HO123 - Dalgook Farm Complex (Morton Homestead)
Corner Calder park Drive and Hume Drive TAYLORS HILL, MELTON SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
Dalgook, Hume Drive, Taylor's Hill, is significant has an unusual and predominantly intact example of a Federation style dwelling in a rural setting. Built in 1906 for H&N Fitzgerald as part of the Overnewton Closer Settlement Estate, the symmetrically composed timber dwelling features an atypical roof composition of a central hipped roof with flanking gables and encircling broken back verandah, a contextually elaborated recessed entrance porch with original doorpiece.
Dalgook, Hume Drive, Taylor's Hill, is architecturally significant at a LOCAL level (AHC D.2). It demonstrates unusual and intact qualities of a Federation style. These qualities include the central steeply pitched hipped roof form punctuated by flanking gables and the skillion broken back encircling verandah, face brick chimneys with roughcast tops, square timber verandah posts with solid, panelled timber valance and curved solid timber brackets, timber verandah floor, and the central recessed entrance porch with contextually elaborate doorway featuring a panelled timber and glazed door, sidelights and highlights with Art Nouveau pattern leadlighting. Other intact or appropriate qualities include the symmetrical composition, single storey height, corrugated sheet metal roof cladding, paired full-length timber framed double hung windows, other timber framed double hung windows, and the roughcast gable infill with timber ventilators.
Dalgook, Hume Drive, Taylor's Hill, is historically significant at a LOCAL level (AHC A4). It is one of few remaining Melton Shire houses built as a result of the Closer Settlement Board's subdivision of prominent pastoralist William Taylor's Overnewton Estate into 79 small farms. The Overnewton Estate was one of the earliest, largest, and best-known of the estates created under the Closer Settlement Act 1904. It is expressive of one of the major themes of Australia's history - the contest between large pastoralists and small farmers for the land - and the abiding power of the yeomanry ideal well into the twentieth century. This is the most substantial of the houses built as part of the Overnewton and Exford Closer Settlement Estates in the Shire. The property was acquired by the Pecks in 1925, and its significance within the area is evident in the retention of the name Pecks Road for a nearby major road through a now suburban area.
The immediate rural setting, within a developing suburb, and its original farm context of a characteristic but now scarce Keilor Plains dry stone wall, with mature sugar gum and peppercorn trees, protecting a a circa one hectare home paddock, with ornamental garden and farm sheds, is intergral to the historical and aesthetic significance of the place. It is an extraordinarily intact example of a typical early twentieth century farmstead layout in the Shire.
Overall, Dalgook, Hume Drive, Taylor's Hill, is of LOCAL significance.
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HO123 - Dalgook Farm Complex (Morton Homestead) - Physical Description 1
Physical Description -
The immediate setting of Dalgook farmhouse is rural, although the surrounding area comprises a fast developing suburban estate. It is located on a small rise at the western end of Hume Drive, Taylor's Hill. The homestead is situated within a drystone walled home paddock of approximately one hectare, with mature sugar gum and peppercorn trees (Schinus molle, var. areira) planted on the inside of this wall. There are a number of young gum trees, together with considerable machinery debris of different age and condition, sunshine harvesters, balers, tractors, cars and trucks. Some of this machinery demonstrates the historical operation of an early twentieth century farm in the area.
There are garden beds around the dwelling. The ornamental garden area in front of the house features a prominent but not particularly old fan palm with a thin smooth trunk, likely to be a cabbage-tree palm (Livistona australis).
The unusual, symmetrical, single storey, horizontal aluminium clad weatherboard, Federation styled dwelling is characterised by a central steeply pitched hipped roof form punctuated by flanking gables and a skillion broken back encircling verandah. These roof forms are clad in corrugated sheet metal. There is an introduced skillion kitchen addition at the rear. Two early face brick chimneys with roughcast rendered tops adorn the roofline.
An early feature of the design is the encircling verandah. It is supported by square timber posts having a solid, panelled timber valance and curved solid timber brackets. There is also an early timber verandah floor which is unstable and needs new posts.
The symmetry of the design is accentuated by the central recessed entrance porch. It features an early doorpiece having an early timber framed doorway with central panelled timber and glazed door and flanking sidelights, and highlights above. The door, sidelights and highlights have early Art Nouveau pattern leadlighting. The entrance porch is also adorned with a large timber arch and fretwork.
Other early features of the design include the paired full-length timber framed double hung windows, other timber framed double hung windows, and the roughcast gable infill with timber ventilators.
The internal arrangement of rooms and preservation of the original fixtures is outstanding. There is original linoleum, fireplace surrounds, wood panelling and leadlight windows. The house is currently still furnished with Morton family effects and furniture. Together with the intact nature of the farm sheds, dairy and garages, it provides opportunities for interpretation of twentieth century farming in the district.
The dairy building to the west of the homestead is an exceptional example of vernacular construction, being made of bush pole timbers and beaten iron cans. It contains a substantial amount of machinery and equipment associated with the running of the farm under the Morton family.
HO123 - Dalgook Farm Complex (Morton Homestead) - Historical Australian Themes
Melton Historical Themes: 'Farming'
HO123 - Dalgook Farm Complex (Morton Homestead) - Integrity
Integrity - Substantially Intact
HO123 - Dalgook Farm Complex (Morton Homestead) - Physical Conditions
Physical Condition - Good
Heritage Study and Grading
Melton - Shire of Melton Heritage Study phase 2
Author: David Maloney, David Rowe, Pamela Jellie, Sera Jane Peters
Year: 2007
Grading:
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