La Trobe's Cottage

La Trobe's Cottage is a historic cottage in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, built in 1839 by the first Superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, Charles La Trobe, and his family.

The cottage was constructed out of prefabricated materials imported from England on 50,000 square metres of land at Jolimont, near where the Melbourne Cricket Ground now stands. When the colony achieved independence from New South Wales in 1851 La Trobe was made the first Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria and, although land had been reserved in Kings Domain as the site for a future Government House, he remained living with his family in this cottage at Jolimont until his departure for England in 1854.

The cottage is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register for its historical, social and architectural significance. It is one of the few surviving examples still standing of prefabricated houses from this period of history and gives an insight into early colonial domestic architecture and living arrangements. Personal effects of La Trobe and his family are still contained in the cottage. The dining room added by La Trobe is believed to be the oldest surviving structure built in Melbourne. The architectural style is described as Pre-separation colonial Georgian.

John Sharp, in a letter to the editor of The Argus of May 1888, refers to 'Governor La Trobe's cottage residence in Jolimont' which had been removed 'several years ago'. Sharp said he had two photographs of the building, one of which he sent to the Australian Sketcher 'in the hope that some day it may be useful'. In June of that year, the Australian Sketcher published an illustration based on Sharp's photograph and noted that he was a former owner of the cottage which 'still stands'. They published another illustration based on a photograph provided by its then owner H. W. Patton and repeated Sharps' contention that the cottage had also been the home of Charles Perry, the first Anglican bishop of Melbourne, and Hugh Childers, a Chancellor of the Exchequer in the United Kingdom. In November of that year the Australian Sketcher wrote that 'Governor Latrobe's cottage' was owned by 'Messers. Alfred Fenton and Sons' while 'the quaint old place which Bishop Perry occupied... was some time ago pulled down to make room for the residence of Mr. Sharp'. This different cottage 'at the corner of Wellington-parade and Jolimont-terrace' had also been the home of Childers.

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