A stroll down Penola's past
Alexander Cameron bought the freehold to 80 acres of land next to the hotel he owned in 1850. He subdivided the land and created the township of Penola, the first residential street was Petticoat Lane. The first resident of Petticoat Lane was Christopher Sharam, the local bookmaker, followed by Mr Hailes, a blacksmith.
As you enter the lane the first major building you encounter is the Woods MacKillop Schoolhouse which was built in 1867. The schoolhouse was built near the church and next to the first residential street in the town. The cottages in Petticoat Lane can be best described as 'rustic' and give an authentic look into the living conditions of non wealthy locals.
Gammon Cottage (along with some other heritage cottages in Petticoat Lane is owned by the National Trust). It was built in 1869 and has a separate kitchen building, which was common due to the risk of fire. Some of these cottages were built in the Scottish/English tradition of no verandahs unlike the ones that were built later with verandahs surrounding the house to protect from the heat of an Australian summer.
Wilson's cottage
Wilson's cottage is a stone cottage built in 1856, it is also owned by the National Trust. William Wilson pushed a wheelbarrow of his belongings to Ballarat to search for gold. He was successful enough to earn enough to buy land for this cottage and an orchard. I liked the old petticoats hung out on the washing line. It gave the street an added heritage vibe.
Across the road at the back of the heritage rose garden is this simple hut. It was built in the 1850s, much later David McAdam was the last person to live in this hut. He had been a Warden for the Church of England. After he moved out it became the kitchen for a cottage. The hut was donated to the National Trust in 1975 and only moved to its current spot in 2019.
Christopher Sharam bought one of the first subdivided blocks of land from Alexander Cameron in 1850 and he built the first house in Petticoat Lane. The cottage on the left is the simple slab cottage he built for himself and his wife Ellen. As the family grew he built the second cottage around 1864. The family used both cottages, the older cottage was the cooking and living cottage, the newer cottage was the sleeping cottage with the bedrooms.
The walls of the newer cottage are covered with layers of wallpaper, a new layer of wall paper was just plastered on top of the existing wallpaper. The layers have been left for people to see, the wallpaper served a practical purpose as it provided insulation from the cold winters. The floor was also covered with layers of lino, again it was insulation. The bedrooms are tiny, but as the sign pointed out, whilst the Sharams had a large family, they would't have all lived in the house at the same time. The oldest daughter was already married and living in her own home when the youngest daughter was born. The boys would have gone out to work as shepherds once they turned twelve and so lived out on farms.
Petticoat Lane at various times had different names, including Christie's Lane after Christopher Sharam.
The National Trust open up the Sharam cottages and there's no cost to enter. The back of the older cottage there's a herb garden and an information display on the Sharam family members.
The National Trust also own Davidson Cottage which can be rented out as holiday accomodation. As it was occupied while I was there I thought I wouldn't take pictures of it.
Strolling down Petticoat Lane does really give you a great idea how tough the conditions were for those early settlers. Especially looking through the Sharam cottages, so well worth spending a bit of time exploring the Lane.
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