“Dove Cottage” – Paynes Avenue, Alexandra
“Dove Cottage”, originally named “Allendale”, is a small, basic, miner’s cottage tucked away in the far west end of Alexandra’s Leckie Park, in a narrow stretch of land between the Ultima Thule Creek and Paynes Avenue.
Although it is not thought to be the original structure on the site, Dove Cottage is nonetheless based strongly upon the old style of miners’ huts that were used in the district from the early 1800s through to the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Built in approximately 1890, “Dove Cottage” is small, consisting of only four rooms; a front parlour, two bedrooms and a kitchen (featuring an Edwardian Lux stove installed in the early Twentieth Century). The cottage would have originally only been the two rooms, but was extended when the miner’s family grew or he could afford to extend his dwelling. There is no indoor plumbing for a bathroom and the original privy and laundry are housed in a separate building at the back of the property. Built of weatherboard with a simple front verandah and a hand fashioned red brick chimney, “Dove Cottage” made for easy building and maintenance, whilst adequately meeting the miner’s simple needs at the time.
Whilst the cottage is currently vacant, and now one of the Alexandra Historical Society’s principal sites in the township, it has for the most part been occupied by local people, including Sarah Dove (from whom the cottage renders its current name). She lost her original home in the 1939 Black Friday fires that ravished north eastern Victoria, and took up residence in what was then called “Allendale”, where she took in washing, ironing and mending for the local community. She remained an occupant until the early 1980s when she was in her dotage. No-one with dirty boots was allowed to walk across her spotlessly scrubbed pine floors, and when there were leaks in the tongue-and-groove ceiling, she used chewing gum to fill the gaps. Sarah was also “Dove Cottage’s” final tenant.
In 2009 in a state of severe neglect, the local history organisation the Murrindindi Historical Register applied to use the historical building as their place of business. Subsequent funding from the Federal Government in 2010 of around $75,000.00 allowed the cottage to be fully restored to a more original state.
Alexandra is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located at the junction of the Goulburn Valley Highway (B340) and Maroondah Highway (B360), 26 kilometres west of Eildon. The town was settled in the late 1860s, with a Post Office opening on 15 March 1867 (known until 24 April 1867) as Redgate. The town was originally known as Redgate, or Red Gate Diggings. The current name either derives from Alexandra of Denmark (Queen’s Consort to King Edward VII of England) when given a stature of her to the shire; or from three men named Alexander (Alesander, McGregor, Alexander Don, and Alexander Luckie) who discovered gold in the area in 1866. Charles Jones born Herefordshire also discovered Gold on the Luckie Mine in 1866. He bought a Hotel with John Henry Osborne and was the proprietor of the New York and London Hotel Grant Street Alexandra. The railway to Alexandra arrived in the town via Yea from Tallarook in 1909, and closed on November 18, 1978. The Rubicon Tramway connected Alexandra with the village of Rubicon, at the junction of the Rubicon and Royston Rivers. Today many tourists pass through Alexandra on their way to the Mount Buller ski resort from Melbourne. The town contains the Timber Tramway and Museum (located at the Alexandra Railway Station), and the National Trust classified post office and law courts. There is a local market on the second Saturday of each month from September to May, an annual art show at Easter, an agricultural show and rose festival in November, and the annual Truck, Rod and Ute Show in June.
“Dove Cottage” – Paynes Avenue, Alexandra
“Dove Cottage”, originally named “Allendale”, is a small, basic, miner’s cottage tucked away in the far west end of Alexandra’s Leckie Park, in a narrow stretch of land between the Ultima Thule Creek and Paynes Avenue.
Although it is not thought to be the original structure on the site, Dove Cottage is nonetheless based strongly upon the old style of miners’ huts that were used in the district from the early 1800s through to the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Built in approximately 1890, “Dove Cottage” is small, consisting of only four rooms; a front parlour, two bedrooms and a kitchen (featuring an Edwardian Lux stove installed in the early Twentieth Century). The cottage would have originally only been the two rooms, but was extended when the miner’s family grew or he could afford to extend his dwelling. There is no indoor plumbing for a bathroom and the original privy and laundry are housed in a separate building at the back of the property. Built of weatherboard with a simple front verandah and a hand fashioned red brick chimney, “Dove Cottage” made for easy building and maintenance, whilst adequately meeting the miner’s simple needs at the time.
Whilst the cottage is currently vacant, and now one of the Alexandra Historical Society’s principal sites in the township, it has for the most part been occupied by local people, including Sarah Dove (from whom the cottage renders its current name). She lost her original home in the 1939 Black Friday fires that ravished north eastern Victoria, and took up residence in what was then called “Allendale”, where she took in washing, ironing and mending for the local community. She remained an occupant until the early 1980s when she was in her dotage. No-one with dirty boots was allowed to walk across her spotlessly scrubbed pine floors, and when there were leaks in the tongue-and-groove ceiling, she used chewing gum to fill the gaps. Sarah was also “Dove Cottage’s” final tenant.
In 2009 in a state of severe neglect, the local history organisation the Murrindindi Historical Register applied to use the historical building as their place of business. Subsequent funding from the Federal Government in 2010 of around $75,000.00 allowed the cottage to be fully restored to a more original state.
Alexandra is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located at the junction of the Goulburn Valley Highway (B340) and Maroondah Highway (B360), 26 kilometres west of Eildon. The town was settled in the late 1860s, with a Post Office opening on 15 March 1867 (known until 24 April 1867) as Redgate. The town was originally known as Redgate, or Red Gate Diggings. The current name either derives from Alexandra of Denmark (Queen’s Consort to King Edward VII of England) when given a stature of her to the shire; or from three men named Alexander (Alesander, McGregor, Alexander Don, and Alexander Luckie) who discovered gold in the area in 1866. Charles Jones born Herefordshire also discovered Gold on the Luckie Mine in 1866. He bought a Hotel with John Henry Osborne and was the proprietor of the New York and London Hotel Grant Street Alexandra. The railway to Alexandra arrived in the town via Yea from Tallarook in 1909, and closed on November 18, 1978. The Rubicon Tramway connected Alexandra with the village of Rubicon, at the junction of the Rubicon and Royston Rivers. Today many tourists pass through Alexandra on their way to the Mount Buller ski resort from Melbourne. The town contains the Timber Tramway and Museum (located at the Alexandra Railway Station), and the National Trust classified post office and law courts. There is a local market on the second Saturday of each month from September to May, an annual art show at Easter, an agricultural show and rose festival in November, and the annual Truck, Rod and Ute Show in June.