Red Hill Homestead

Statement of Significance

A site visit was not undertaken as part of the 2026 Heritage Project. Accordingly, these notes have been obtained from the original 1999 Municipal Heritage Inventory: “Red Hill Station has aesthetic, historic and representative cultural heritage significance. The station has a long history in the development of pastoral properties in the Ashburton region. It has strong associations with people who were influential in grazing and in local government decisions such as the siting of the new Onslow township in the early 1920s. As one of the largest properties in the early twentieth century Red Hill is a good representative of other pastoral stations in the Northwest.”

Physical Description

The stone section of the homestead was built in the 1880's, and the weatherboard section was built in 1909. The weatherboard section of the homestead was demolished in 2015, and the stone section was retained. The homestead is substantial, built from timber and stone, with a half-gabled hipped corrugated iron roof. Wide shady verandas under a broken-backed roof surround the house, with concrete floors and timber posts. The old kitchen walls are constructed from coarse stone blocks - most of the building is timber.

History

Red Hill Station was first leased by Dalgety’s in the 1870s, then passed to Monger and Forrest in the 1880s. It sat on the De Grey–Mullewa stock route, gazetted in 1893, providing safer overland movement of stock with reliable water sources. In 1902 the Barrett-Lennard brothers purchased the station cheaply due to dingo infestation. Dalgety and Co.’s auction listing at the time recorded 317,000 acres, 10,000 sheep, 3,000 lambs, 175 cattle, 63 horses, several wells and windmills, and modest station buildings. The stone section of the homestead dates to the 1880s, while the weatherboard section was added around 1909 during the Barrett-Lennard period. The station was sold to Tom McGuire and Stephen Tonkin in 1919. By 1918–1919 it was one of the ten largest properties in the district at 429,131 acres. McGuire was active in local affairs, including the 1920 search for a new Onslow townsite and a 1934 deputation to government after the cyclone that devastated Onslow’s jetty and communications. Ted Crawford took over the station in 1949 and later contributed memories of the district in Edge of Empire. The Corker family purchased Red Hill in 1981, shifting it to cattle only, with the last sheep handled around 1983. The weatherboard section of the homestead was demolished in 2014.

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium. Although changes have been made over time, the homestead generally maintains its original appearance

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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