"Allandale" at Dawesville
Allandale is located on 1.4 hectares of land on the shores of the Harvey Estuary at Dawesville south of Mandurah. It was originally a limestone and iron structure of six large rooms with an adjoining kitchen, bathroom and laundry. A separate cellar is adjacent to the kitchen. The home was built circa 1913 for Louis (Lou) Christopher Frederick Dawe as a residence for himself, his wife Emma and their six children.
Lou Dawe established a canning business in the mid 1890s, with partner Herb Ward, on the west side of Peel Inlet at an area named Pleasant Grove. This cannery was one of three that were fundamental to the development of Mandurah's fishing industry in the 1890s. This industry was the most lucrative for the district of Mandurah at the turn of the twentieth century.
The ease of catching fish in the estuary made it an attractive venture, but within ten to fifteen years overfishing had led to a decline in fish stocks. Lou Dawe stated, in 1906, that: “You seldom get good fish now? - It is a rare thing. When we started we used to have to cut a fish in lengths and take a piece of the flap off the belly to get it into the tin. If you get two fish to a tin now they are regarded as decent sized fish.”
This decline was acknowledged by both government and industry, but few practical efforts were made to conserve breeding grounds. Nevertheless, perhaps with the intention of finding new fish stocks, Lou Dawe decided to build a new fish-canning factory on the more remote Harvey Estuary and secured a lease of 160 acres in 1913.
Building Allandale commenced and limestone from the site was used. A workman from Kalamunda apparently travelled by horse and buggy to blast the rock and trim it with an axe. Construction of Allandale is claimed by some sources to have taken four years. This would explain discrepancies in dates that have been recorded for when Allandale was built. The Mandurah Historical Society have in their possession local histories on Allandale which record the dates 1913 and 1918 for when the house was built. The difference can perhaps be explained by the length of time the house took to build.
Fish canning at Allandale took place in a weatherboard and corrugated iron structure on the waterline of the estuary, south of the home. It was a family business and the children all contributed. The business continued throughout World War One but fish stocks continued to dwindle and competition from cheaper overseas suppliers meant that, by 1930, fish canning was no longer a viable local industry. In 1933, Lou Dawe purchased the land he had been leasing; his occupation was stated as 'Bee Farmer, former fish canner.' An apiary had been one of Dawe's sidelines since his time at Pleasant Grove, when he had extracted honey from 150 hives and won medals with his produce. Other forms of farming were also practiced by the Dawe family on the property.
During World War Two the Allandale cannery had a brief burst of activity when Reg Dawe, one of Lou and Emma's five sons, was manpowered to can fish for the Australian Army, which he did along with his younger brother Allan (for whom the house gets it's name)
Lou Dawe died in 1948 and Allandale became the property of his wife Emma. Her death in 1966 saw the 160 acres become jointly owned by her children. In the post war years Reg and Allan continued to sell locally until the early 1970s. In 1974 the homestead block of 1.4 hectares was separated from the original parcel of 160 acres. The factory gradually became unsafe and partially collapsed in 1976. The machinery was donated to the Mandurah Historical Society and is on display at the Mandurah Community Museum. What remained of the smokehouse and cannery was destroyed by Cyclone Alby in 1978, and the jetty too has been since been demolished.
The contribution of the Dawe family to the Mandurah area was recognised by the local council in 1980 by naming the locality in which Allandale is situated, Dawesville. Allandale is significant for its association with the Dawe family, one of the first families to settle in the area. Their family business and contribution to the fishing industry, particularly fish canning, was important to the development and expansion of the Mandurah area, during one of the most important periods in the history of the area.
Allandale continued to be occupied by members of the Dawe family until the death of Allan in 1993. The property was then sold in 1996, at about which time it was granted Heritage Listing. The property has since been restored and extended, and can now be rented for short-term accommodation, for those who are affluent enough to be able to afford it.
Allandale represents the simpler type of dwelling constructed early last century, fbeing constructed from limestone (quarried locally) and using readily available Tuart trees for the timberwork (felled and handsawn by family members). The internal and external walls were also rendered using slaked lime, sourced locally and applied by their eldest son Leonard (who, incidentally, was the CO’s grandfather). The proximity of the family business to the homestead demonstrates a way of life no longer practiced. Theirs was a life where they worked extremely hard, and what they couldn’t catch, grow or make themselves, or were able to barter, or sell for the funds to buy, then they simply had to do without.
Ironically, now, a century later, the local area is predominantly concerned with leisure activities.
Progress??
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