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BROOKSDALE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX

Location C. Fry's Road, VICTORIA VALLEY VIC 3294 - Property No 0030 File Number 474 Level Stage 2 study complete

[1/8] 23408 Brooksdale Homestead [2/8] 23408 Brooksdale Homestead [3/8] 23408 Brooksdale Homestead [4/8] 23408 Brooksdale Woolshed [5/8] 23408 Brooksdale Woolshed [6/8] 23408 Brooksdale Woolshed [7/8] 23408 Brooksdale Woolshed [8/8] 23408 Brooksdale Woolshed

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The Brooksdale homestead complex has two homesteads, the older timber homestead, dating from prior to 1890, and a newer homestead, which dates from 1952, and was designed by Warrnambool architects, Walter and Aughty. The old homestead was taken up as a selection by M. C. McIntyre, who built the homestead, and sold out in 1900 after disastrous losses of stock from Liver Fluke, a prevalent problem in sheep in the Victoria Valley around the turn of the century. The property eventually passed into the hands of Charles Fry, the son of important pastoral selectors, Peter and Annie Fry of nearby Sierra Park. It is said that the first Victoria Valley Post Office operated from the old homestead. Charles Fry and his descendants have had continuous ownership of the property since 1917. The old homestead is in ruinous condition, although retains a high degree of integrity.

How is it significant?
The old homestead complex at Brooksdale is of historical significance to the district of Victoria Valley as a Heritage Inventory Site.

Why is it significant?
The Brooksdale Homestead complex has historical significance for a variety of different reasons. It is of significance for the association with the important local pastoral family, the Fry's, who have been continual land owners in Victoria Valley since 1872, when Peter and Annie Fry selected Sierra Park. Of further historical significance is the changing fortunes of pastoralists in the 1950s following the wool boom, which allowed people to build larger, more substantial homes, often designed by architects, as is the new homestead at Brooksdale, designed by important local architects from Warrnambool, Walter and Aughty. The two homesteads should be viewed together as they illustrate a changing attitude and way of life. The homesteads both allow us to understand a previous way of life, and how many of the early selectors in this area lived (as shown in the old homestead).