Kirk's (Pensioner) Cottage on Stirling Terrace in

Toodyay, Western Australia Toodyay (, nys, Duidgee), known as Newcastle between 1860 and 1910, is a town on the Avon River in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, north-east of Perth. The first European settlement occurred in the area in 1836. After flooding i ...

was built between 1852 and 1856 by convict labour. In 1852 urgent accommodation was required for pensioner guards who had accompanied the first shipments of

convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and on to the Toodyay Convict Hiring Depot.

Pensioner Guards The Pensioner Guards were English military personnel who served on convict transportation ships en route to the Swan River Colony between 1850 and 1868, and were given employment and grants of land on arrival. Their initial employment lasted for ...

were retired army or police officers who were given pay and benefits to travel with convicts on the transportation ships from England. Upon arrival most of them continued to serve the Convict Establishment (managed from the

Fremantle Prison Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottage ...

site) as guards. Land allotments were marked out on the northern portion of Toodyay's town site. Pensioner guard

Francis Kirk Francis Kirk (1869) was one of a number of Enrolled Pensioner Guards (EPGs) who came to the Swan River Colony between 1850 and 1868, to guard and oversee the work of the prisoners transported to Western Australia. Early life Kirk was born at Ac ...

was allocated this site and he and his family were the first occupants of the modest cottage that was built. As is the case with the nearby

Hackett's (Pensioner) Cottage (fmr) Hackett's (Pensioner) Cottage is located on Stirling Terrace in Toodyay, Western Australia and was built around 1855 by convict labour. In 1852 urgent accommodation was required for pensioner guards who had accompanied the first shipments of ...

its original appearance has been modified. Today the building is at a lower level than the road and is a single storey brick residence with iron hipped roof, a side weatherboard extension which extends around to the rear and timber framed windows. There is a verandah to the front, the brickwork is laid in

Flemish bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and Mortar (masonry), mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''Course (architecture), courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks ...

and there is a prominent chimney which has an ornate flue.

References

Buildings and structures in Toodyay, Western Australia Buildings and structures built by convicts in Western Australia Stirling Terrace, Toodyay Heritage places in Toodyay, Western Australia {{Australia-struct-stub