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SHIRE SECRETARY'S RESIDENCE (FORMER)

Other Name BISQUOLM Location 24 Martin Street, PENSHURST VIC 3289 - Property No 0013 File Number 1017 Level Stage 2 study complete

[1/1] 23349 Shire Secretary s

Statement of Significance

What is Significant?
The former Shire Secretary's Residence, is located on the north east corner of Watton and Martin Streets in the centre of the township, opposite the Mount Rouse Shire Council Chambers. The house takes the form of a single storey bluestone building with a broad , low pitched roof continuous over the verandah on four sides. The walls and fenestration of the house suggest a post-1860s and pre1900s date of construction, with the roof added as a major alteration during the Interwar period. The roof has been deliberately added to give the older house a more modern bungalow form. It is believed that house was built in the 1860s or 1870s, designed perhaps by John S. Jenkins, one of the most talented and prominent architects operating in the area in the nineteenth century. The property served as the residence for the Shire Secretary for some period, but has been in private ownership for many years. It has also been used as an art gallery, known as Bisquolm Gallery. The house is in good condition, but its integrity has been severely compromised by the replacement roof.

How is it significant?
The house is of historical and architectural significance to the township of Penshurst and the Southern Grampians Shire.

Why is it Significant?
The house is of historical significance for its close proximity and association to the Mount Rouse Shire Council Chambers, located directly opposite, which reinforces the building's role as a Shire Secretary's Residence over a period of time. It is of further historical significance as the possible home of many of the Shire's Secretaries, including Baxter, Knight, Jenkins, Campbell, Dufton, Walls and Mason. The building is of architectural significance for its possible connections with notable architect John. S. Jenkins, who may have designed the house in the 1860s or 1870s.