Stone House site

Statement of Significance

• The site has historic value for its association with the government programme of providing 'Sustenance' work for men during the Depression • The site is associated with the early settlement and development of the district by the Jones and Piggott families.

Physical Description

Scattered limestone at the site of the former house. Arrangement of the stones indicates the building outline and remains of a well are still discernible.

History

Just east of Lake Josephine, some grass-mounds and scattered stones mark the site where Stonehouse stood on the north side of Myalup Road. It is not known who built Stonehouse or when. The first known occupants were Arthur and Ellen Margaret (Nellie) Jones, nee Parmenter. Nellie was a nurse who helped deliver local babies. Arthur worked for Ben Piggott of Springhill, as did two other brothers, Fred and George. The father of the Jones men was William Frederick Jones, a convict school teacher who taught the Forrest children at Picton. It is also recalled that Stonehouse was once a staging post for coaches. After the death of 48 year old Arthur Jones (of Stonehouse) at Bunbury in 1912, his widow and family lived on part of ‘Long Swamp’ near Coast Road, which became known as ‘Aunt Nellie’s Swamp’. The eight Jones daughters thought nothing of avoiding the long walk around by wading through the swamp; so risking mosquitoes, sandflies, tiger-snakes and quicksand. Tom Piggott settled into Stonehouse, followed by Bert and George Reading. During the 1930s, as the Diversion Drain was dug, Stonehouse became a Payroll Office and the site of a single men’s tent camp, accommodating large numbers of workers. It was later abandoned and so provided an overnight camp for those herding stock to and from their way to the coast runs.

Integrity/Authenticity

Nil/ Nil

Condition

Scattered limestone

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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