Last weekend was a weekend of historic open homes in southern Tas. Yah... perfect weekend for me! So mumma bear, poppy, my bestie and I all piled into the car on an adventure. Our property of choice was Shene.
The land of Shene was first granted in 1819 to Edward Paine by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Paine was a London merchant who was facing bankruptcy in England. He set sail from London on the David Shaw in June 1819 bound for Van Diemen’s Land. The property was then acquired by Gamaliel Butler who saw the opportunities in this new land. The iconic Shene Stables were designed by Gamaliel’s son Francis and constructed with convict labour. These stables are a reflection of the Butler family’s wealth and position in the new colony. In the early days of settlement, wheat grown on Shene helped feed the fledgling colonies of Sydney Cove and Sullivans Cove.
We started the tour in the barn - nothing to exciting about this building to report. It was built during the period when Australia was over run with bushrangers. It's windows are fortified to allow for shooting out of. In the pic below you can see the windows!
Next on the tour was the stables, the eastern entrance is pictured above. The building was able to house 13 horse, a carriage, all the tack, feed and the stable boys. On each end there are self supporting cantilever stairs and a spiral staircase in the middle that goes up the tower.
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| Horse Stall with Feed Box |
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| Spiral Staircase |
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| The Tower |
Saddle Rack
The Homestead
Do you guys have a favourite historic house?
Until next time
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