Turner's Cellar

Parent Place or Precinct

03462 Turner's Cellar & Fig Tree, Turner Caravan Park

Statement of Significance

Turner’s Cellar is of significance:
• For its historical association with the Turner family, who were among the first pioneers of Augusta and were instrumental in the original settlement’s development.
• As one of the first house sites in the town and region.
• For its specific association with James Turner, who arrived with the original colonial settlers and persisted with attempts to make the settlement viable, well after the departure of the other early settlers
• For the rare historical archaeological evidence it provides about the original colonial settlement of Augusta (and the fledging colony in Western Australia).

Physical Description

Turner’s Cellar is a heavily overgrown excavation surrounded by a high steel post and cyclone mesh fence with a padlocked gate. At the street frontage of the enclosure there is a fieldstone and cement plinth with a plaque relating to the history of Albion House (1830-1849).
The site is located in an informal public park presented as a grassed open area with scattered mature trees.

History

Colonial Settlement (c.1830-1849)
• The Establishment of Augusta
When the first settlers arrived at the mouth of the Blackwood River on the ‘Emily Taylor’ on 2 May 1830 they included James W Turner, his wife Maria and six children. The family had substantial capital and seven labourers, three of whom were accompanied by their own families.After land was issued in the new settlement of Augusta, James Turner erected a pre-fabricated house on low-lying land in the present ‘Turner Park,’ Augusta. Turner called his home ‘Albion House.’ It was moved when the Blackwood River flooded and re-erected on higher ground, south of the original site. This second site is the location of the extant cellar.
Within a few years of settlement the Turners’ fellow landholders abandoned the area, as did most of the indentured labourers. Despite years of determined work by the family, the lack of trading opportunities finally defeated James’ sons, too, who relocated to the Vasse.
James Turner persisted, but without support he was left with no choice but to leave Augusta in 1847. He traveled to England to seek help from the Home Office but returned to Perth ‘a disappointed and disillusioned man’ (Cresswell, p 55). He could not induce any indentured labour, or his sons at the Vasse, to return to Augusta with him and in 1849 James Turner withdrew from the Augusta settlement permanently.In 1849, Turner moved ‘Albion,’ house, re-erecting it in Adelaide Terrace, Perth. The building then became known as ‘Lismore House.’ It was demolished in 1946 when the Royal Automobile Club (228 Adelaide Tce) extended its buildings.Albion House is depicted in several paintings by James’ son Thomas Turner, that are located at the Art Gallery of WA.An archaeological survey, undertaken in 2004 and supervised by Dr Shane Burke, historical archaeologist, identified the cellar, an adjacent cutting into the slope (which housed the kitchen) and associated flagstones as remnants from the original 1830s settlement of Augusta. These features were assessed as highly significant.

Integrity/Authenticity

Low: The use has been altered and the original use cannot be readily discerned.
Low: The place has been considerably altered, with the loss of significant fabric. The original intent/character is no longer clearly evident.

Condition

Poor *Assessed from streetscape survey only

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.