Woolmers Estate’s fascinating convict past, illustrated through preserved buildings and their interiors, make the historic site well worth a visit.
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The Longford estate was settled in 1817 by Thomas Archer I, and remained in the family for six generations, until Thomas Archer VI died in 1994.
Thomas Archer I arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1813 from England, and became the Deputy Commissariat of the Stores at Port Dalrymple.
He held many powerful positions in the colony, including Justice of the Peace in 1814, Coroner in 1816 and Magistrate in 1817.
His efforts were rewarded with a grant of 800 acres of land on the edge of the Macquarie River.
In 1821, Mr Archer resigned from the colonial administration to focus on expanding his burgeoning estate.
Cheap convict labour and great wool prices partnered with Mr Archer’s determination meant Woolmers was flourishing into a self-sufficient village like estate.
More than 100 convicts populated neighbouring Brickendon and Woolmers estates – the second largest group of convicts in private hands in Van Diemen’s Land at the time.
When Thomas Archer I died in 1850, Woolmers had grown to a grazing property spanning 12,271 acres.
The buildings across Woolmers, which are still in excellent condition, include a brick-nogged homestead constructed between 1817 and 1819.
Shutters were installed on the windows to protect the Archers from escaped convicts and the threat of bushranger attacks.
In 1843, a distinctive renovation in the Italianate architecture style was added to the homestead.
Further across the sprawling estate, there is a plastered brick and pebbledash convicts’ chapel which was built in 1840.
A large woolshed, completed in 1819, was the centre of the estate’s farming.
It was extended in 1843 to add a cider house to produce apple cider, which was hugely popular at the time.
Cottages, built to house convicts assigned to the estate, also reside on the property.
Woolmers Estate collections coordinator Sue-Ellen Groer said visitors, with or without convict connections, could resonate with the historic estate’s past.
“They can walk and because it’s so intact, they can feel so connected to it,” Ms Groer said.
“That’s the thing, their ancestors didn’t actually have to be a part of the gentry to actually be a very integral part of the formation of the new colony.”
Ms Groer said she believe 100 years ago, Woolmers Estate would have been significantly busier, with many sheep around.
