Roleystone Heritage Walk

Child Places

• 20082 Roley Pool

Statement of Significance

The Roleystone Heritage Walk, Roley Pool and William Buckingham's Cottage have consierable cultural heritage significance as each of the several sites is representative of particular aspects of Roleystone's history including early colonial settlement, colonial life and farming practices that are linked by the walk trail. William Buckingham's Cottage and the track are associated with the pioneer Buckingham family who made a marked contribution to the establishment of Roleystone and Kelmscott in the Armadale region. The trail and historic sites have great aesthetic value due to their picturesque location in the Canning Valley and Roleystone hills and close proximity to the Canning River. The walk track is highly valued by the community and has high social value as demonstrated through the popular utilisation of the trail and the inclusion of all associated sites in the City of Armadale's Municipal Inventory. The efforts put in to maintaining and upgrading the trail and Roley Pool as well as the conservation of William Buckingham's homestead also demonstrates their social significance.

Physical Description

The Roleystone Heritage Walk consists predominantly of a gravel track that follows the headwaters of the Canning River and has a number of associated sites of local heritage significance. The track links the bridge over the river at Soldiers Road, Roleystone, directly below 'Picnic Rock', 'Darjeeling' and the 'Roley Stone' after which the district is believed to be named, with the historic Buckingham's Cottage. The walk track consists of three sections of approximately two to three kilometres each. For the main part, the track closely follows the south bank of the Canning River except where the steep topography entails some diversion. The path traverses a variety of picturesque terrain including a wide variety of natural bushland vegetation, large granite boulders, bubbling waterfalls and pleasant river pools including the historic Roley Pool swimming hole. Walkers can observe a variety of the local flora, fauna and birdlife and also can see the old Perth water supply pipeline where it crosses the river. The trail continues a short way past the Old Buckingham Homestead before finishing at Armenti Road, where the dirt track at this point is secured by a locked gate that is utilised by emergency services for fire fighting access.

History

The Roleystone district was first colonised in the 1830s when Charles Churchman took up land in the area in 1831. His venture was unsuccessful and he died only a couple of years after arriving in Australia from England. The Buckingham family bought the entire Roleystone district in 1857 after first establishing a relatively successful farm at Gin Gin. Soon after arriving in Roleystone they established themselves on what was considered to be good land, but they encountered many setbacks. Many of their cattle and stock died from ‘Coastal Plain Poisoning’ and others were frequently lost in the unfenced farm. As their farming efforts were not very successful they had to turn to timber cutting to make a living. Several of the Buckingham boys settled in various parts of the present Armadale region including Kelmscott. The whole family became involved in timber cutting and hauling to make a living as their land had extensive timber that the growing colony required. Mrs Buckingham passed away in 1875 with Thomas Buckingham Senior soon after in 1879. William Buckingham became the owner of part of the property where he built his homestead while others such as Thomas Jnr, continued to live and work in the Kelmscott area with the timber milling business. Thomas Jnr built his home close to the old stage coach route to Albany. The trail which follows the border of Lot 62, from William Buckingham’s cottage to Heritage Drive and thence to Thompson Road, was used by his children walking to and from school in Roleystone near the Roley Stone. There was originally a track extending all the way down the escarpment to the pioneer settlement of Kelmscott but this section is no longer evident due to development of private property. However a Heritage Trail from the Church of St. Mary-in-the-Valley, Kelmscott, (built by Thomas Buckingham Jnr in 1874), to The Old Coach Road, Roleystone, was created as a Bicentennial Project in 1988 taking in part of the track currently under assessment. The Roley Pool is a naturally occurring deep water pool along the Canning River. It has been officially used as a recreation place by the Roleystone Swimming Club since the 1920s and was very popular with the locals prior to the establishment of a swimming pool at Kelmscott. The trail runs past Lot 140 (and part Lot 701), that is private property and contains an old abandoned corrugated iron agricultural shed and some ruins within an area beyond the fence line. Beyond the old farm shed are the remains of what appear to be natural rock holding pens while further back at the top of the rise beyond the shed are the ruins of a substantial stone walled building. It is thought that this site is the ruins of Thomas Buckingham’s home or possibly the Old Coaching House, however this has not been substantiated.

Integrity/Authenticity

The historical authenticity of parts of the track, Roley Pool and Buckingham Cottage is quite high, although the state of some of the features has been compromised by subsequent work carried out on the sites to maintain their viability. The sustainability of the values is potentially high as is the long term viability because of community appreciation.

Condition

The condition of the track varies but is mostly good. Most parts of the trail have been graded and maintained although there is some erosion from water runoff. The cottage has been left unsecured.

Uses

Creation Date

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