Eton Vale
| Eton Vale Homestead Ruins | |
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Chimney remains, 1992
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| Location | New England Highway, Cambooya, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°41′53″S 151°54′38″E / 27.6981°S 151.9106°ECoordinates: 27°41′53″S 151°54′38″E / 27.6981°S 151.9106°E |
| Design period | 1840s - 1860s (mid-19th century) |
| Built | c. 1840 - 1880 |
| Official name: Eton Vale Homestead Ruins | |
| Type | state heritage (archaeological) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600391 |
| Significant period | 1840s (historical) 1840s-1880s (fabric) |
| Significant components | steps/stairway, well, wall/s, views from, chimney/chimney stack, views to, ruin/s |
 Location of Eton Vale Homestead Ruins in Queensland
Location of Eton Vale Homestead Ruins in Queensland
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The Eton Vale Homestead Ruins are a heritage-listed site on the New England Highway, Cambooya, Queensland, Australia. The former homestead was built from c. 1840 to 1880 by Arthur Hodgson, and was destroyed by fire in 1912. The site was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Eton Vale Station was selected in 1840 by Arthur Hodgson who had followed the Leslie Brothers onto the Darling Downs. It was the second run selected in Queensland. At the time it covered an area of 268 km2. Originally a grazing property, wheat was grown from 1846 and it became a sheep stud in 1850. The slab house, erected soon after 1840 formed the core of a larger brick residence which continued to be added to up to as late as 1880.
At its peak the station complex was a village complete with workers' cottages and a school in addition to a number of outbuildings. Hodgson modelled Eton Vale on the English village style, taking a paternalistic interest in the affairs of the estate workers. Hodgson's manager and eventual partner was John Watts. Watts' share was later bought by Robert Ramsay. All three men were prominent in local affairs as well as being members of parliament and cabinet ministers. They all retired to estates in England, Watts in 1867, Hodgson in 1870 and Ramsay in 1883.
The various land acts from 1863 onward slowly reduced the size of the property, although Hodgson still held 130 square kilometres under numerous tenures and titles in 1897. In that year Eton Vale was partitioned between Ramsay and Hodgson, Ramsay's half was renamed Harrow.
Following the death of Hodgson in 1902, the estate was broken up. In 1906 the homestead and surrounding freehold property were sold to Christian Barth, a German saddler. The homestead was destroyed by fire in 1912. In 1932 Eton Vale was sold to Frederick Robotham whose family still own the property. Robotham built the present farmhouse nearby. The ruins of the earlier homestead have deteriorated over the years.
Sited on a slope that falls gently towards Hodgson Creek, the Eton Vale homestead would have once overlooked the fields to its west, assuming prominence when viewed from this aspect. A single brick chimney now dominates the ruins, which also include two sets of stairs made of cement-rendered brick on stone and mortar foundations, several hearth beds consisting of stone and mortar foundations, timber stump remains, and scattered fragments of building materials. A well is located to the north-west of the house site.
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