A once in a lifetime opportunity to own a significant piece of local history.
Once the base for a massive pastoral holding this is one of the oldest established residences in the district. “Fassifern Homestead” has been home to only a few families in its lifetime. Situated in a garden setting on 6,032 m2 of land you will enjoy the benefits of traditional country life with magnificent views of the main range without the worries attached to a large property. Significant work has been undertaken in the form of restumping replumbing & electrical. So many of the features of ... [More]
A once in a lifetime opportunity to own a significant piece of local history.
Once the base for a massive pastoral holding this is one of the oldest established residences in the district. “Fassifern Homestead” has been home to only a few families in its lifetime. Situated in a garden setting on 6,032 m2 of land you will enjoy the benefits of traditional country life with magnificent views of the main range without the worries attached to a large property. Significant work has been undertaken in the form of restumping replumbing & electrical. So many of the features of a bygone era include dual fire places, in the large living room, open verandas along with vj internal walls & much more. A beautiful part of the world to call home. Avoid disappointment & arrange an inspection to view this lovely home and garden. $448,000
History of Fassifern Homestead
Fassifern Homestead was built in the 1880s. It is ‘simply-adorned but substantially-constructed’ (structural timbers are ironbark). It was originally the main homestead for the large Fassifern Run,
settled in the mid-1840s by Cameron and Coulson, and from 1857, it was home to members of the prominent Wienholt family. The Fassifern Run was used by the Wienholts to fatten cattle, and was
renowned for its Clydesdale horse stud.
After the large Fassifern run was broken up, Presley Hill (a cousin of the Wienholts) sold the homestead block to Timothy Dwyer and his wife Bridget (nee Wilkinson) in 1927. On Timothy’s death in 1939 the ownership of Fassifern passed to his younger son Patrick Dwyer. Pat’s mother Bridget and his sister Ann continued to live at Fassifern until Bridget died in 1944 and Ann in 1947.
Tim made some alterations during his ownership. The kitchen and staff quarters which may be seen in earlier photographs were removed to become the home of Tim’s older daughter Mary Ellen (Simmonds) at Milora. The former office on the southern end of the homestead became the kitchen, and part of the adjoining verandah was enclosed to become a family dining area. The verandah on the south-western side of the house was also enclosed, presumably to give protection from westerly
winds as it does not seem to have been used for any other purpose during Tim’s occupancy.
Patrick married in 1948, and he and his wife Joie (nee Malone) lived at Fassifern and raised five children. More modifications were made to the interior of the homestead. The kitchen was modernised soon after mains electricity became available in 1949/50; and a modern bathroom and
laundry were built on the enclosed south-western verandah. In the 1960s, the northern verandah was enclosed to increase living and sleeping areas for the growing family. The walls of the large living
room and master bedroom were lined and the ceilings lowered by the addition of suspended ceilings, but the original walls and ceilings, including timber ceiling roses and ventilation hoods, remain. In what used to be the master bedroom, a bell-push has been preserved as a reminder of those days when there were servants to answer the ring; and in the small former governess’ bedroom (on the north western side) a former gas light fitting also remains. The electric wiring was all replaced in the late 1970s.
Following Pat’s death in 1980, ownership of the Homestead passed to his widow Joie, who lived there until recently. During this period, the kitchen and bathrooms were updated, an en suite bathroom was constructed and a second septic tank installed. In 2009/10, the house was completely restumped, and the waste plumbing completely replaced, with a new main septic tank and a new drainage ‘sink’ for the kitchen waste installed.
Pat is buried at Fassifern in the top corner of the garden ‘under the jacarandahs with a view of the mountains’ which was his dearest wish. His epitath reads simply:
In loving memory
of
PATRICK FRANCIS DWYER
19/5/09 – 20/6/80
Based on a historical brochure prepared by Joie Dwyer in 1997. More information is available at:
https://www.derm.qld.gov.au/chimsi/placeDetail.html?siteId=29857 [Less]
