Former 19th century Birkdale dairy farm is heritage listed
An excellent early example of a 19th century dairy farming complex is the latest historic place to be protected by Queensland’s heritage laws.
The Queensland Heritage Council (QHC) entered the 139-year-old former Willard’s Farm, on Old Cleveland Road East at Birkdale, into the Queensland Heritage Register on 8 March 2022.
“Constructed in stages from 1863, the former Willard’s Farm is an important reminder of early Queensland farming complexes that developed from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century,” QHC Chair Leslie Shirreffs said.
“The farm also illustrates Queensland Government policy of the mid 1800s – leasing and selling land for agricultural purposes to encourage settlement growth and prosperity, and to raise money for the new Treasury.”
One of the special qualities of the former Willard’s Farm is the way in which it shows how such a farm would have appeared and functioned originally.
The farmhouse, milking shed, cream shed, outbuildings, water tanks, garage and mature trees and gardens have a high degree of original integrity.
“The construction techniques that were employed are interesting, with early farm buildings erected using locally sourced timber and early carpentry techniques.
“Adzing and hand sawing marks are visible on the rough-hewn timber slabs, while later buildings demonstrate the move towards milled timber construction,” Ms Shirreffs said
The Birkdale area was one of the first places in the Moreton Bay district where rural land was sold to private citizens after Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859.
James Willard, who arrived at Moreton Bay from Plymouth in 1858, was the original owner of the 45-acre (18.2 ha) property, purchasing it in 1863.
By the late 1880s he had turned the farm into a successful dairy operation, later including maize and sweet potato crops, and gradually increasing his land holdings to more than 400 acres (161 ha).
While details of the property’s original purchase price are unclear, it is known that in 1866 Willard mortgaged the initial 18.2 ha to the Queensland Building Society for £50.
The Willard family continued to own the property after the deaths of James Willard (in 1914) and his wife Margaret (in 1916), with the farm being leased to a number of share farmers during the 1930s.
It was sold to Herbert Daniel in 1938 and then to Rosemary Cotton in 1941.
The Cotton family remained on the farm during World War II, but much of the farm’s land was requisitioned by the United States military to set up a radio receiving station, this infrastructure and land later transitioning to the Commonwealth Government.
(The former radio receiving station is itself heritage listed.)
The Cotton family retained just over 4 acres (1.6 ha) of the original farm, selling it in 1980, with the farm being sold again in 1985.
The land and farm buildings were purchased by Redland City Council in 2016 following community efforts to save the buildings from possible demolition.
“The farm complex is a time capsule for a long-gone era when today’s urban lands were rural farm holdings supporting Queensland’s sparse population, just 25,000 in total when James Willard purchased the original property,” Ms Shirreffs said.
“The farm buildings are already included in the Redland City Council’s City Plan as a local heritage place and Council has purchased much of the original lands as part of its Birkdale Community Precinct Vision, with Willard’s Farm a prominent feature of the precinct’s vision.
“Council also commissioned in 2021 a detailed updated Conservation (Heritage) Management Plan for Willard’s Farm to help inform its protection and restoration.
“The Queensland Heritage Council acknowledges Council’s commitment to the area, and I am pleased we could build on that commitment by entering Willard’s Farm in the state heritage register.”
The application to heritage list Willard’s Farm was submitted by the Birkdale Progress Association.
Anyone can apply to have a place listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Places entered in the Queensland Heritage Register are protected under the state’s heritage legislation, helping ensure they are maintained and retained for future generations.
Find further information on Willard’s Farm.