It houses a museum of orcharding equipment, reminders of the importance of orcharding in the early days of the district.
Items displayed in the museum include an early manual fruit grader that is still in working order, fruit cases and the stencils used for labelling them, fruit-picking bags and ladders.
Schramm's Cottage Museum Complex - Audio
(Installed in Barn)
Welcome to the barn
The barn was originally built for Henry finger in 1870 on is orchard at the east end of Rieschek's reserve
In 1974 it was dismantled and rebuilt on this site.
The ?????? is typical of many European farm buildings, and the shingle roof which can be seen inside the building is now covered on the outside with corrugated iron.
One end of the building are too loose boxes which provide stabling for horses used on the orchard.
One corner of the barn is a fruit grading machine used to grade fruit into uniform sizes when packing for market sale. Fruit cases stamped with the names of local orchardists are used to store apples and pears in the cool store
Where the grader is a tall wooden ladder used when pruning large fruit trees and to pick fruit during the busy harvest season. The single prop enabled the ladder to be placed closer to the branches of the trees.
Find the collection of tools fixed to the walls of the barn hand scythes, a large hay rake and cross cut saws.
On another section of the wall are two large photographs. And of these shows picking and sorting of peaches in the warm southern months, and the other is a shot of FJ Simmons, at the time was the local Postmaster of Doncaster.
Old tin wheelbarrow with removable wooden handles said to have been pushed all the way from the goldfields of Bendigo. Money was hidden for safe keeping small cavities behind the wooden handles.
This building would have been a busy workplace during the harvest season, beginning with cherries in early December, followed by stone fruit and meeting with pears apples and lemons in late autumn
Need pictures of:
- Henry Finger
- Barn external (c corrugated iron)
- Barn shingle room
- Horse boxes
- Fruit grading machine
- hand scythes
- Hay Rake
- cross cut saws
- orcharding ladder
- Fruit Packing cases
- Picture of peach harvesting
- picture of FJ Simmons, Postmaster
- wheelbarrow, and cavities behind handles
Fingers Barn
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| Finger Barn at Schramm's Cottage Museum 2010 |
Finger Barn - Victorian Heritage Listing: Of local historical significance as one of the largest and possibly the earliest of the remaining barns in the district and for its associations with Finger's orchards; relocation has reduced its significance.
http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/22413
It is planned to incorporate the chimney in Finger's Barn. The Barn is being moved to Schramm's Cottage by members of Doncaster Apex.
Source: 1973 08 DTHS Newsletter
The Barn was built by Heinrich Finger when he came to Doncaster in 1870. Heinrich came to Victoria with his parents and brother in 1851. The family settled at Hawthorn in the vicinity of Wattle Road where they planted a vineyard. Heinrich bought a horse and cart and set up as a carrier. Soon he had earned enough to buy land at Balwyn near the corner of Burke and Whitehorse Roads, where he planted an orchard.
One summer, a hot north windy day caused so much damage to the orchard that Heinrich decided to look for more sheltered land suitable for fruit growing. He was familiar with Doncaster as his elder brother Christian had been living in Church Road for twelve years. Heinrich found fifty acres available at the corner of German Lane and Bismark Street. (Now known as George and Victoria Streets.) It was part of the land owned by J. Straube, the man who had donated a corner of his land for the waldau Church and Cemetery.
Heinrich built a barn with a high pitched shingle roof and a skillion roof on one side. He had an instinctive feeling for design and proportion. His house of hand-made bricks was classified by the National Trust for its qualities of design. The scale and proportion of the Barn was well arranged. It looks pleasing from any angle and fulfilled its function well.
During following years, changes were made to the building. The barn was lengthened and a packing shed built into one end with a loft over the top. When the shingle roof began to leak it was covered with galvanised iron.
Heinrich Finger died in 1884 and was buried in the Waldau Cemetery. The land was divided between his sons, John and Ferdinand. John inherited the area that is now the George Street Reserve. The orchard with the house and barn went to Ferdinand who had been born the same year that the barn was built.
When Ferdinand Finger left Doncaster in 1914, he sold the orchard to his nephew William Rieschieck. The Rieschieck family came to South Australia in 1849. William's father August, who came to Balwyn in 1905 had married Henrietta, a daughter of Heinrich Finger.
