Runnymede & Florries Cottage Group, Binningup

Statement of Significance

• The cottages are good examples of the type of construction methods and materials used in the late 19th and early 20th century in remote communities; • The cottages have social value as examples of the scale and form of accommodation for working men and their families on farming properties during the late 19th and early 20th century; • The cottages have historic value for their association with the Clifton and Reading families who each made a major contribution to the development or the district; and; • The place has aesthetic value as the simple cottages of local materials are located within a grouping of trees in a rural landscape.

Physical Description

The two cottages are of similar construction but are of different designs. Florrie’s (Flossie’s) Cottage, the southernmost cottage closest to the junction of Runnymede Road and Wellesley Road, is thought to be the younger of the two structures. Both structures are of timber framed construction with timber cladding to part incorporating vertical slab construction. Florrie’s (Flossie’s) Cottage is of simple rectangular plan form with the internal space divided into two rooms, one of which incorporates the substantial stone fireplace and chimney. This element has been constructed as an internal element of the room rather than the chimney extending up the external side of the elevation. As a result, the south-east corner of the cottage is constructed from stone with the remainder being of timber framed construction. The roof is gabled to the east elevation and hipped towards the rear west elevation. The gable is clad with vertical jarrah timbers which extend in part down the east elevation. The roof is steeply pitched and was originally clad in timber shingles which remain extant under the corrugated sheeting. The shingles are placed on battens and can be seen through the internal roof structure. Runnymede Cottage is a larger dwelling due to a series of extra rooms that have been added to the original cottage over time. The base plan of Runnymede Cottage was two rectangular rooms with a large stone fire place in the south wall, with the cottage running in a north-south direction. The cottage is timber framed with vertical jarrah slab cladding to three walls with the south elevation being completely constructed of stone. The chimney extends up the external face of the wall with the flue section having been destroyed. Stone from the rear section of the chimney has been removed leaving a large void in the structure. The roof form to the original part of the cottage is shallow pitched hip clad in corrugated metal sheeting. Doors and windows are located in the east wall.

History

The landholdings on which the cottages are located were originally part of the land granted to Marshall Waller Clifton, chief commissioner of the Australind settlement and one of its original settlers. The land at the south end of the Myalup Swamp was established by Clifton as a sheep station from as early as 1845, at a location he called ‘Runnymede’. The origin of the name is probably derived from the portion of land alongside the River Thames and its ideals of democracy and new beginnings. Staples writes in his history of the Shire of Harvey that Clifton established a shepherd, Sam Hosier, as a hutkeeper at ‘Myalup’ in May 1846. Staples also suggests that farmers Joseph Cundell and Thomas Harris were farming at ‘Runnymede’ until they purchased land near the ‘White Rocks’ farm in 1871. It is possible that Cundell and Harris built a shelter at the site of the farm. William Reading (1850-1936) a young man educated at Rugby and Cambridge College, England, migrated to the colony in 1871 to join his uncle, Benjamin Piggott. Reading tutored the Piggott children at the homestead at ‘Spring Hill’ and other children from the district at the Parkfield school, and at Australind. In his diary dated 7th September 1872 Benjamin Piggott wrote, ‘Self and W. Reading to Bunbury. Self paid to Mr P. Clifton £50.00 by cheque, for W. Reading. Also gave him my acceptance for £100 @ 3 months, being payment for 15,000 acres of W.A.C. land purchased for W. Reading.’ On 21st November 1872, William Reading married Benjamin Piggott’s daughter Elizabeth (1852-1925) at the Congregation Chapel in Australind (now St Nicholas Church). In his diary on 21st of March 1873, Benjamin Piggott wrote, ‘W. Reading and wife moved over to their new home’. Staples notes that William and Elizabeth Reading moved into the tiny stone cottage built by the former occupant of the land, Joseph Cundell. As noted earlier Cundell did not own the land but may have lived on it. Alternatively the Readings may have built their own home between their marriage and moving to the farm some four months later. This first home was the stone cottage on the site, (neither of the remaining cottages on the site is built solely of stone). William and Elizabeth Reading raised eight children at the small cottage on their property. William Reading established a successful farm and was one of the founding members of the local Farmers Association. He was the first Chairman of the Wellington Road Board, (later the Brunswick Road Board), from 1895 to 1902 and Chairman again from 1905 to 1908. One of the Reading sons, Walter Eagleton Reading (1878-1939) married Sarah Ann Piggott in 1905. The couple built a new split timber cottage on the farm adjacent to William and Elizabeth Reading. According to the electoral rolls for the period from 1903 to 1936 the cottages at Runnymede were occupied by William and Elizabeth Reading, and Walter Eagleton Reading until 1906. In 1910, William and Elizabeth Reading; and Walter and Sarah Reading were living in Australind. In 1916, the only resident at Runnymede appears to be Charles William James Reading (1893-1973). Charles Reading was another of the sons of William and Elizabeth and he worked the farm at Runnymede. He did not marry. At this time William and Elizabeth continued to live at Australind. William and Elizabeth’s second youngest daughter, Florence (1889-1962) married Hans Axel Hansen in 1911 in Northam. According to Harvey History Online the couple lived at Runnymede from their marriage until the 1950s and the new cottage was known as “Florrie’s” or “Flossie’s” cottage. Information from the electoral rolls indicates that the couple actually lived in a variety of locations, including a Group settlement in Manjimup before moving to the cottage in the 1930s. In 1936, according to the electoral rolls, Florence and Axel Hansen were living at Runnymede. Elizabeth Reading died in 1925 and William probably continued to live in Australind although an entry in the electoral rolls for 1936 states that he was living at ‘Runnymede’. The obituary on his death states that he was living at ‘Spring Hill’, the Piggott home which was transferred to William’s daughter Celia Violet Jones on the death of her relatives, the remaining Piggott family in 1935. Axel and Florence Hansen moved out of the timber cottage in the 1950s and since that time the cottages have been left to deteriorate.

Integrity/Authenticity

Moderate/ Moderate

Condition

Poor

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update