Avondale Farm

Avondale Farm

Avondale is located on land originally assigned in the 1830's to the first Governor of the Swan River Colony, Captain James Stirling RN, and Harbour Master Mark Currie RN. Several wealthy owners during the 19th century saw Avondale in Western Australia grow to over 5260 hectares in size. In 1910 Avondale was purchased by the Lands Department. After World War I most of Avondale was subdivided and sold to returned soldiers as repatriation farms. The remaining homestead block of 705 hectares faced an uncertain future for several years until it was vested in the Department of Agriculture in 1924. Since the 1990's Avondale has been open to the public, but remains a fully functional agricultural research station devoted to the development of sustainable farming practices. Visitors can see the 1850's Homestead in the Colonial Garden Setting, the 1890's Stable Complex, the large display of historic Agricultural Machinery dating back to the 1860's, and the Farm Animal Nursery with baby lambs, piglets, etc, as well as the free-range Sheep and Emus in an Australian rural setting.

May 2008Showing 1-83 of 8314795 visitsAlbum by gladysclancyPhotos by Gladys

1 Welcome to Avondale Homestead An 1850’s Homestead Museum: the original pioneer homestead is furnished in period style and set in traditional colonial gardens.	2 Hisotry of this Colonial Homestead	3 Avondale Homestead The Avondale Homestead was built in 1850 during the ownership of Nicholas Carey, a wealthy landowner who lived in Guernsey. It was the original residence of the manager who had to oversee the shepherds who grazed their flocks of sheep on the 17,000 acres of un-developed land, that formed the Avondale Estate.
4 Colonial Garden in front of Laundry The gardens have been redesigned to reflect our Colonial heritage and include a citrus orchard, grape vines, old varieties of roses and a kitchen garden.	5 Laundry Mangle	6 Homestead viewed from Colonial Garden
7 Wheelbarrow and Historical Items	8 Water-cooled Coolgardie Safe	9 Bird's Nest in Forked Branch
10 View from Homestead	11 Farm Tractor approaches Homestead	12 Farm Tractor Avondale is a fully functional agricultural research station devoted to the development of sustainable farming practices.
13 Verandah shades the Homestead The Homestead was occupied until the late 1970’s when restoration began. It features pressed tin ceilings, jarrah floor boards and local brick of English garden bond construction. The furniture and homestead memorabilia were donated by families throughout the state, and create a cosy atmosphere reminiscent of a rural home at the turn of the century.	14 Depratment of Agriculture Avondale Research Station The Avondale Project was officially opened on 16 March 1979 by HRH The Prince of Wales. The project commemorates the contribution which farmers and scientists have made towards the development of the State since the establishment of the Colony of Western Australia in 1829.	15 Avondale Farm The original land grant was located between the Avon and Dale Rivers, hence the name Avondale.
16 Flowering Gum (Eucalypt)	17 Piglets in the Animal Nursery	18 Baby Piglet
19 Emu and Sheep in the distance	20 Emu stands tall while Sheep graze	21 Young Lamb looks at camera
22 Two Young Piglets	23 Three Geese	24 Farm Geese
25 Young Lambs	26 Lamb close up	27 Emus walk along the fenceline
28 Emu portrait	29 Adorable Lamb	30 Australian Wattle
31 Historical Silo c1927	32 Silage Silo c1927 Originally used to store Silage which is a special fodder for stock made of crop or pasture.	33 Silage Silo c1927 Originally used to store Silage which is a special fodder for stock made of crop or pasture.
34 Pink and Grey Galahs Galahs search for seed and grain spilt near the silos.	35 Historic Stables c1890 Built to house Avondale's working horses.	36 1890's Oregon Pine Stable Complex This substantial construction is timber framed and iron clad, of Yorkshire design and considered unique in Western Australia.
37 Old Wagon Wheel in the Stables	38 Harness Room	39 Horse Stalls There are ten stalls down each side and an overhead loft. There can be several Clydesdale horses at Avondale at any one time.
40 Horse-drawn Cart	41 Stables c1890 Built to house Avondale's working horses.	42 Stables c1890 A horseworks, chaff cutter and blacksmiths shop complete the stable complex.
43 Horse Works c1915 at end of Stables	44 Horse Works c1915 Used in the past to cut chaff for horse fodder.	45 Remains of Horse Works
46 Horse Works at end of Stables	47 Wattle in Bloom	48 Blacksmiths Workshop Blacksmiths made horseshoes for the working horses, fixed cart wheels and made tools for the Research Station.
49 Blacksmiths Workshop	50 Wooden Barrel	51 Water Trough made from hollowed Log
52 Shearing Shed c1961	53 Flowering Gum (Eucalypt)	54 Flowering Gum (Eucalypt)
55 Avondale Dam Dams provide a way to collect valuable rainfall in the Wheatbelt. Water is used for stock and homes on farms.	56 Avondale Dam Some farm dams are used for producing Yabbies and Marron.	57 Avondale Dam This dam holds 2000 cubic metres of water. That is enough water to fill two olympic size swimming pools.
58 Avondale Dam	59 Wattle (Acacia)	60 Avondale Machinery Museum One of the largest collections of historic agricultural machinery in the Southern Hemisphere.
61 Historic Farm Machinery 1860-1960	62 Massey Harris Tractor and Steam Engine	63 Ford Truck
64 Steam Engine	65 Sunshine Harvester c1907	66 The Ridley Stripper c1864
67 Peacock Horse Drawn Stripper	68 Fargo Truck	69 Chevrolet Truck awaits restoration
70 Caterpillar 2 Ton Tractor	71 Patent Duplex Bagger	72 Barrow Linton Clover Harvester
73 Wagon	74 FJ Holden Ute	75 Horse-drawn Tram
76 Windmill to pump Water from Bore	77 Piezometer Piezometers measure the water table level deep in the ground. If the pole is green the watertable is at a safe level. If the pole is yellow the watertable needs to be monitored carefully. If the pole is red the watertable is dangerously high and micht cause problems like salinity.	78 The Pole is Green on this Piezometer Piezometers measure the water table level deep in the ground. If the pole is green the watertable is at a safe level. If the pole is yellow the watertable needs to be monitored carefully. If the pole is red the watertable is dangerously high and micht cause problems like salinity.
79 Flowering Gum (Eucalypt)	80 Wattle (Acacia)	81 Another view of Avondale Dam
82 Widescreen view of Avondale Dam	83 Panorama of Avondale Dam