Macpherson Homestead

The heritage listed Macpherson Homestead was one of the first buildings in the Carnamah district. Following restoration the homestead is standing strong over 130 years after its construction.

The homestead is situated one kilometre east of the Carnamah townsite and is accessible via a sign-posted driveway on the north side of the Carnamah-Bunjil Road. The homestead and its grounds can be visited at anytime. If you would like to look inside the homestead please make prior arrangements by telephone with George on 08 9951 1690, or Jill on 08 9951 1575 or 0458 576 758.


History of the Macpherson Family & Homestead

Scottish born Duncan and Mary Macpherson arrived in the Swan River Colony in 1848. They leased a farming property in Toodyay until a disastrous fire and large debts saw them evicted in late 1867. During the first half of 1868 they moved with their eight children to pastoral leases in Carnamah. They were the first non-indigenous family to settle at Carnamah and following the Nairn family were the second family to settle in what is now the wider Carnamah district.

With assistance from his sons Duncan Macpherson established Carnamah Station, which peaked at over 120,000 acres. The family settled near Carnamah Spring where they built an impressively large homestead from local stone and bush timber. During the Macpherson family’s residence their homestead was known as Carnamah House. The northern telegraph line to Champion Bay (Geraldton) was put through in 1874 with a telegraph post in an outbuilding at the their homestead. Duncan’s daughter Elizabeth ran the telegraph office for the first two months after which it was operated by his younger daughter Margaret for almost 40 years.

The Macpherson family bred horses, cattle and sheep. In addition Duncan was the mail contractor to deliver mail to inland stations between Perth and Geraldton, and his sons George and Donald sold and carted timber and supplies to mines. Following Duncan’s death in 1898 his sons George and Donald ran the station, and after George’s death in 1904 Donald was the station’s sole owner. Donald gradually leased less land before selling the majority of his holdings in 1919. Donald and his sisters Margaret and Elizabeth never married and resided in the homestead until their respective deaths. Following Elizabeth's death in 1939 their grandnephew Malcolm J. C. Macpherson inherited the homestead, which he leased and later sold to local farmer George S. Ferguson.

Over the years the homestead changed hands, became unoccupied and began to rapidly deteriorate. Between 1979 and 2004 the Carnamah Apex Club, Carnamah Restoration Society and the Carnamah Historical Society restored the homestead with locally raised funds and grants from Lotterywest. In 1981 local farmers Glendon H. and Jennifer M. A. Lane donated the homestead and a parcel of surrounding land to the Shire of Carnamah. Following the conclusion of restoration works in 2004 the homestead was furnished with donated items. Ian M. Macpherson, eldest son of Malcolm J. C. Macpherson, officially opened the homestead on 23 October 2004.

The Heritage Council of Western Australia assessed the homestead as having “particular structural interest, with its high walls and steeply pitched roof and bush rafters.” The homestead is a permanent entry on the Heritage Council’s State Register of Heritage Places.

McPherson Homestead
The stonework lining the sides of this website is from the ruins of the kitchen at the Macpherson Homestead.