Stories From Our Past

James and Hannah Brierley left Manchester as assisted migrants, in 1844 and arrived in Sydney on the Elizabeth three and a half months later with the hope of finding a better life for themselves. They completed their required twelve months’ work agreements in the Hunter Valley before travelling to Adelaide by 1848 where James purchased land in Wright St and built two cottages.

Their daughter Janetta and son Hugh were born in Adelaide. By 1851 James and Hannah had sold up and moved to the Mt Alexander goldfields. Hugh died in 1853 aged 14 months and is buried at the Pennyweight Flat cemetery in Chewton.

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Specimen Cottage is architecturally significant as the oldest original house in Bendigo, built by stonemason James Brierley.

The 1856 section of the building has a front façade of local coursed sandstone rubble, with dressed quoins and dressings to openings; the side walls are rubble: the rear and internal walls are of red brick. It has a central front door with one window on either side. The roof was probably originally hipped.

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