Glenburn Homestead

‘Glenburn’ Homestead consists of a pisé hut and slab house and was the home of Alexander ‘Sandy’ McDonald who farmed the immediate area. The two small residential buildings were built side by side and separated by an open area, though this was probably covered by a walkway.

The date of construction is uncertain. The wooden hut could date back to as early as the 1860s, the pise hut as late as the 1890s. It was probably built by Gilbert McInnes in the 1880s. The original slab hut had two rooms with a brick fireplace and chimney. It has a wooden floor. A skillion of vertical slabs and weatherboard was later added on the western wall. The pise hut has four rooms with a brick fireplace and dirt floors.

The National Capital Development Corporation carried out considerable restoration in 1978. Both buildings were re-roofed with corrugated iron. The roof of the slab hut is attached and integrated into the structure, but the roof over the pisé hut is self supporting and separate.

A tall fence surrounds the buildings, protecting them from cattle rubbing against them. A roof has also been built over the remains of the pisé hut to shelter it from rain and frosts.

More information on pisé buildings in the ACT can be found on the ACT National Trust Website.