Wynella

Statement of Significance

Wynella has aesthetic and scientific heritage significance. The house was a living museum used to show actual use of old methods, equipment and recipes to keep old skills alive. Although not particularly representative of Denmark, the museum was significant as a social history museum of the 1920s era. Many Group Settlers experienced life using the utilities which Wynella displayed.

Physical Description

Wynella is located high on a block which slopes down to the north. It is a single storey residence with verandahs on all sides. Construction is a timber frame clad with rusticated weatherboards and timber joinery throughout. Corrugated Iron covers the roof. The stop chamfered verandah posts and tongue & groove verandah floorboards are original. The owners have relocated the kitchen block to the western rear corner to take advantage of the views across the valley. A new ablution block is located on the southern side. The original wash house and garage were not relocated due to their poor condition. Other new outbuildings include shade house and potting shed, workshop, office and a tea kitchen (a modern prerequisite as the museum, which is now closed, supplied morning/afternoon teas). The interior has tongue & groove floorboards throughout, pressed metal cladding to the walls, cornices and ceilings, including diagonally laid wooden boards to dado height. The kitchen walls and ceiling are clad with tongue & groove pine boarding. A large brick fireplace is occupied by a wood stove (Instone Stove) supplied by Purdy Bros, Fremantle. (They operated from 1898-1972). The house comprises two bedrooms, a dining room and living room, a central passage and a bullnosed verandah all around. Two buildings come off the verandah, one containing the kitchenmaid's room and pantry and another the bathroom, lavatory and washhouse. The whole house has been restored to its 1920 condition, is fully furnished and presently occupied. The garden is extensive and stocked with about 500 different species and varieties of plants, many of them old favourites.

History

Oral sources (Mr Jell, an old Wagin resident) relate that the house was built in 1908, however rate books do not seem to confirm this. Using evidence from the rate books the date of 1913 has been proposed. The original location of the house was on the corner of Omdurman and Ventnor Streets in Wagin. This site was owned by Charles Austin Piesse in 1908. The house does not have a long association with Denmark although the land has been in the Malcolm family since 1953. The Australian style of architecture is very well preserved and restored. The house is fully furnished and interior decoration is authentic to 1920. The garden, with an extensive collection of old plants gathered from demolition sites, abandoned house sites and road verges reflects an age of gardening lost to many in the late twentieth century. Historic information collected about past owners is available.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Most

Condition

Very Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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