FORMER GILBERT HOUSE
176 BULLA ROAD, BULLA 3058
-
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
-
-
FORMER GILBERT HOUSE - History
176 Bulla Road (formerly known as Mica Street) was originally inhabited by W.J. Gilbert, one of the first poundkeepers in Bulla, as indicated in local newspapers (1910 ‘History of Bulla’). A ‘Village of Bulla’ plan from 1855 indicates that W.J. Gilbert was an early settler in the township, and he was the first owner of the property which he purchased in August of 1853 corresponding with the first Bulla land sales in the 1850s (Symonds 1985: 49). The land purchase appears to be part of both the influx of settlers who moved to Bulla in the early 1850s to provide services required by farmers, as well as the Gold Rush-era settlement of Bulla, as the town expanded into a resting stop for diggers on their way to the gold fields at Mt Alexander and Bendigo (Symonds 1985: 49). Most of the structures in the Bulla township in 1853 were ‘wooden houses’ apart from the brick Deep Creek Inn, and it is likely that the Gilbert House was also constructed of timber (Symonds, 1985: 49). Gilbert worked as a poundkeeper at the Deep Creek Pound, indicating that what is now 176 Bulla Road was his private residence (1853, ‘Impoundings’, The Argus, 11 October). Tulip Wright, who pioneered the district, was the first poundkeeper in the area, operating the first pound near the Deep Creek Inn on Mica Street (Symonds, 1985: 49). Gilbert took over this ‘lucrative position’ in 1853, and was succeeded by a William Smith, then William Bethell (Symonds, 1985: 49). Traces of Gilbert’s history as a poundkeeper appear in several local newspaper articles in 1853 and 1854; his poundkeeping services were used by numerous members of the local community (1853, ‘Impoundings’, The Argus, 11 October; 1854, ‘Advertising’, The Argus, 16 February). It is unclear what happened to the property after Gilbert left.FORMER GILBERT HOUSE - Interpretation of Site
The site was first sold in the 1850s Bulla land sales and was purchased by W.J. Gilbert in 1853. As Gilbert was a resident of Bulla and the local poundkeeper in the 1850s, it appears that he built a house on this property and lived in it from c.1853. A 1901 historical photograph of the Bulla township shows what is most likely the house built at 176 Bulla Road as a weatherboard house with a single gabled roof (Figure 8 and Figure 9). The 1916 and 1938 Sunbury maps both show a building in the location of 176 Bulla Road. A 1951 aerial photo shows a square building on the property. The 1968 aerial shows the same house, with a hipped roof, not a single gable. The roof on the existing house is hipped and appears to match that shown on the 1951 and 1968 aerial photos.The presence of the domed cistern and the basalt fieldstone footings/base underneath the existing timber house, suggest that the current house is a later replacement of the original house. The intact and well-preserved cistern may have artefact-bearing deposits from the early occupants.
Heritage Inventory Description
FORMER GILBERT HOUSE - Heritage Inventory Description
The site is a residential property on the northern side of Bulla Road in the centre of the Bulla township, that drops steeply at the rear as it backs onto the Deep Creek ravine. It was located on the corner of Bulla Rd and a northern section of Trap Street. An early 20th-century timber weatherboard house presently occupies the property with several timber outbuildings and some lawn and garden beds and a gravel driveway at the west side. In the grassed front yard is a domed brick cistern in an excellent state of preservation. The domed cistern was 1.7m in diameter and the external surface was plastered with grey cement and the central opening was covered with a circular metal lid. Below the existing timber house, the remains of basalt rubble wall footings or a bluestone base were visible and there were dressed and cut bluestone blocks used as garden edgings around the property.
-
-
-
-
-
NORTH MELBOURNE POTTERYVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
STONY CREEK SLIPWAYVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
SEASONING WORKS SITE AND TERRACOTTA LUMBERWALLVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
-