Herdsman Lake Settlers Cottage

The cottage was one of forty built in the early 1930s as part of a social housing project run by by the Department of Lands and Surveys and the Workers’ Homes Board.

The State Register of Heritage Places explains the significance of the cottage:

...the only remaining intact example of the forty agricultural lots, with identical timber cottages, which were offered for selection on Herdsman Lake in the government sponsored 1930s land settlement scheme.

Frederick John Scott Hatcher occupied the cottage from May 1933 until his death in 1960.

Giovanni and Angelo Gava purchased the land and cottage soon after and used the area as a market garden, growing sweet potatoes and pumpkins. They did not live in the cottage but rented it out to tenants.

To allow for the development of the proposed Stephenson Highway, the cottage was moved eastwards from its original location in 1995.

The cottage is in current use as the Settlers Art Studios, where workshops and open days are held.

The Heritage Council of Western Australia describes the cottage as:

...timber framed with jarrah weatherboarding to external walls. Simple in plan, with four interconnecting rooms and a verandah front and back, it was the most economical cottage design available, and was considered to provide a good basic level of accommodation.