Falnash

Statement of Significance

Despite being derelict, Falnash remains significant as a late nineteenth century pastoral homestead associated with the opening up of the Blackwood district. It retains associated outbuildings and orchard, and is significant for its historic, aesthetic and social values. Aesthetic Value The restrained Georgian style detailing of the stone house remains aesthetically pleasing. Historic Value Falnash is historically significant as an early settler’s farm, which ran one of the most successful orchards in the district. Along with Dalmore farm, Falnash was well-known for the Scott Bros’ knowledge and use of fertilisers and pest control to produce high yield crops. Research Value NA Social Value Falnash was of high social value as a highly productive orcharding property, which would have required numerous workers to pick the crops.

Physical Description

This homestead appears to have begun as a large single room using stone from the farm, which is a mixture of laterite and granite. The corners and openings were finished with brick and cement rendered quoins and the walls were ruled with mortar to imitate a higher quality ashlar stonework (a common finish at that time). A second room appears to have been added alongside a short time later, in the same style. A separate room of the same style on the northern side appears to have been used as a cool store for produce. Heavy hooks still exist in the ceiling beams. Later additions to the house on the eastern side are of timber and weatherboard construction and include plasterboard lining of internal walls. The corrugated iron roof incorporates the original and later portions. Portions of the verandah and roofing are collapsing and the inside of the house is now derelict. A large barn located between the house and Falnash Road collapsed sometime between 2010 and 2013. Portions of the roof and wall structures have remained intact, albeit on the ground, however these are soon to be deconstructed with some of the wood to be stored and retained by the owners. A water tank set high on a timber structure remains in place, however this is at risk of falling in the near future. A number of early plantings remain, including nine oak trees, which are scattered either side of the original driveway, as well as two pine trees. A substantial portion of the original orchard also remains approximately 150m south east of the house.

History

Robert Purdom Scott purchased a large parcel of land from Sir James George Lee-Steere’s ‘Jayes’ property c.1897. This was occupied by his sons and Robert (snr) continued to work as a bank manager in South Australia until his retirement in 1919. His obituary (1929) and other newspaper notices of the period indicate he then settled on a property named ‘Warraninni’, which was near the farm he had established for his sons at the end of the nineteenth century. Warraninni was later occupied by his daughter, Kate Louise, and her husband, Basil Wardell-Johnson. Newspaper notices and advertisements dating from c.1903-1911, refer to various members of the Scott family as living on a property known as ‘Dalmore’ (including Robert Purdom Scott’s 3 sons, Robert Wooley, Alexander ‘Alec’ Bell, and William ‘Bill’ Purdom). Another newspaper report, dated 1930, states that a partnership between RW and WP Scott was dissolved in 1913, and that the property was subdivided as ‘Dalmore’ and ‘Falnash’ at that time. Local history suggests that their brother, Alexander Bell Scott, occupied another local property, ‘Weroona’. However, entries in the Electoral Rolls suggest that he was a storekeeper of Fitzroy Crossing by 1912 and was later a hotel keeper (variously in the north-west of WA and the Northern Territory). The house now known as ‘Falnash’ (which was named after a village in southern Scotland where Robert Purdom’s father was once a tenant farmer) is reputed to have been the first place of settlement for the Scott family in this district, and the style of the house is consistent with the reported construction date of c.1897. The 1953 obituary for Robert Scott’s wife, Ellen (‘Nell’), confirms that they occupied Falnash in 1913 and remained here until their retirement in 1948. The orchard was planted c.1915 and Falnash became a large producer of apple and pears and was a large exporter of pears to the London Market.

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium While the house is now derelict, the land is still used for grazing. Although a portion of the orchard exists it is unkept. Medium Although built in two or three stages and now being in a poor state, the building is still of medium authenticity. The original building and the sequence of development can be readily understood from the surviving fabric.

Condition

Poor

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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