Wodonga House (former)

Wodonga House, situated within the Widgee Hall and Recreation Association grounds, is a reminder of the early settlement of the Gympie district. It was built around 1902 on land that had been part of a 640 acre property taken up by James Meakin in 1877 and named Wodonga Station. The Meakins gradually extended their land holdings and built their first homestead in 1880. In 1887, the property was transferred to Catherine Hillcoat, wife of the manager of the nearby Hope Crushing Battery of the Black Snake Mineral Field. The property was occupied by their son Harold, his wife and five children. They ran it as a dairy farm and initiated cheese making at the farm. The house linked to the original homestead’s kitchen. The house was extended over time, with the old homestead was eventually demolished. The family turned to beef cattle soon after. Percy Pointen, who married one of the Hillcoat daughters, then lived there. After his death, it was sold to the Wodonga Pastoral Company. The house became derelict in the 1960s, and was sold to the Widgee Historical Society and relocated to the Widgee Hall and Recreation Grounds. The house can be viewed by appointment.