Prefabricated Californian red wood cottage, formerly Greencape Lighthouse telegraph operator's residence; formerly portion of Loch Garra; Mitchell Street, Eden

Item details:

Current status*:	Unlisted.
Name of item:	Weatherboard cottage
Former name/s:
Item type:	Built.
Item group/collection:	Residential buildings (private).
Item category:	House.
Street number:	42
Street name:	Mitchell Street
Suburb/town:	Eden
Local Government Area:	Bega Valley Shire
Property description:
Owner category:	Private
Current use:	Private residence
Former use/s:	Green Cape Lighthouse telegraph operator living quarters (1883 - 1915); portion of Davidson's Loch Garra residence (1916 - 1930)

* Refers to the site's inclusion in Schedule 5 of the Local Environment Plan.

The cottage as it appears externally today.

Significance:

Statement of significance: [currently dot points only] Important to 19th century industrial and manufacturing history; Historical associations with a range of local themes / subjects, including shipping, navigation, maritime history, domestic history, accommodation, building technology, population growth,... Strong and lengthy historical association with the Davidson family, long time Twofold Bay whaling station operators and important local family; Important as an extant example of a portable 19th century cottage imported into Australia from America; A representative example of a late 19th prefabricated house; Significant as a relatively intact example of 19th / early 20th century domestic residence; Further investigation is necessary to ascertain level of extant original fabric; Building provides tangible evidence of the facilities available to employees of isolated lighthouse outposts; A rare example of a surviving imported prefabricated building in the Bega Valley Shire; An excellent example of vernacular cottage architecture; Typical of the portable 19th century houses imported into Australia to meet the needs of the growing colonial population;

Level of significance:

Local

When it was initially imported, the four room prefabricated cottage was
erected at Greencape Lighthouse to accommodate the telegraph operator.

Description:

Designer:
Builder:
Physical description:
Physical condition:
Construction date/s:	C. 1883
Modifications and dates:	C. 1916; C. 1930;
Further comments:

George and Sarah Davidson and their family. George purchased the
prefabricated cottage to extend Loch Garra.

History:

