Tambrey Station Homestead Ruins

Statement of Significance

Tambrey Station Homestead, comprising the ruins of a single-storey mud brick and iron dwelling, and associated bush timber and iron buildings, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: the place has associations with the development of the pastoral industry in the Pilbara district and demonstrates the evolution of a pastoral settlement since 1893. the place has close associations with H. Meares, S. H. Viveash, W. H. and T. D. Cusack, C. O. Ferguson, and R. and L. Parsons, all of whom played a significant role in the development of the North-West pastoral industry. The place also has associations with the Aboriginal people who worked and lived on the property; and,the place was of high-quality workmanship and demonstrates techniques of mud brick construction that are important for the local material components and the design detail of the arched openings. Nearby structures, including the meathouse, kitchen buildings, storeroom and carriage shed, together with T. Cusack's grave, the slab floor of the shearer's kitchen and sheep yards, are considered to have some heritage significance and contribute to the understanding of the place.

Physical Description

Exterior: The homestead comprises a group of building remains located about 500m north of the Roebourne-Wittenoom Road. The ruins include a mud-brick homestead, several bush-timber and iron outbuildings, and sheep yards situated south of the creek. Built in 1893, the homestead is a typical North West vernacular dwelling. It originally consisted of a rectangular core with surrounding verandahs, thick mud-brick walls, a corrugated short-sheet iron hipped roof without gutters, and a separate kitchen building. The mud bricks were made of local materials, such as spinifex, and sheep dags. A cyclone in 1982 removed part of the roof, and the structure has deteriorated significantly since. Short roof sheets survive along the eastern side, but most other sections are missing. The western wall has partly collapsed, the northern side wall has fully collapsed, and although the four original openings on the eastern wall (two doors, two windows) remain, they are in poor condition. Interior: Internally, the dwelling appears to have once comprised three large rooms. The walls show signs of mud rendering over the mud brick. The central room has a large open fireplace constructed of the same mud brick as the rest of the building. No evidence of ceilings, doors or windows remain.

History

Tambrey Station was originally part of the Inthernura Station lease held by Samuel Henry Viveash. It emerged as a separate station in the mid-1880s when Henry Seymour Meares took over the lease, remaining associated with Tambrey for more than 30 years and serving on several Roads Boards and regional organisations. In 1892, William Henry Cusack, a jackaroo and blacksmith from one of Viveash’s stations, began working at Tambrey for Meares. The homestead was built in 1893 while Cusack was managing the property. Constructed quickly due to the expected birth of Ms Cusack’s child, it used antbed mud bricks mixed with chopped spinifex and dags from the woolshed, with roof timbers cut from nearby trees. The walls reached only about 2.45 metres. In 1902, Cusack and Meares became partners in the lease, which by 1915 covered 161,874 hectares and could support around 20,000 sheep. Charles Ogilvie Ferguson, employed at Tambrey, later acquired an interest in the property and, following the deaths of Meares and Cusack during World War I, took over operations. Around 1922, Cusack’s son, Thomas D. Cusack, assumed management. As Chairperson of the Roebourne Roads Board, he often hosted meetings at Tambrey Homestead. His wife, Olive, served as Secretary and established a tennis court with the help of Aboriginal workers; social gatherings there drew families from across the district. In 1949, Lang Hancock purchased Hooley and Tambrey Stations for £50,000. A year later, Les Parsons of Coolawanyah Station and Sir Edward H. Lefroy bought both properties from Hancock for the same amount. In the late 1970s the station transitioned from sheep to cattle, and part of the homestead roof was lost during a cyclone in the early 1980s. By 2016, Tambrey Station Homestead was vacant and ruinous, and the station now forms part of the larger Coolawanyah Station.

Archaeology

Tambrey Station Homestead has the potential, through its built fabric and the sites of demolished buildings, to yield information regarding the evolution of pastoral industry practices from the 1890s to the present.

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium. Although the place is now vacant and in ruin, the original intent is still clear. The long-term viability of restoring the place is questionable. The place has no obvious interventions to the 1893 fabric, apart from general deterioration caused by exposure to the elements since its abandonment.

Condition

Poor. The condition of the place reflects the effects of the environment and abandonment. Part of the roof was ripped off during a cyclone in 1982, the western wall has deteriorated and partially collapsed, and the sidewall (northern) has also collapsed.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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