In 1933 the owner of the cottage decided to sell it with a condition of sale that the building remain in England. She was persuaded to change "England" to "the Empire", and accepted an Australian bid of £800, by Russell Grimwade as opposed to the highest local offer of £300. The cottage was deconstructed brick by brick and packed into 253 cases and 40 barrels, for shipping on board the Port Dunedin from Hull.
Cuttings from ivy that adorned the house were also taken and planted when the house was re-erected in Melbourne. Grimwade, a notable businessman and philanthropist, donated the house to the people of Victoria for the centenary anniversary of the settlement of Melbourne in October 1934. The cottage immediately became a popular tourist attraction. In 1978 further restoration work was carried out on the cottage. An English cottage garden has been established around the house, further adding to its period reconstruction. Very few of the items in the house are from the Cook family, but all are representative furnishings of the period.
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.
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| Front view of the Cottage. A souvenir shop is located in the front single storey part of the house |
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| Back view of the Cottage with its delightful cottage garden |
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| The kitchen/living room with its period furniture and implements |
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| The main bedroom upstairs. One cannot be but impressed with how compact and small everything seems |
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| Portrait of Captain Cook and a model of the "Endeavour", his most famous ship used in his exploration journeys |
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| Back garden and a statue of Cook |
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| Traditional plants popular in 18th century English gardens have been planted in the back yard. Here is a delightful hollyhock |
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| The Fitzroy Gardens is a delightful setting for the cottage |
Wonderful. I've seen this but never been inside.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful home!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic, Nick! Such a beautiful home and how wonderful that it has been preserved so perfectly! Your captures are superb as always! Hope your week is going well!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Thank's for taking us on the tour -- it is a beautiful cottage. We love to tour places like this -- such a fun way to learn history. (And doesn't seem too compact to me -- we live in compact house.)
ReplyDeleteI also like places like this. It's fun to see what life was like back then. Makes us appreciate our modern conveniences. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful cottage and garden!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour!
Great shots.
Greetings Mette
It appears to be kept in wonderful condotion and I love the grounds as well as the building.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us on this delightful tour:) Don't forget, people in previous centuries were shorter and smaller.
ReplyDeleteI also like to visit these types of places. The garden is pretty and the cottage is well kept.
ReplyDeleteA piece of history recorded for us, readers. Thanks Nick. I could learn a little more about capt.Cook. A lovely place to be remembered.
ReplyDeleteIn India too, we preserve the house used by Mahatma Gandhi, Father of our Nation. But it is very simple and sparsely furnished, on the river bank of Sabarmati.
That's a wonderful looking place.
ReplyDeleteThis brick house makes a time machine to Cook period.I love both the house and its beautiful English garden, Nick.
ReplyDeleteI love the Fitzroy Gardens. We are fortunate to have such green expanses so close to the CBD. Hard to imagine that the cottage was deconstructed, shipped halfway across the globe and rebuilt here in Melbourne. I still remember being amazed how small the doorways are from my childhood visits to Cook's Cottage. People must have been so small in centuries passed.
ReplyDeleteLovely post Nick.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that they shipped entire houses over.
The captain must have been used to tight quarters after living shipbound for so long :-)
Floral Friday?
DeleteAh, you've forgotten me already :-)
It does look a little ... cosy. But that would make it a lot easier to keep warm and light.
ReplyDeletebeautiful Photos! thanks for sharing Joann
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