Properties By Region

Old Farm Strawberry Hill Information

By 1829, when the settlement at Albany was still a New South Wales military outpost, the locality of Strawberry Hill had already been cleared and was being farmed with a moderate degree of success. In March 1831, control of King George's Sound was transferred to the newly established colony of Western Australia. The government-owned farm at Strawberry Hill was leased out for several years before Sir Richard Spencer purchased the property in 1833. Spencer had served a distinguished naval career and had obtained the post of Government Resident for the fledgling port. Spencer travelled from England to King George's Sound with his wife and 9 children (a tenth being born shortly after their arrival).

Gradually the buildings at Strawberry Farm were erected and improved and by 1836 the gardens were well established, providing a gentile backdrop for the district's social life: poetry readings, balls and family weddings were commonplace.

The farm was also thriving with a good crop of wheat and a stock of sheep that had tripled whilst grazing there.

In 1837 Sir Richard suffered his first stroke, the second fatal stroke coming in 1839. He was buried on the hillside above the house in a spot that he had chosen for its beautiful view of the sea. Lady Spencer stayed on in the house until 1855, when she too passed away. Her body was buried alongside her husband and two of her sons. Her eldest son took over the farm until his death in 1869.

In 1870, part of the house was destroyed by fire and the building and farmland gradually deteriorated with neglect. In 1887 the land was subdivided and several of the lots sold. During this time, the house was used as a slaughterhouse for a couple of years.

In early1889, the house passed into ownership of a young architect, Francis Bird, and so began the second phase of the house.

Bird set to work renovating and restoring the house and by December 1889, the Bird family moved to Strawberry Hill. Mrs Bird changed the name of the farm to "The Old Farm" and this name was used throughout the Bird period.

By the 1890s, Albany was a bustling and important town, the main entry point for most visitors to WA. There was a well established rail link to Perth and at the time, Fremantle harbour was undeveloped and substandard.

With the house renovated and the gardens restored to their former glory, Strawberry Hill was once again the centre of social activity in Albany. The farmland was being leased out until 1904, when Bird's fifth son took it over and produced crops of vegetables for sale on the goldfields.

Francis Bird died in 1937 and his wife lived there until her death in 1946. The place slowly became neglected again and after Mrs Bird's death, her son and his wife lived at the farm, doing what they could to preserve it. The Government bought the property in 1956 and in 1963 it was transferred to the National Trust. An appeal was launched for funds for its restoration and in 1966 the National Trust's first property was opened to the public.

Visitors to this beautiful property now number around 10,000 annually, with many coming to admire and enjoy the magnificent gardens.