Pieces from other places - the fire surround from Harris’ House, Quindalup
The old fire surround of the master bedroom may look original, but it was actually saved from another local building that had significant heritage values, as one of the first homesteads in the area. The Harris’ House was located at what is now 160 Geographe Bay Road, Quindalup, between Geographe Bay Road and Marshall Street. It was constructed in 1844 by Charles Harris, a local agricultural labourer and farmer who arrived in Western Australia on the ‘Diadem’ in 1842 as part of the failed Australind scheme. The homestead was part of a larger farm, with past uses listed as dairy and grazing - far from the urban development that now extends across this area.
The home was a Victorian Georgian style cottage of stone and iron, with a hip roof and a broken pitch verandah. The kitchen and store sat in isolation from the main building, as was common in the time, to prevent any accidental fires in the kitchen spreading to the main home. There were plantings of fig and mulberry trees, which I can imagine were a wonderful source of food and climbing adventures for the children that lived there over the years. The Harris’ House remained in the family for over a century, until it was sold in 1949. The original plantings remained in 1996, when the property was listed on the City of Busselton’s Municipal Heritage Inventory, which is the source of this history.
Sadly The Harris’ House was demolished in 2000. Thankfully local historian, author and heritage consultant Judith Murray was at the property prior to its demolition and saved the incredible old fire surround, which is now at Wildcroft. When Judi saw that the mantelpiece at Wildcroft had been removed, she knew that the piece she had salvaged from The Harris’ House, nearly two decades prior, would be just perfect. And from the scrapes of paint that remained at Wildcroft, the two had been the exact same colour. Perhaps there wasn’t an extensive range of paint colours available during that time period, we joked. Hayden painstakingly installed the salvaged pieces, ensuring that it looked like it had always been there.
When Jasmine Ann Gardiner came to stay, she captured this special piece perfectly, styled with an exquisite floral wreath by Rose & Wild. Here in its new home, The Harris’ House fire surround will be a reminder of past people and places. And hopefully this little blog will mean a few more people know and share this small but important piece of our local history.
