Rees Homestead Park

The Homestead

The Rees homestead, built by 1865, was a very grand affair and would have appeared luxurious compared to the tiny cottages, tents and shacks of the gold miners who were flooding the district. As such it demonstrates both William Gilbert Rees' status in the district and benefits of his payout after Queenstown was declared a goldfield, and he was forced to abandon his homestead in Queenstown Bay.

It was two storeys high with a wide and welcoming front verandah and large bay windows. Inside there was a parlour, dining room, kitchen, scullery, pantry and about four bedrooms. It was built of timber with painted timber weatherboards and would have been roofed with timber shingles.

From around 1900, a curved double laurel hedge connected the jetty at the lake's edge to the front door. The hedge that you see beside the path today was grown from cuttings taken from the original hedge. The two trees in this reserve were also part of the homestead garden and were possibly planted in the early 20th century.