Back to search results » Back to search page »

MONA VALE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX

Location

428 Pierrepoint Road TARRINGTON, Southern Grampians Shire

File Number

593

Level

Stage 2 study complete

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
Although the land on which Mona Vale stands was purchased by C. W. Hartwig, it was the family of Johann Mibus and his wife Dorothea, nee Stuf, which established the property and their son Ludwig and his first wife Valentine, nee Israel. They were amongst the earliest and most important of the Lutheran settlers in the Tarrington area and, like most of the very large families, many of the third generation migrated further to open up the Wimmera. Typical of the Lutheran settlers, the property has always been a mixed farm with some sheep and a small ploughed plot for wheat and can be contrasted with the large scale pastoral interests of the squatters at the time. The single-storey symmetrical bluestone house appears to have been constructed in 1858. It is very plain externally and internally with a conventional plan, standard form and typical detailing. Interestingly, it does not follow the traditional model used for some migrants homes, such as those at Gnadenthal and in the Barossa Valley. It is unlikely that the house was designed by an architect but the stone masonry and other construction suggests professional building contractors. There may have been more primitive structures using vernacular techniques of construction which predated the stone house. It is very likely that there was a detached timber kitchen wing. The original woolshed, the blacksmith's shop and a cottage were lost in the 1927 bushfires and further damage occurred in the and 1944 bushfire. A new house was constructed in the early twentieth century near the old which survives. Mona Vale is still farmed by descendents of the same migrants through the interweaving of the various large families. The old house is now abandoned, is in very poor condition and has only a fair degree of integrity.

How is it significant?
Mona Vale is of historical and architectural significance to the community of Tarrington and to the Southern Grampians Shire.

Why is it significant?
Mona Vale is of historical significance for its direct link with the first migrant families who settled around Tarrington and who subsequently extended their interests into the Wimmera. It is of particular interest as the home and focus of the Ludwig and Valentine Mibus family who ran a typical mixed farm and have many descendents. Mona Vale is of architectural significance for it sober design reflecting the conditions and values of the Lutheran migrants.

Group