MRS SCOTT'S CATTLE STATION, JELLS PARK, WHEELERS HILL
JELLS PARK, WHEELERS HILL
-
Add to tour
You must log in to do that.
-
Share
-
Shortlist place
You must log in to do that.
- Download report
Statement of Significance
-
-
MRS SCOTT'S CATTLE STATION, JELLS PARK, WHEELERS HILL - History
Jells Park was originally part of a large squatting run selected by Thomas Napier in 1839 who built a hut near Dandenong Creek (Priestley 1979:13). The run was a broad tract of land on the western side of the creek and in 1840 Napier sold it to a new arrival in the colony, Alexander Scott (Dimitrievski 1992:1, Priestley 1979:13). Priestley notes that along with the land Scott likely took over the hut that Napier had built in 1839 with the new arrivals moving into the existing dwelling (1979:14). Alexander died within a year of purchase, but his wife, Madeline, continued farming the land with the cattle station depicted on an 1840 survey plan by T.H. Nutt. In 1847/8 these larger properties were divided into smaller sections with Joseph Jell selecting a claim that in the 1970s became Jells Park. In 1853 the Parish boundaries were officially surveyed with many of the existing land holders taking up the leases, including Joseph Jell with his selection of Section 96. Jells lived on the property in either the old hut built by Napier and later used by the Scott family or at another site, possibly in what is now the Pines Picnic ground (Dimitrievski 1992:26). Jell retained the land until 1886 when it was offered for auction as two allotments, which were purchased by Thomas William Norris, a chemist from Melbourne (Priestley 1979:64). There is no reference to Norris living in the old hut site, so it was probably abandoned by this time. The hut site, as depicted in the 1840 plan, has been overlaid onto a contour map and it appears to be located on the lower slope to the creek. An aerial from 1951 shows a possible structure near where the PGC is from the original 1840s map although it cannot be confirmed if this structure is the cattle station hut. This landscape seems to be somewhat preserved within the current layout of the park, despite the modifications to the watercourse and other parts of the landscape. Pear trees and a windbreak have been linked to the hut site, but a publication by the MMBW suggests that they were planted in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, after the hut site was abandoned (MMBW 1983).MRS SCOTT'S CATTLE STATION, JELLS PARK, WHEELERS HILL - Interpretation of Site
Mrs Scott’s cattle station site is potentially a very early homestead site in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It is not known if there any physical remains associated with the site as the vegetation was too thick during a site inspection and it is unknown if there have ever been any archaeological remains identified at this location. There is some potential that the general area has been disturbed by works to the creek and from the construction of the lake, but the listing of this possible site serves to draw attention to the possibility of finding archaeological remains associated with the earliest phase of European settlement is what was to become Jells Park. The hut was occupied for several years by the builder Thomas Napier, then the Scott family who sold it to Joseph Jells and there is potential for structural remains as well as artefact deposits.
Heritage Inventory Description
MRS SCOTT'S CATTLE STATION, JELLS PARK, WHEELERS HILL - Heritage Inventory Description
This site is a hut site thought to have been constructed in 1839 and is derived from an 1840 map by T.H. Nutt that records a property as ‘Mrs Scott’s cattle station’. When the 1840 map is overlaid with a modern aerial the site is located in the north eastern area of what is now Jells Park. It is on the eastern side of a pedestrian track most likely in a bushy reserve on the creek. The exact location has not been confirmed and could be located further from the PGC.
-
-
-
-
-
MRS SCOTT'S CATTLE STATION, JELLS PARK, WHEELERS HILLVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
Ficus macrophyllaNational Trust
-
-