When the Finger homestead was demolished, the barn was given to the Schramm’s Cottage Project by Edward Rieschieck. It was dismantled and moved across the reserve with the help of the Doncaster Apex Club. The barn forms one side of a courtyard in the Orchard Museum.
Certain changes have been made to the building. The National Trust suggested that the barn be reduced in size so that it would not dominate Schramm’s Cottage. Ten feet was cut off one end. By doing this extra material was gained to replace unusable timber. For security reasons, some external doors have been removed and altered. A section of the skillion area has been left open to form a sheltered area on one side of the courtyard. In this section the forge from Mullens Blacksmith Shop is being installed. Many of the girls who had their horses shod in the Mullens Smithy painted their names around the building. Some of these names were painted onto the bricks of the chimney and have been carefully preserved.
Underneath the hayloft inside the barn, a brick room has been built with bricks from Mrs. Finger's home. The room has been made fireproof and will be a safe storage place for archives. Care was taken in placing the barn so that attractive views of it could be obtained from the paths around Schramm’s Cottage. From the Cottage, the building can be seen with a background of the rows of pines, planted by John Finger eighty-four years ago. It seems appropriate that Fingers Barn, which could have been lost, has been re-erected on the same land as the cemetery where its original owner now rests.
Source: Irvine Green writing in 1975 11 DTHS Newsletter
Mullen's Blacksmith Shop
The heart of a blacksmith shop is its chimney and fireplace. When the chimney from Mullens Blacksmith shop was offered for the Schramm's Cottage Project, it was eagerly accepted. In May, members of the Society and pupils from Templestowe High School, with Mr. and Mrs. Eagles, loaded the brick from the chimney into Mr. Ivan Peter-Budgeës truck and moved them to Schramm's Cottage.It is planned to incorporate the chimney in Finger's Barn. The Barn is being moved to Schramm's Cottage by members of Doncaster Apex.
Source: 1973 08 DTHS Newsletter
Fingers Barn (1870)
This month the rebuilding of Fingers Barn will be completed. The Barn with its elegant steep pitched gable roof will form the centre piece of an orchard museum in the Schramm's Cottage Project.The Barn was built by Heinrich Finger when he came to Doncaster in 1870. Heinrich came to Victoria with his parents and brother in 1851. The family settled at Hawthorn in the vicinity of Wattle Road where they planted a vineyard. Heinrich bought a horse and cart and set up as a carrier. Soon he had earned enough to buy land at Balwyn near the corner of Burke and Whitehorse Roads, where he planted an orchard.
One summer, a hot north windy day caused so much damage to the orchard that Heinrich decided to look for more sheltered land suitable for fruit growing. He was familiar with Doncaster as his elder brother Christian had been living in Church Road for twelve years. Heinrich found fifty acres available at the corner of German Lane and Bismark Street. (Now known as George and Victoria Streets.) It was part of the land owned by J. Straube, the man who had donated a corner of his land for the waldau Church and Cemetery.
Heinrich built a barn with a high pitched shingle roof and a skillion roof on one side. He had an instinctive feeling for design and proportion. His house of hand-made bricks was classified by the National Trust for its qualities of design. The scale and proportion of the Barn was well arranged. It looks pleasing from any angle and fulfilled its function well.
During following years, changes were made to the building. The barn was lengthened and a packing shed built into one end with a loft over the top. When the shingle roof began to leak it was covered with galvanised iron.
Heinrich Finger died in 1884 and was buried in the Waldau Cemetery. The land was divided between his sons, John and Ferdinand. John inherited the area that is now the George Street Reserve. The orchard with the house and barn went to Ferdinand who had been born the same year that the barn was built.
When Ferdinand Finger left Doncaster in 1914, he sold the orchard to his nephew William Rieschieck. The Rieschieck family came to South Australia in 1849. William's father August, who came to Balwyn in 1905 had married Henrietta, a daughter of Heinrich Finger.
When the Finger homestead was demolished, the barn was given to the Schramm’s Cottage Project by Edward Rieschieck. It was dismantled and moved across the reserve with the help of the Doncaster Apex Club. The barn forms one side of a courtyard in the Orchard Museum.
