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WANDO DALE HOMESTEAD COMPLEX

Other Name

THE THREE WANDOS, POWER'S CATTLE STATION

Location

Wando Dale Road, NAREEN VIC 3315 - Property No 1190

File Number

110

Level

Stage 2 study complete

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
Wando Dale Homestead Complex is located on the south bank of the Wando River immediately west of the Coleraine-Nareen Road and at the end of the former road. The homestead itself is a large red brick residence in the Italianate style, with a cast iron verandah. The current homestead was built in 1891, and superceded a much smaller timber homestead dating from the 1850s. The house is surrounded by a substantial established garden with many very important specimen trees, including some Araucaria specimens which appear in William Tibbits 1876 watercolour as small trees. A large orchard extends along the south bank of the Wando River, and contains several trees which may date from as early as 1854. Several outbuildings are located to the rear of the main homestead. Wando Dale was taken up by David Power in 1844, and sold to the McConochie Brothers in 1853, who quickly disposed of the property to John Moodie that same year. John Moodie arrived with his family in 1853, and developed a three room slab timber hut into a larger homestead. His son, William Moodie took over the running of the property, with his brother John also holding a financial interest. The partnership flourished, and despite financial setbacks due to drought, new homestead was built in 1891 within the established garden at Wando Dale adjacent to the original house, which survived well into the twentieth century. The architect was Charles Douglas Figgis who worked in partnerships in Ballarat and Melbourne. By 1903, William Moodie was in such serious financial difficulty that he was obliged to leave Wando Dale, which was repossessed by his bank. In 1907 it was sold to Mr. Constable and in 1919 it passed to Mr. Louis Theodore Koch whose family occupied the house until the late ninetieth century. The house is in very good condition and retains a high degree of integrity. The garden in good condition, although the removal of some important plantings has somewhat diminished its significance.

How is it significant?
Wando Dale Homestead Complex is of historical, architectural and botanical significance to the Southern Grampians Shire.

Why is it significant?
Wando Dale Homestead complex is of historical significance for its direct associations with leading pastoralists over its first hundred and fifty years, including the David Power, William and John Moodie and Louis Theodore Koch. Through family, it was connected with the Robertson family of Wando Vale, John Robertson was one of the most important collectors of plants in the colony in the mid ninetieth century, and a keen horticulturist. His sister, Mrs. Charlotte Moodie was also considered to be an excellent gardener, and the work of both is evident in the garden which was developed at Wando Dale between 1853-1860, many of the plantings which still remain. Wando Vale is of architectural significance as an excellent example of the late Victorian Italianate Villa which expresses the rise of Pastoralism, although it was built at a time when many Pastoralists were financially struggling. The garden, individual trees, orchard and setting on the bank of the Wando River reinforces and enhances that significance.

Group

Farming and Grazing