Wildcroft Cottages | Non-business places

Wildcroft Cottages

Phone: +61 439 997 426

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• Landmark & historical place
• Non-business places

24.01.2022 And this is us . . . Thank you @freedomgarveyphotographer for capturing our little family and our labour of love

24.01.2022 These two . . Countless hours have been put into this restoration over the past three years. And countless more are needed. But these two just keep going - planning, working and then problem solving all the unexpected things that pop up when restoring an old building. Like that time they had to take half the roof off, reframe it and put it back on again. .... . . Thank you for all that you do . . @freedomgarveyphotographer See more

15.01.2022 Old Tom . . Old Tom came to live at what was then Springfield after he was found more or less starving on the side of the road. JW brought him home, and Old Tom lived out the rest of his days at the property. He is buried in the Old Pioneer Cemetery in Busselton. .... . He told JW that he was a Canadian who had sailed to North Newfoundland, but had been press ganged back on to a ship, which apparently happened to many sailors in those days. Old Tom said ‘they’d get them drunk, take them onto a ship, and they’d be 100 miles out to sea by the time they sobered up. They couldn’t do anything else but go on the trip’. . . Old Tom ended up over east and managed to escape by jumping ship. He then worked his away across the country to the Busselton area. . . Old Tom told the Armstrong’s that he was a captain, capable of sailing any vessel anywhere in world. After the kindness shown to him by JW he decided to stay at the property, teaching the Armstrong children how to read and write. . . A member of the Armstrong family recently managed to get in touch with Old Tom’s relatives back in Canada. They had never known what had become of him and were amazed at the adventurous life he had led all the way in Australia. . . @freedomgarveyphotographer Reference: Busselton historical society newsletter, Dec 2006

15.01.2022 Peeling back the years. . . We’ve been through white, cream and blue paint, now we are onto the orange! Trying to get these windows back to raw jarrah, to match those in the cottage Thank goodness for paint stripper!!

15.01.2022 Me. . . And my two favourite old buildings .... . Freedom Garvey Photographer See more

14.01.2022 I believe that the stories of this place are her soul. Some heart warming, others heart breaking. I guess I have known this since the day I first stepped foot on this property, immediately drawn to the dilapidated old buildings that many others saw as a hindrance, but it took a gentle push to realise their true importance. . . . Over the last few months I’ve been completing the online program of @thehostingmasterclass and the importance of our house story has become so clear..., and how that story guides us in the restoration of the building and our dreams of sharing this little cottage with others. Thank you Sarah for all that you do . . . Anna Nugent, circa 1958 See more

12.01.2022 Beautiful vintage brass cage light arrived today from @justone_morething_vintage . . . Love finding precious one off pieces for when the cottage is ready for styling!

11.01.2022 The new internal wall is going up to create the master bedroom. We’ve altered the layout of the cottage slightly, to create a hallway with two bedrooms and an open kitchen and living at the back of the building. . . . Plumbing is happening and our custom cabinetry will get started in the next few weeks

09.01.2022 Today the last section of slabs that require lining are being taken down, the marine ply put up and painted and the slabs replaced in exact order. There’s also a small window to go into this section. All before the rain comes in... nothing like a bit of pressure to get the job done!

07.01.2022 Saturday’s intimate wedding ceremony in the pine forest . . . @freedomgarveyphotographer

05.01.2022 Our little cottage in 1958/59. Anna Nugent, from her book A Waltz in the West

04.01.2022 Our 'before' photos

03.01.2022 Hard times . . After the tragic death of Eliza and baby Elizabeth in 1900, times became even tougher for the Armstrong family. JW continued to work away from the property to provide an income for his children. That left day to day care of the younger children and running of the property to Florrie and Jim, aged just 13 and 12 years. .... . Their tasks included bringing in the sheep every evening to protect them from dingos, which were plentiful in the area at that time. The children were often very hungry while completing this task, once managing to catch a possum to eat to fill their empty bellies. . . At times they were also frightened. When a strange man came to the cottage one day and wouldn’t leave, Florrie got her father’s gun and shot at him through the window. He quickly left, apparently very scared but unharmed. . . I often think of this little family and of how hard times must have been. I hope that despite the responsibility placed on these children at such a young age, that they were still able to experience the joys of childhood living on this property, as our children are currently doing. Chasey down grassy hills, hide and seek in the trees. Rope swings, cubby houses and various animals to play with. . . Freedom Garvey Photographer . . From Raymond Keenan Oral History - Busselton Oral History Group. The recordings made by this group have provided so much valuable information when researching the property, thank you! See more

01.01.2022 Nearly ready for gyprocking . . We are keeping the original fabric of the walls under the framing and the internal wall will remain as is. This room was lined with kerosene tins, as the family used what they had to seal the cottage from the elements. It is now lined with tin. We believe the jarrah floorboards are original, probably salvaged from the previous home that stood on the property. .... . Thanks to Spencer for photo bombing 90% of the progress photos I took today See more