The Tree of Me

In 2012 I blogged about the family home of the Baumgarten family at Moolan Downs in Queensland.   The Baumgartens moved to Moolan Downs 1908 following the sale of their Victorian property Pleasant Bank Estate near Barnawatha. Yesterday a comment on the post gave me a link to the sale of Pleasant Bank Estate. Albury Banner and Wodonga Express 14 February 1908, p.  6. What a wonderful find which gives specific details of the property and its stock.  I've previously blogged about the Bumgartens here .

My previous Family Home post showed the childhood home of Catherine Ellen Dawson . After leaving Tasmania Catherine moved to Melbourne with her mother and siblings after the death of her father Dr William Lee Dawson. Catherine married Gustav Baumgarten in Melbourne on 30th November 1876. They lived at Pleasant Bank Vineyard at Barnawatha.  According to the Cyclopedia of Victoria they had 180 acres of vines, 465 acres of agricultural and grazing land and a further 300 acres under cultivation.   During 1908 the Baumgarten family moved from Barnawatha to Moolan Downs, near Meandarra west of Dalby. They left a thriving business with an established homestead and moved to western Queensland. One of their first tasks when they arrived was to build the dwelling shown below. Original dwelling at Moolan Downs - c1908 The second house at Moolan Downs The final homestead at Moolan Downs One can only admire our early pioneering families. Gustav died at Moolan Downs...