This episode investigates the style of probably the most romantic form of Australian house. As we learn from Palladian Camden Park the initial impulse was to build "country homes" that replicated the fashions and the assertions of a class system that were derived from England. But, as we see at Lanyon Homestead, it was not long before the design principles of the Australian homestead started to emerge. The homestead is unique among Australian houses as it is inextricably tied to the work place. Central to a working property it is, traditionally, something that is expected to pass through the generations. Camden Park is still in the hands of the descendants of those who commissioned it in 1831. Woolmers, in Tasmania, has a similarly long association with its founding family and is a rich repository of stories about how houses were built, staffed and managed with assigned convict labour. From a contrasting homestead in north Queensland, which gives us an insight into how a forward-looking family brought their house, and the farm, with them into the Twentieth Century, we go to our last stop which brings us to perhaps the most iconic image of a homestead. Located in the isolated Western Australian wheat belt this homestead remains just as remote today and tells us the story of pioneering in harsh conditions and making a home that had to offer hospitality to travellers as well as family. The series will explore how Australia has shaped the Australian house - and in turn, how the Australian house has shaped the lives and cultures of Australians. Throughout the series, John Doyle will chart the journey of the Australian house so far, through observations and conversations with a range of experts, enthusiasts and home owners around the country.
