Badgers Wood
History
1937 - Transfer of Badgers Wood from Edna Walling to Annie Peterson and Olive Foreman. The absence of a special Walling covenant indicates a structure had already been constructed 1948 - Transfer from Peterson to Agnes Morris 1955 - Transfer from Morris to Frederick & Vivian McKeever. Frederick & Vivian were parents of Brian McKeever who later owned Downderry and designed the extension to Badgers Wood 1960 - Transfer from McKeever to Elizabeth Barnard 1977 - Badgers Wood sub-divided into 2 lots 1977 - Transfer from Barnard to Simon & Christine Wincer 1980 - Original cottage extended 1983 - Pool and carport added 1988 - Transfer from Wincer to Ray & Sam Pant 2002 - Transfer from Pant to Viberto Selochan and Carmel Gray 2011 - Transfer from Selochan & Gray to Mike O'Loughlin and Anna Beesley 2018 - Transfer from Mike O'Loughlin and Anna Beesley to Tim McGaw and Melissa Varga |
Badgers Wood was constructed in 1937 on a large allotment that was sub-divided in 1977 to allow construction of another house, now called The Spinney.
In 1980, the original cottage was substantially, but sympathetically, extended by the film producer Simon Wincer (The Man from Snowy River, The Cup). At the western end of the house significant elements of the original cottage and Edna Walling's 'signature' features have been retained - a high-pitched roof, a stone chimney and low-set windows, allowing the garden to be brought 'inside'. These elements continue through into the extension with the new lower level rooms being nestled into the garden. Throughout Badgers Wood local stone has been used extensively - for the front dry-stone wall, paths, steps and the pool surrounds, often softened with violets, forget-me-nots and babies-tears. The garden exemplifies Edna Walling's use of mass and void, with the creation of garden rooms. Significant trees include the well-established hawthorns at the front of the house, a large Golden Elm in the lower half of the garden, tall eucalypts and a Weeping Elm on the western side of the house. Lower/middle storey plants include japonica, viburnums, azaleas, hellebores, bulbs, camellias, roses, wintersweet and spirea. Anna & Mike are the previous custodians, who are working to keep alive Edna Walling's vision through the ongoing renewal of Badgers Wood. They have planted red maples, ornamental pears, crepe myrtles and chinese pistachios to bring more seasonal colour to the garden. This website seeks to document the history of Badgers Wood through photos and capture the changes that have been made to both the building and the gardens. If you have photos of Badgers Wood and would like to contribute to that history, please contact us using the link below. |
September 2019
Photo Gallery |
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