Moreton Bay Fig Tree & Charterhouse site

Statement of Significance

DEMOLISHED
Charterhouse was the home of Reverend Wollaston and his family from 1842 to 1848 before being sold to the Richardson-Bunbury family. The house was a centre of hospitality for Anglicans and others. The place dates from the earliest days of settlement in the district.

Physical Description

DEMOLISHED [The Moreton Bay Fig Tree is included as part of B032]

History

Charterhouse was the home of Reverend Wollaston and his family from 1842 to 1846.

It is understood that Charthouse was built partially re-using several rustic huts Wollaston had purchased from American whaling captain, Francis Chase Coffin. The timbers had come from the wreck of the Samuel Wright, which Coffin had purchased to provide housing for his family and crew.

Wollaston called his house “Charterhouse” after the public school in London where his father was the master.

Wollaston’s Picton Journal (1841-1844) provides a rare insight into the everyday life of a family who were used to a very different way of life in England.

When Wollaston was appointed to Albany in 1848, he sold his land to Henry Sillifant, who rented the house to John Moore. In 1856, the property was sold to Lady Margaret Richardson-Bunbury, whose family built a prefabricated home near Charterhouse.

Surveyor T C Carey gave Lady Richardson-Bunbury a seedling in the 1870s, which was planted by her servant James Cahill. Over the years, the Moreton Bay fig grew to shade the dining and drawing rooms.

Lady Richardson-Bunbury’s son, William, had come to Western Australia with Australind settlers and purchased Location 28. He soon relocated to the Vasse region, but his widowed mother and sisters followed in 1856, taking up Wollaston’s former Charterhouse along with the adjacent Location 30. Alfred Richardson-Bunbury joined the family there.

There are no visible remains of the original Charterhouse built by Wollaston, or of the later prefabricated building built for Lady Richardson-Bunbury. The site is marked by a plinth and the Moreton Bay Fig tree. [The tree is included as part of B032, St Mark's Church, Picton.]

Integrity/Authenticity

DEMOLISHED

Condition

No visible remains of "Charterhouse" except for memorial plinth & plaque.

Uses

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.