Carl and Jennie Palmer set about trying to recreate their Federation homestead's grandeur but finding the line between a functioning modern home and a heritage restoration is harder than they anticipate.
This third instalment of the third instalment of the so called Restoration Australia has a bit more restoration - mainly patching plaster, painting and putting the decorative bits back in the verandah, but for a program purporting to show how people "..brave past decay and neglect to bring historic ruins back to life", the fix up seems a bit too easy. Unlike the earlier series where a couple of the houses actually involved careful and considered conservation of the significant fabric adopting the Burra Charter philosophy of doing as little as possible and as much as necessary, this and the preceding two episodes seem to have adopted the style of The Block: showy but little substance.
The episode continues the theme of bringing back the past grandeur or a once important and elaborate building, and implies the extravagances of scale and decoration are valuable attributes sought after by home owners today. Having eight bedrooms (or nine according to the previous owner) and even its own ballroom, is both the status symbol and a burden for the optimistic couple with limited resources who plan to do much of the work themselves.
One of Harrison's recurring motifs is the supposed difficulty of balancing conflicting demands for a modern home and a heritage restoration. This usually just comes down to installing a fancy kitchen, lots of appliances and a white tiles bathroom.
“Nanima” is a New South Wales pastoral property 'steeped' in history that played host to Banjo Paterson or Sir Henry Parkes. It was built in about 1900 by Charles H. Barton, the local Wellington Commercial Bank manager and Banjo's uncle. The property history goes back to the 1830s as an early pastoral holding, although the Barton family part parallels the national story, purchased from Mr Aarons, (one time Mayor of Wellington), by Charles in 1894, who built a new home just before Federation of the Australian colonies, in the style referred to variously 'Queen Anne' for its white painted timber fretwork, or 'Federation' for the optimistic verandahed, gabled and complex pitched roofs. Harrison's description of the architecture (at about 28:20) could have come straight from Wikipedia however.
Dr Nat Barton died in 1985 and the house passed to Nathaniel Kelburn Dunbar Barton, the Doctor's grandson and the fourth generation to live at Nanima. However financial problems and difficulties with bankruptcy trustees, eventually saw the house sold in 2015, ending years of the family's history at Nanima. He had hoped that the Nanima homestead would be passed down from one generation to another. Nat is Charles Barton’s son, and so just the second generation to live in the house having moved into the house in 1945 after returning from World War II.
News from a couple of years ago suggested the proposed gas-fired power station next door, on the Mudgee Road would make the place unliveable. His legal fight and a dispute with trustees exhausted his finances and energy. In the end the power station didn't happen but it was too late for Nat.
It didn't look too bad when it was recently put up for sale recently. The sale notice said it "...now needs a proud owner to ensure the history and magnificence is restored and retained throughout time..." and was an "...opportunity for work and restoration by new owner", but the photos show a sound if tired rambling Edwardian homestead.
The million dollar plus price suggested whoever bought it would have enough to fix it up properly. and what did it need? The marble fireplaces were intact, plaster, joinery, flooring and trim was all there. The roof looked sound. Even the wonderful lantern above the ballroom was letting the light, but not the rain, stream in.
It is on the National Trust register and Local Environment Plan. The certificate was proudly displayed, framed on the wall, so the previous owners (the same Barton descendants up to 2012), clearly appreciated the heritage of the place.
They also seem to have had the family and local history spread out on the tables in the big room for visitors to peruse. Until the sale, the house held some substantial original furniture such as the mahogany desk which Dr Barton’s grandfather brought out from England and a picture above it, of the boat he came on. Presumably these were not part of the sale.
The long connection with one family and the uniqueness and intactness of the house in the local area is recognised in its listing on the Local Environment Plan, which provides a statement of significance thus:
One of the most socially interesting, unusually designed and intact Edwardian rural homesteads in New South Wales. The interior is distinguished by the extent of original decoration and the large top-lit central living hall. The house is still in the possession of the Barton family (2012) but for sale, the forbears having built It. The site is threatened by the proposed gas fired power station on an adjoining site where the emission noise threatens to make the residence uninhabitable.
So what restoration does the episode offer?
