Back to search results

Former McKay farmhouse
3536 Elmore-Raywood Road, RAYWOOD VIC 3570 - Property No 215807

All information on this page is maintained by Greater Bendigo City. Click below for their website and contact details.
Greater Bendigo City
West elevation, viewed from Oxleys Road. The c. 1864 brick dwelling is pictured left. The larger weatherboard structure was relocated from the nearby New Nil Desperandum Mine in c. 1916.
West elevation, viewed from Oxleys Road. The c. 1864 brick dwelling is pictured left. The larger weatherboard structure was relocated from the nearby New Nil Desperandum Mine in c. 1916.
West elevation, viewed from Oxleys Road. The c. 1864 brick dwelling is pictured left. The larger weatherboard structure was relocated from the nearby New Nil Desperandum Mine in c. 1916.
On this page:

Statement of Significance

Statement of Significance

What is significant?

The former McKay farmhouse consists of two elements: the original c. 1864 component, facing Oxleys Road to the west, and a weatherboard addition to the south, which is believed to have been added after 1916. The original building is a small brick structure with rendered walls. It has a hipped roof clad with corrugated galvanised sheet metal and two brick chimneys to the north. There is a timber posted verandah to the west and north, enclosed by a sheet metal balustrade. The c. 1916 addition is also a single-storey structure, on a square plan. It has a hipped roof, with two lesser hips, clad with corrugated galvanised sheet steel, and two brick chimneys. A bull nosed post supported verandah with a ladder frame frieze is attached at the south end. The 1864 dwelling was the birth place of Hugh Victor McKay (1865-1926), inventor of the Sunshine harvester and one of Australia's most successful industrialists.

How is it significant?

The former McKay farmhouse is of local historical and aesthetic/architectural significance.

Why is it significant?

The former McKay farmhouse (built c. 1864 and extended c. 1916) at the corner of the Elmore-Raywood Road and Oxleys Road is of local historical and aesthetic/architectural significance. It is historically significant (Criteria A and H) as the birthplace of Hugh Victor McKay (1865-1926), inventor of the Sunshine harvester and one of Australia's most successful industrialists. The McKay family occupied the property prior to moving to a selection at Drummartin in the early 1870s. The original 1864 component of the property is also significant for its capacity to recall the earliest phase of settlement at Raywood following the gold strike at Thunder Plains in 1863. The property was extended in the early twentieth century through the addition of the former manager's residence from the nearby New Nil Desperandum mine, which was Raywood's last quartz reef mine, closing in 1916. The former McKay farmhouse near Raywood is also significant for its capacity to demonstrate (Criterion D) characteristics of relatively humble twentieth century dwellings. The original farmhouse, built c. 1864, is a structure of simple materials and small scale with limited architectural pretension, typical of many rural dwellings built all over Victoria during the early years of settlement in the 1850s-60s. The former mine manager's house, relocated to the McKay farm house presumably after 1916, is a weatherboard structure whose planning and form are also typical of late nineteenth century design. While neither buildings is necessarily distinguished in its own right, the combination of the two, and their survival here in an (apparently) externally intact form is of some note.

Show more
Show less

    • Physical Description 1

      Former McKay farmhouse - Physical Description 1

      The former McKay farmhouse occupies a large landholding at the corner of the Elmore-Raywood Road and Oxleys Road, approximately two kilometres east of Raywood. The property includes multiple farm outbuildings and two dwellings, being the original property (built by 1864 and extended c. 1916) and a smaller mid-twentieth century property. The original property, which is the subject of this assessment, is located at the north end of the driveway.

      The historic dwelling consists of two elements. The original c. 1864 component, facing Oxleys Road to the north is a small brick structure with rendered walls. It has a hipped roof clad with corrugated galvanised sheet metal and two brick chimneys. There is a timber posted verandah to the west and north, enclosed by a sheet metal balustrade. There is a single door to the west elevation, a double hung window with glazing bars, and an addition extending from the north-east corner. The 1864 building is effectively obscured from view by additions and the return verandah.

      The property was extended, presumably after 1916, by the addition of a weatherboard house from the New Nil Desperandum mine at Raywood. The latter building is also a single-storey structure, on a square plan, and is turned 'side-on' to the earlier building. It has a hipped roof, with two lesser hips, clad with corrugated galvanised sheet steel, and two brick chimneys. A bull nosed post supported verandah with a ladder frame frieze is attached at the south end, facing the Elmore-Raywood Road. The west elevation has a double hung sash window with a pair of panes to each sash. The detail of the elevation beneath the verandah is not available. This building is connected to the original property by a narrow skillion roofed timber linking element.

      A row of trees, possibly a wind break, is planted close to the south verandah of the timber addition. Trees are also planted to the east, obscuring views from the driveway.

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Greater Bendigo - Heritage Policy Citations Review

      Author: Lovell Chen P/L
      Year: 2011
      Grading: Local

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
Timeline browser

< to 1849
< - 1849
1850 to 1879
1850 - 1879
1880 to 1909
1880 - 1909
1910 to 1939
1910 - 1939
1940 to 1969
1940 - 1969
1970 to 1999
1970 - 1999
2000 to >
2000 - >