Springvale Homestead Site

 

This is how Springvale looked in 1912. The sign below in in a laneway connecting Redfern Street to Biffin Street.

How to get there?

From Emu Bank Homestead site, continue along Chandler Street. Turn left onto Benjamin Way. At

the end of this street, turn left onto Belconnen Way. Take the first right into Bindubi Street.

Why is this interesting?

The Springvale Homestead site tells the story of a family who, after many years working for a large landowner, selected land and built their own house. By 1862 the best land in the Ginninderra district had been taken. Selection began in the neighbouring parish of Weetangera in 1865. The Shumack family were one of the first to establish a farm and house, which was named Springvale.

The district had achieved considerable local prominence through the game of cricket. Played since the early 1850s it was strongly supported by William Davis, the landowner for whom the Shumacks had previously worked. Davis was able to provide venues for the matches and the social life that surrounded the games. The Weetangera cricket club would enjoy annual banquets at Springvale from 1910 when Samuel Shumack was elected its president. The sign, in a laneway, is the only marker to denote this property’s existence.