1970s ...

, expert and painstaking restoration was carried out; the additions of the previous hundred years …were unmade." During restoration, several discoveries were made including the original kitchen fireplace and oven, as well as some artefacts. Some further restoration took place after a fire in 1980. Emu Bottom operated as a tourist attraction between 1970 and 1975, attracting 90,000 visitors a year. The TV series

Cash and Company ''Cash and Company'' is an Australian television period adventure series, which screened on the Seven Network in Australia in 1976 and on ITV (including the London Weekend Television and Anglia regions) in the UK. The series was set during t ...

and sequel

Tandarra ''Tandarra'' is an Australian television series which screened on the Seven Network in Australia in 1976 and on ITV (including the London Weekend Television and Anglia regions) in the UK. It was a follow-up series to ''Cash and Company'' whic ...

were filmed on the property in 1974-5. The TV mini-series ''Against the Wind'' was filmed on the property in 1978. As the city of Sunbury grew closer, pressure on the small farm increased. In 1979 the farm was subdivided, with 24 hectares being preserved for the historic homestead. Today the homestead and surrounds are managed by The Epicurean Group as a function & reception centre. An important wetlands nearby has several platypus viewing platforms.

References

External links

Victorian Heritage database
{{coord, 37, 32, 26, S, 144, 43, 58, E, region:AU-VIC_type:landmark, display=title Homesteads in Victoria Sunbury, Victoria Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Buildings and structures in the City of Hume