Mayes Cottage
Mayes Cottage is a historic house and museum in Kingston, Queensland, Australia.[1] Built in 1887, Mayes Cottage was originally home to the Mayes family and known as "Pleasant Place".[2]
The house—located at 36 Mawarra Street—was built 16 years after John and Emily Mayes first arrived in Australia. John and Emily Mayes and their two small children, Joshua and Ruth, arrived in Brisbane from England aboard the SS Indus in 1871. They had another 5 children. The first two children both didn't survive. Ruth was only 12 years old and drowned in the well. In June 1873 John took up 321 acres (130 ha) of land in the Kingston area, then known as Scrubby Creek.
John and Emily Mayes raised their family in this house after surviving their first years in a simple slab hut. The remains of the original slab hut are still located within the grounds to the west of the cottage and was repurposed as a garage for the family car several years later. After the death of his father (John) in 1908, Josiah and his wife Daisy took over the family farm.
In 1922, a dairy was constructed at "Pleasant Place", and milking was conducted in the milking shed, which still stands under the fig tree planted for shading the area. By the mid 1950s Josiah was not able to maintain or work the farm and the family sold off the land bordering Wembley Road. Ten acres were kept around the house where Josiah and Daisy lived until 1972.
In 1974 the Queensland Housing Commission resumed most of the family property and after Daisy and Josiah’s deaths the Commission sought to acquire the house too. A local action group lobbied to save the historic property, which was listed by the National Trust of Australia and gazetted a reserve for Park and Recreation in 1979.
Mayes Cottage today is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register[3] and is owned by the Logan City Council. It is now open to the public as a museum.
Further reading
- Mayes Cottage: House Museum by Mary Howells
- Albert and Logan News: June 2, 1990
- Logan City Council Local Studies
References
- ^ "Mayes Cottage". Jazzqueensland.com. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ^ "Mayes Cottage - Logan City Council". Logan.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ^ "Mayes Cottage (entry 600662)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 31 May 2011.