Edrington
132-134 High Street Berwick

Edrington is of State Significance to Victoria and is included on the Victorian Heritage Register. It is also included on the Register of the National Estate. The property was originally owned by Captain Robert Gardiner who came to Berwick in the 1840s. His son Melville ran the grazing property named Melville Park and a majority of the outbuildings, along with the brick single storey home, date from this period.

In the 1860s, ownership passed to the Gibb family, who are responsible for planting many of the trees around the property and who were also prominenet in Politics and local government. The Arts and Crafts style mansion was built for West Australian Pastoralist Samual MacKay in 1906-7 and was designed by architect Rodney Alsop.  Andrew Chirnside purchased the property in 1912 and renamed it Edrington. The land was over 1000 acres at this time. Lady Casey and her brother MP Rupert Ryan jointly inherited Edrington in 1934 from their Chirnside aunt.  Lady Casey was an artist and aviator and her husband, Lord Casey, was the Federal Treasurer in 1935 before serving in many prominent positions, including Governor of Bengal and Governor General of Australia.

Today, the property functions as the retirement village, Edrington Park.  The main house is an administration centre as well as a venue for residents to hold functions, play billards, or dine with friends.  The formal and domestic garden is also part of the heritage value of this place, with many plantings dating from the late nineteenth century. 

Berwick Mechanics' Institute
15 High Street Berwick

This is one of the few Mechanics' Institutes that is still functioning after over one hundred years.  This is its second location, after moving from Peel street in the late nineteenth century.  Robert Bain, who owned the Berwick Inn, donated the land on a 500 year lease. 

Mechanics' Institues were centres for further learning through lectures and debates and contained a range of book and journal material for loan by subscription.  The term 'Mechanic' was used in nineteenth century England as a blanket term for tradesmen.  The institutes were establised to assist tradesmen with further learning.  

The Berwick Mechanics' Institute (BMI) has enjoyed a long relationship with the district and still holds some of its original books, which are part of a staged restoration project. Lord and Lady Casey bequeathed some funds to the Institute in the early 1980s and these were used to extend the original building. The Casey's have also left a portion of their personal library to the Institute, which is currently being electronically catalogued and interpreted as a special collection. Another feature of the collection are the beautiful silks by the artist Ellis Rowan, who was Lady Casey's aunt. The BMI has been assessed as being of High Local Significance to the City of Casey.

The Old Cheese Factory and Springfield Homestead
34 Homestead Road Berwick

This property has been assessed as being of State Significance and is to be nominated to the Victorian Heritage Register. The property is also included on the Register of the National Estate. 

Its early associations are with pastoralist William John Turner ('Big' Clarke) Clarke, who owned large portions of land from Queensland down to Victoria.  The Springfield Homestead is thought to have been built in 1855 for Big Clarke.  The farm was leased to a local grazier, Murdoch Macdonald.  Clarke's son, Sir William Clarke, took over the property in the 1870s and strove to create a model cheese making facility, following an overseas research tour. The Cheese factory was built in 1875 to rigid specifications and is testimony to Sir William's interest in scientific farming.

Sir William was well known throughout Victoria for his work on the Great Exhibition of 1880 in Melbourne and when he died in 1897, he was given the largest funeral Victoria had yet seen. His residential property was Rupertswood in Sunbury. Following his death, the property was divided, with William Wilson Jnr and Sweeny brothers purchasing the half with the Cheese factory and Edwin Greaves building a new home, The Springs, on the remaining section.  After the First World War, the Cheese factory and Springfield were part of the Returned Soldiers Settlement Scheme.

The Cheese factory complex is now run by the City of Casey for community benefit and is the home to a diverse range of historic buildings that have been relocated to the property.    

Berwick Inn
1-9 High Street Berwick

This hotel has been an intrinsic part of the Berwick streetscape since 1857.  Robert Bain and his wife Susan began the hotel in Berwick and it has continued to function in the same building ever since.  After Robert's death in 1887, Susan extended the building and was the licensee until she died 21 years later.

The hotel was a community centre in early Berwick, serving as the meeting place of the Berwick Shire before its offices were built, as the venue for the Police Court and even a mortuary. It was  a major staging post on the Gippsland gold rush route. 

In later years, under the ownership of Gordon Blackburne, the Melbourne Hunt Club were among the patrons, along with the cast and crew of the film 'On the Beach'.  The building is of Regional Significance as a rare example of Victorian architecture along the main street of Berwick and for the important role it has played in the region's community history.  It is listed on the Register of the National Estate.

Melrose
137-163 Harkaway Road Harkaway

This grand Victorian residence was built in around 1875 for a Mr John Edward Deeble. Its land was first part of Robert Gardiner's run and then belonged to Dr Ernst Wanke.  It was a private country retreat until used by the Try Boys home between 1938 and 1958 as a training farm. The property is of Regional Significance to Casey-Cardinia. 

Holm Park
237 O'Neil Road Beaconsfield

Holm Park is listed on the Register of the National Estate and has been assessed as being of State Significance, yet to be nominated to the Victoria Heritage Register.

Harewood
Koo Wee Rup

This majestic homestead was built in around 1857 by the wealthy businessman William Lyall.  Lyall owned thousands of acres across the 'Swamp' districts as part of the Mickle Bakewell and Lyall alliance.  The likable scotsman carved a career out of land and stock, took an interest in natural history, introduced hare and pheasants for game, served as an MP and was a Cranbourne Shire Councillor.  Important houseguests included the Governor and Lord Hopetoun.  Harewood overlooks the bay and has been owned by only a handful of families in its 140-year history.  When it was sold by the Lyall family in 1917, it was advertised as a : 'Two-storey brick dwelling and outbuildings...This property is charmingly situated...a country seaside home, with unsurpassed advantages for fishing, shooting, yachting or motor-boating'.  Harewood is of State Significance to Victoria.

Balla Balla
Pearcedale

Still a farming property today, 'Balla Balla' in Pearcedale began as a 6000-acre Squatting Run in 1839.  It was reduced in 1850 to 3840 acres, taken up by Henry Foley, followed by Henry Jennings who ran 200 head of cattle and 27 horses.  The Homestead is believed to date from the 1850s, with a second story extension in the early 1870s.  One of its owners, Dr James Smith Adams, was the first President of the Cranbourne District Road Board in 1860, which beccame the Shire in 1868.  Balla Balla is of Regional Significance to the City of Casey.  

Tooradin Estate

Located just out of the Tooradin township, this elegant single storey brick homestead was built in 1880 - 1882 by owner occupier David McCulloch. The property was previously owned by the Lyne family. It is thought that an earlier home was enveloped by the new. McCulloch was an interesting character. He came to Australia with his parents as a boy of 17 in 1878. By the 1880s, he formed a building partnership called McCulloch & McAlpine and carried out many prestigious contracts including the Bendigo Post Office and the Dandenong Town Hall.  He built the Upper Beaconsfield home 'Kincraik', later known as 'Salisbury House' for his future mother in law in 1888. 'Tooradin Estate' features a return verandah, generous dining room and pressed metal ceiling bathroom.  It was recently used in the ABC production 'Emu Springs'. Today the property is run as a successful equestrian business.