Paynedale

Statement of Significance

Paynedale is one of the oldest houses in the district and is a very good example of a two storey house in the Victorian Georgian style. It is significant for its associations with the Payne family and for illustrating the way of life of the early farmers in the Donnybrook area. The two storey form is relatively unusual in the area and the external staircase is an unusual feature. The house also illustrates the skill and expertise of the early settlers in the area.

Physical Description

Paynedale is set on the banks of the river and is a two storey brick house with a hipped corrugated iron roof in the Victorian Georgian style. There is a two storey verandah to front and rear, with the rear verandah enclosed with fibro. There is a tall brick chimney on either side of the house. The bricks were made by hand on site. The staircase is external and comes up through the front balcony - apparently it was intended to be enclosed by a second identical building with the balcony becoming a hallway.

History

In 1854, George Robert Payne (b. 1817, arr. 1841, d. 1892), one of the earliest settlers on the Capel River, took up Wellington Location 22, and also took up pastoral leases in the district and at Flinders Bay. He and his wife, Julia (b. 1812), who had been among the settlers at Australind, raised their seven children on the property he established by the Capel River. He brought part of the machinery of a water mill from Australind and erected a mill, known as Capel Mill, at his farm, sometimes known as Mill Farm. His eldest son, George Robert Payne, jnr., (b. 1841) of Rose Hill Farm, Capel, later operated the mill, which was an important facility for local farmers. In the 1880s, brothers Albert Charles and Alfred William (b. 1848), were recorded as farmers and teamsters at Capel. Albert was listed at Paynedale, where the two storey Victorian Georgian house constructed of bricks hand-made on site is believed to have been built in c. 1882, as the homestead on the property that was also recorded as Payne Dale. In the late 1890s, he was listed as a grazier at Paynedale. The brothers had a well-known racehorse, ‘Orphan’, which they kept at stud on the property. Further research may reveal more information about Paynedale, one of the oldest surviving houses in the district, where it is a rare example of a two storey homestead.

Integrity/Authenticity

High

Condition

The condition of the place is very poor. The lower parts of the ground floor walls have been rendered with a hard cementitious render, probably because of damage to the brickwork from rising damp. This has pushed the problem higher up the wall, where it has eaten into about four courses of brickwork, one course almost entirely. The fabric of the front verandah and stairs is very dilapidated, dangerous and unusable.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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