Cliefden, Mandurama, Colonial homestead in Mandurama, Australia.
Cliefden is a colonial homestead with a main house containing 26 rooms in Georgian style, built with local bricks and complemented by farm buildings. The property includes stables, a coach house, and a shearing shed that show the practical operations needed to run such an estate.
Frederick John and William Montagu Rothery established the property in 1831, naming it after a place in Buckinghamshire, England, where their family had connections. The estate remained under family ownership and developed into a major agricultural operation for the region.
The garden layout from the 1870s shows how the family shaped their leisure spaces using English gardening traditions. The arrangement of beds and pathways reveals the connection between the homestead and the refined tastes of colonial settlers.
The property is best explored on foot, as buildings are spread across the grounds and you can move between different areas. Plan to spend enough time to see both the main house and the various outbuildings without feeling rushed.
The barn still bears bullet holes from an 1863 raid by the Ben Hall gang, when they attacked the property and stole horses. These marks are a direct trace of a dangerous incident during Australia's bushranger era.
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