Site of Gold Mine

Statement of Significance

The original homestead at Hillside Farm is significant for associations with the Gibbs family and its long association with the rural development of the district and more recent educational use.

Physical Description

Hillside Farm is a 93.54 ha property in Martin, set on undulating land, with some vegetation. The farm has a series of buildings located on the property. The major buildings are the farm dwelling, old corrugated iron machinery sheds, a corrugated iron and brick barn, and a timber and fibrocement clad school that has been relocated to the property. The original farmhouse has insitu rammed earth walls to the exterior walls except the front wall that has been replaced with concrete blocks. The corrugated iron clad gable roof breaks pitch over the front verandah that is supported by timber posts.

History

The original Hillside Farm was associated with the family of Stephen Gibbs who was a pioneer in the Gosnells district. His parents William and Eliza Gibbs arrived from England in 1834 and Stephen was one of four sons. He was a teamster in the 1860s and during the 1870s he was the publican of the 47 Mile Inn on what was Albany Road, now Albany Highway. Stephen Gibbs married Eliza White and it is thought that they lived on Hillside Farm around 1880, when he began to take up extensive properties, mainly for dairying. He found a piece of quartz with gold traces in 1888, but nothing was done about the find until 1909, when others tried to establish a gold mine. Gibbs concentrated on his farming and other activities. He established an orchard in the 1890s, built the Forest Inn near the Victoria Reservoir construction works in 1890 and was involved in establishing Cannington’s second hotel, the Hotel Cecil. He also had quarrying interests. In 1907 he was elected to the Gosnells Road Board. Stephen Gibbs had left the district by 1914 to take up residence in East Perth, where he died in 1928 at the age of 80. His son William married Hilda Dellar and they lived at Hillside. The former Gibbs farmhouse has been used for residential purposes for over 100 years. The property falls within the Ellis Brook Valley Reserve and is under the ownership of the West Australian Planning Commission. After this change in ownership proposals for development were considered such as a golf course, but the plan was not viable as there was not enough ground water or capacity to store water. Another proposal to use the land for a cemetery was refused. In the early 1990s, the Education Department was granted a 40% share of the property, with the rest to be used by other groups. In a Draft Concept Plan drawn up by the Education Dept in May 1994, Hillside was to be managed by several committees but this was later simplified to management by the Hillside Farm Management Committee. The philosophy behind the management arrangement was to provide a community farm that promotes ecological and sustainable living practices through education and recreation opportunities. User groups included the Aboriginal Koomarl Association and the Girl Guides. For some time the property was known as Fratico Farm. A change of name back to Hillside Farm was made in 1996 and work on the property was carried out in conjunction with a LEAP program (Linking Education and Parents Program). A 1920s school building was relocated from Tuart Hill Primary School, to be used as a classroom for an Education Department agricultural school. Hillside farm is currently leased to the Education Department by the City of Gosnells, with a clause to permit community access. Most of the 54 hectare farm is used as a training facility to impart agriculture based skills to young people with urban backgrounds, with one of the teaching staff serving as a live-in caretaker resident in the homestead. A paddock on the downhill side of the farm is sublet to the Darling Range Wildlife Shelter for the purpose of rehabilitating native fauna. As well as the former Tuart Hill school building, which is hired out for meetings and an added camping facility, there is a straw bale shelter used by community and commercial groups and a former school lunch shed, relocated from Orange Grove Primary School, which is used as an interpretive centre. The place has camping facilities for groups of up to thirty.

Integrity/Authenticity

INTEGRITY Low to moderate degree AUTHENTICITY Moderate degree

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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