The main work seems to have been repairing the cracked plaster, stripping off 1940s wall paper (this was probably Dr Barton's renovation when he moved in after the war), repainting, sanding the floors, and reinstating the brackets and turned spindles in the verandah transom. These last were helpfully stored on site, probably when rot weakened the complex joinery. The amazing discovery of these bits seems a bit strained, since Dr Barton was probably responsible for their removal and would have been on hand to tell them all about it.
This is where some discussion might have been directed at the issues facing restorers. The fiddly timber fretwork was a trend for the time and a distinctive element of Queen Anne/Federation homes, that probably didn't give much regard to maintenance costs or longevity. At least the cast iron decoration it replaced was more robust and more readily repaired with just a few bits of timber renewed. Although as we saw in Episode 2 at Egan House, the tinny aluminium bolted up replacements could be just a fiddly. Keeping these ornate houses in order is a complex proposition, but apart from some rather muddled hands-on from Harrison, we don't really learn much about it.
So some of the original timber verandah is put back, using original material and in an authentic manner based on evidence - good practice. But then they don't go that extra bit and get the colour scheme right. Some photo analysis and paint scraping could have added more authenticity.
The house itself is referred to as being built of "rendered aggregate" 500mm thick. This suggests a concrete structure, which for 1900 would be very rare and worthy of comment. It also means quite specialist restoration techniques might be required. We see the Carl gouging out the cracks and pasting in some filler with some comment on its makeup, but will this fall out, shrink or make things worse in the long run? Who knows. There is some detail on injecting a new damp course and laying on a poultice on the walls to treat rising damp and salt.
There are glimpses of the marble fireplaces in the homestead, which were apparently imported from Italy. Presumably nothing much was needed to be done with them, but even cleaning such material can have its issues.
The interior colour scheme is given some though. It needs to be brighter for modern day tastes, and not dark like in the olden days. Not sure this was the case anyway.
The servant bell system is to be restored. But its original place above the stove has already ben taken by a big oval with a chalked prayer, and presumably the wiring has all be stripped out. And that masonry chimney breast that held the solid wood stove has been pulled out. Quite drastic changes have occurred here without much comment apart from modern style kitchens are needed, and Harrison is unsure its the right decision, but sacrificing what historic fabric?
The original kitchen has been stripped out including old stove. Smeg appliances and "the ubiquitous island bench" take their place. It all makes a good add for the kitchen installers. Perhaps it is just for the kitchen obsessives, but the company give a pretty thorough rundown of the decision making process for getting the right 'heritage' feel:
The renovated kitchen, while bright and fresh and modern, features elements that reflect the heritage of the homestead, such as the Hafele Antique cup and knob handles. In creating this space, we used Polytec doors in a Casino style, painted in half strength polyurethane Vanilla Ice while the benchtop is a natural granite sourced by Jennie and Carl. Appliances such as the rangehood and dishwasher were concealed or integrated to enhance the heritage feel of the space. There are also many Kessebohmer clever storage solutions hidden in drawers and cupboards, including a Le Mans unit, a Salsa Pro Spice insert and a Cuisio Cutlery insert. Loox lighting features in the pantry and is also inlaid into colour matched panels under the overhead cabinetry.
Then there is the pool in the courtyard given approval by Harrison, but again at what impact to the significance of the house? The little potting shed and the timber tank stand with the ubiquitous riveted wrought iron ships tanks are lost too. As is a significant grape vine grown from cuttings obtained from the Barton's family connections in France.
The heritage specialist Karen is briefly seen. (Why do these experts not get a real name or even a credit?) But we don't really get much commentary from her.
So what is the difference between renovation and restoration?
This quote from interview in the online house renovation magazine, houzz, shows that Harrison does know the difference between restoration and renovation. Unfortunately, Restoration Australia is proving to be just another house reno show. Like I said, The Block without the competing teams. Interestingly the comments left on sites such as Houzz are enthusiastic for this sort of restoration, with little worry about the provenance, authenticity or suitability of the changes being made, as one commentator put it:
I have learned that 'restoration' means replacing broken with new, and repairing where possible to bring to life a piece of history with love and dignity.
It hasn't been announced yet but a season 4 might be coming - auditions are open
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