Dhurringile Estate opened
Open Day at Dhurringile Estate on Saturday 8 February was a great success!
Corrections Victoria arranged for hundreds of members of the public to tour the mansion and grounds. The staff did a wonderful job in preparing the property and conducting the tours. Feedback from those returning from the tours expressed appreciation both for the period features in the mansion such as the stained-glass windows, and for the infrastructure on the site related to the function of the Prison. Murchison and Tatura Historical Societies set up displays in the reception room telling the history of the various uses the Estate has had and these created a great deal of interest. The star of the day though was Lance, the ‘sniffer’ dog and his handler, who demonstrated how Lance would inspect the mail and visitors, looking for contraband!
Helen Newton, Jack and Knowla Lowry’s daughter, who grew up on the farm surrounding Dhurringile Mansion, told us intriguing stories when prisoners of war were housed there and also about the boys from the Rural Training Farm who loved to come rabbiting on the Lowry farm. Jack lived beside the mansion for 37 years and experienced the four very different lives of Dhurringile Estate; a family-owned pastoral property, a Prisoner of War Camp, then a Rural Training Farm and lastly H M Dhurringile Prison that ceased operation in August last year.
Helen Holmes, daughter of Colin Tutchell, Superintendent and Farm Manager when it was a Rural Training Farm, explained the content of an ABC documentary film made in the 1960’s. Young boys who were in Welfare Homes in Scotland were brought out by the Presbyterian Church from 1948 to 1964 and provided training in agriculture, with the intention of them securing a better future. Helen is featured in the film as a little girl, helping alongside the young boys, feeding the cattle. The interior of the mansion is also shown in this film.
We were well fed by a Merrigum Lions BBQ and coffee was excellent from Tatura Coffee Cart. A really great day – many thanks to the prison staff, retired prison officers and volunteers for making the day run smoothly and allowing hundreds of people to see this outstanding heritage listed place.
Let’s hope a new use will be found for Dhurringile Estate that will allow access to the public in the future.
Contributed by Kay Ball
Murchison & District Historical Society
