MCDONALD'S FARM SITE
38 FISHERS ROAD SCOTSBURN, MOORABOOL SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
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MCDONALD'S FARM SITE - History
Narmbool was taken up and established as a squatter's estate in 1838-9 by Glasgow Merchant Hugh Niven. The estate remained a going concern for grazing of cattle and sheep until portions were offered up for selection in 1866. The Narmbool homestead includes elements dating to the early 1850s with the main, extant, homestead dating to the 1880s built by the Austin Family (of Barwon Park). Land adjacent and to the west of Williamson Creek was portioned into selections after the Grant and Selection Act in 1870s and taken up over the next 20 years. Progressively this land was cleared and settled by a number of families. Some of these land selections were subsequently returned to the Narmbool estate during the 20th Century and the land resumed to pastoral usage. In 2000 Narmbool became the custodial property to Sovereign Hill Museum and is currently run by the Museum Trust as a working farm and educational centre.
The historic landscape of the Williamson Creek valley represents approximately 140 years of agricultural land use that highlights the various changes in management, tenure and ownership of Victorian land since settlement. While the landscape has always been used to graze animals or raise crops the archaeological sites show actives including, land clearance, construction of domestic and agricultural buildings, boundaries, roads and pathways.
D. McDonald is indicated in the 1915 Parish plan for Clarendon as having acquired just over 80 acres of land on 35J on 26 June 1886 (see attached plan). The property is on Fishers Road and one of the close neighbours is Henry Bowers, the homestead of which has been listed on Heritage Victoria's Heritage Inventory as H7622-0456. While D. McDonald is listed as acquiring this portion of land in 1886 the Buninyong and District Newsletter mentions a Donald McDonald as having arrived at Durham Lead (which is very close to the Narmbool estate) in the 1860s which could indicate a longer association with the district. However, it is not confirmed whether this is the same individual who took up the land at the Narmbool estate, a relative or is an entirely different settler.
Physical evidence of squatting and the Closer Settlement policies are present throughout the Narmbool estate. It is likely that the McDonalds Farm site includes a rare survival of a collection of archaeological sites and deposits (with apparently good integrity) that represent important changes in agricultural practice and land tenure in Victoria in the latter quarter of the 19th Century and first quarter of the 20th Century.
The settlement of the Victorian countryside through squatting and pre-emptive selection as well as the protracted and damaging attempts by the Crown to wrest ownership through various land acts is a paramount contributor to the pattern of land use, ownership and agrarian economy seen today. The foundations of rural communities, land laws and attitude to the countryside are provided by this history. The challenges faced by farmers on small selections such as Bowers, caused privations that contributed to the pioneer legend and in some cases promoted innovation in agricultural practices. The eventual failure of selection and soldier settlement is an important component of 20th Century Victorian history.
The archaeological and historical landscape at the McDonald's farm has the ability to yield physical evidence important under the headings of historical, scientific and social significance.
Today the landscape has considerable aesthetic significance as a rare, intact historical landscape with picturesque vistas to Mount Buningyong, and ruins and remnant gardens contributing to an understanding of a rural life not seen for almost a century.
Heritage Inventory Description
MCDONALD'S FARM SITE - Heritage Inventory Description
The archaeological site is a small farm situated within the large Narmbool pastoral property currently owned by Sovereign Hill. The Mc Donald's farm was part of the Closer Settlement subdivisions of the later-nineteenth century but was absorbed back into the larger pastoral property during the twentieth century. The farm buildings associated with the McDonalds property seem to have been allowed to naturally degrade and there is no obvious disturbance or later disturbances that might have impacted the archaeological integrity. It must also be considered that the archaeological remains are associated with an outlying hut associated with the larger Narmbool estate that predates the closer settlement scheme.
The site consists of a house site with a ruinous possible cobb construction fireplace attached to rectangular shaped outline of a cottage complete with visible postholes. In addition there are tree lined fields and an extensive network of garden beds. A new track has been created through the hedged fields and has partially disturbed some of the garden beds but the original access track is also visible. Cypress trees are located near the cottage site and hawthorn near the garden beds. At the site of the structure (outside of the outline for the walls) there are two (and perhaps more) lines of large holes, evenly spaced - perhaps fencing where the posts have been removed. Very few artefacts were identified during the surface inspection at the cottage site as well as in the nearby area and therefore there is no direct dating evidence of the remains at this stage.
The site is directly comparable to other closer settlement sites on the Narmbool Estate including Bower's Homestead (H7622-0456). The construction and design of the structure at the McDonald's property and at those at the more extensive Bowers farm are very different and demonstrate alternate approaches to settlement within this larger estate.
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MCDONALD'S FARM SITEVictorian Heritage Inventory
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