Historical notes: Shipped to Australia from America during the 1880s, the weatherboard cottage at 42 Mitchell Street, Eden, initially stood at two other local sites before being moved to its current location. The first of these was to accommodate the telegraph operator at Greencape Lighthouse. The southernmost lighthouse in NSW, the need to erect a light on the Greencape Peninsular was recognised as early as 1873. Designed by James Barnet, it was the first in NSW to be built of concrete and, at 29 metres, is the second tallest in the state. Constructed by Albert Wood Aspinall between 1882 and 1883, it stands on the headland at northern boundary of Disaster Bay. Telegraphic communication between Greencape and Sydney was established in May 1882. Aspinall constructed a telegraph office at a spot on the Cape known as Queen's Hill, and it was reported in 1883 that it "...is an important telegraph station and an operator is always on duty..." As the living quarters provided originally for the telegraph operators were "...not very comfortable...", arrangements were made for provision of "...one of those American redwood houses which can be fitted together and taken to pieces almost as easily as a child's puzzle..." Demand was high in the colonies for straight grained timber that was light, strong and resistant to rot, and the Californian redwood industry was booming, supported by the call for prefabricated buildings. The importation of prefabricated buildings has had a long and important history in the Australian colonies. Shortages of labour and materials created a ready market for what were then referred to as "portable" buildings, with heritage expert Professor Miles Lewis noting that "...they are a telling reflection of peculiar historical conditions which made the transportation of such buildings physically and economically feasible..." As early as 1839, Governor La Trobe brought two houses from England with him when he arrived in Melbourne and when the 1850s gold rushes placed even greater pressure on the supply of skilled tradesmen, the result was an ever growing demand for imported prefabricated buildings that could be easily and rapidly assembled and dismantled. With designs ranging from simple cottages through to larger, more impressive houses and grand villas along with civic buildings such as churches, theatres and schools, illustrated pattern books and catalogues allowed buyers to browse and buy at a distance. Buildings were initially constructed in factories where every component was carefully labelled, after which they were dismantled and packed into wooden crates which sometimes also formed part of the structure. Loaded into ships responsible for transporting a huge assortment of goods to the colony, portable houses were imported from places such as London, Liverpool and Glasgow in the United Kingdom; the European continent; Singapore and Hong Kong in Asia; Boston and British colonies in North America; India; and New Zealand. The peak year of importation was 1853, but although demand then dropped sharply, trade continued throughout the 19th and into the early 20th century. Timber was the most prevalent of the prefabricated buildings brought to Australia, although cast iron and corrugated iron were also popular, and other materials were also utilised, including papier mache. Today, according to Professor Lewis, South Eastern Australia retains more extant 19th century examples than anywhere else in the world, and as the cottage at 42 Mitchell Street illustrates, still more are being identified as their recognition grows. It was in September 1883 that this cottage was erected behind Greencape Lighthouse's telegraph office, a report noting that "Such a building is totally unsuitable for the purpose it is destined to serve and probably after a very heavy gale both house and occupant will be missing, for the wind sweeps this headland with a force inconceivable by dwellers of Sydney...", an ominous warning that fortunately proved unfounded. William R. Bragg was the first of the lighthouse's telegraph and signal masters to occupy the building, and it remained on that site for thirty-two years. In 1915, the four-roomed cottage was offered for "...purchase, demolition and removal..." and after master whaler George Davidson bought it, it was relocated in 1916 to the family's Kiah River whaling station where it was used to extend the original portion of the "Loch Garra" residence. In 1930, the roving cottage was once again on the move. This time, after it was dismantled, it was transported across Twofold Bay to be erected at its current Mitchell Street location to house George Davidson's daughter Elsie and her husband Norm Severs. It remained their family home until Elsie passed away in 2004. The property, including the prefabricated cottage, was placed up for sale in 2010, when it was described as a "...classic three bedroom timber cottage...constructed from American timbers transported to Australia in the latter part of the 19th century..." It was reported that "The stumps are vertical blocks of wood with grooves cut in them, into which the walls are fitted..." The original roof was reportedly still in situ in 2004. According to newspaper reports in 2010, Bega Valley Shire Council acknowledged the importance of the cottage and proposed to include it on Schedule 5 (heritage) of the Local Environment Plan. This has yet to occur.

George and Sarah Davidson.

Themes:

Australian theme:	New South Wales theme:	Local theme:
3: Developing local, regional and national economies	Communication
3: Developing local, regional and national economies	Fishing
3: Developing local, regional and national economies	Industry
3: Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport
4: Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages
4: Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation
5: Working	Labour
7: Governing	Government and administration
8: Developing Australia's cultural life	Domestic life
: Marking the phases of life	Persons

Loch Garra prior to the prefabricated cottage being dismantled.

Application criteria:

Historical significance SHR criteria (a)
Historical association significance SHR criteria (b)
Aesthetic significance SHR criteria (c)
Technical / Research significance SHR criteria (e)
Rarity SHR criteria (f)
Representativeness SHR criteria (g)
Integrity:

Heritage Listings:

Information sources / bibliography :

ABPL 90019 Australian Building Analysis - Prefabrication in Australasia Australian Town and Country Journal Domain, Far South Coast lift out Eden Magnet Kesby, Robyn, pers. comm. Lewis, Miles, The Diagnosis of Prefabricated Buildings, Australian Historical Archaeology, 3, 1985 pp56 - 69 Lewis, Miles, Jolimont in Context, La Trobeana - Journal of the C. J. La Trobe Society Inc., Vol. 9, No. 1, February 2010, pp 2 - 12 Raymond, Pat, pers. comm. Scheiffers, Sue, Pioneer Prefabricated Buildings, Heritage Living, National Trust of South Australia, February 2012, pp. 12 - 13 Sydney Morning Herald https://www.onmydoorstep.com.au/heritage-listing/2045/prefabricated-iron-cottage http://sydneyarchitecture.com/HIST-EARLY/Hist-Early010.htm

Author and date:

© Angela George. All rights reserved.

May 2015.