Certain changes have been made to the building. The National Trust suggested that the barn be reduced in size so that it would not dominate Schramm’s Cottage. Ten feet was cut off one end. By doing this extra material was gained to replace unusable timber. For security reasons, some external doors have been removed and altered. A section of the skillion area has been left open to form a sheltered area on one side of the courtyard. In this section the forge from Mullens Blacksmith Shop is being installed. Many of the girls who had their horses shod in the Mullens Smithy painted their names around the building. Some of these names were painted onto the bricks of the chimney and have been carefully preserved.
Underneath the hayloft inside the barn, a brick room has been built with bricks from Mrs. Finger's home. The room has been made fireproof and will be a safe storage place for archives. Care was taken in placing the barn so that attractive views of it could be obtained from the paths around Schramm’s Cottage. From the Cottage, the building can be seen with a background of the rows of pines, planted by John Finger eighty-four years ago. It seems appropriate that Fingers Barn, which could have been lost, has been re-erected on the same land as the cemetery where its original owner now rests.
Source: Irvine Green writing in 1975 11 DTHS Newsletter
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| Schramms Cottage Reconstruction. c1975 Photo: GarthKendall Facebook |
Fingers Barn
The barn with its steep pitched gable roof was built in 1870 at George Street by Henry Finger. The Finger family settled at Hawthorn in 1851 and planted a vineyard in the vicinity of Wattle Road. Heinrick (later called Henry) bought a horse and cart to set up as a carrier; soon he had earned enough to buy land at Balwyn, near the corner of Burke and Whitehorse Roads where he planted an orchard. One summer, a hot north wind day caused so much damage to the fruit trees that Henry looked for more sheltered land suitable for fruit growing. He was familiar with Doncaster as his elder brother, Christian had been living in Church Road for twelve years, also he attended the Lutheran Church on Waldau Hill.
Henry found fifty acres available at the corner of German Lane and Bismark Street. (now George and Victoria Streets.) It was part of the land owned by J. Straube, the man who had donated part of his land for the Waldau Church and Cemetery.
Henry built a large homestead with a high pitched shingle roof over the centre and a skillion roof over the stables on the side. During the following years he made changes to the building; the barn was lengthened and a packing shed built into one end with a hay loft over the top. When the shingle roof began to leak he covered it with corrugated iron. Henry Finger died in 1884 and was buried in the Waldau Cemetery. The land was divided between his sons John and Ferdinand, John inherited the area that is now Rieschiccks Reserve while the orchard with the house and barn went to Ferdinand who had been born the same year that the barn was built.
When Ferdinand Finger left Doncaster in 1914 he sold the orchard to his nephew William Rieschieck. The Rieschieck family had settled in South Australia in 1849, William's father August, married Henrietta, a daughter of Henry Finger.
When the Finger homestead was demolished Ted Rieschieck, donated the barn to the Schramm's Cottage Project. Doncaster Apex dismantled the barn and moved the materials across the reserve. The council arranged to have it re-erected using unemployed labour under the "Red Scheme".
Changes were made to the building. The National Trust suggested that the barn be reduced in size so that it would not dominate Schramm's Cottage. Ten feet was cut off the the far end, actually this was the earlier addition that had been made. By doing this, extra material was gained to replace unusable timber. For security reasons some external doors have been removed and altered. We left a section of the skillion area open to form sheltered cover at the side of the courtyard. Inside the barn underneath the hay loft, we made a fireproof brick room, for storing archives, using bricks from Mrs. Finger's house.
Care was taken in placing the barn so that attractive views could be obtained from the paths around Schramm's Cottage. From the Cottage, the barn can be seen with a background of pine trees that were 'planted by John Finger in the 1890s. It seems appropriate that Fingers Barn, that could have been lost. has been re-erected on the same land as the Cemetery where Henry Finger is buried.
The barn was intended to be the centre of the "Orchard Museum" displaying orchard equipment. It still fullfils this function but for several years other activities took place in the barn. During the Wurendjeri Festival we removed most of the displays for the Doncaster and Templestowe Art Society to hold an art show, also the Pocket Theatre converted the barn to a theatre and performed their plays. On one occasion we held our normal monthly meeting there, one wet evening our annual barbeque took place in the barn also we held a barn dance on the floor with the musicians in the hay loft.
Installing the hand fruit grader in a corner, meant that the barn could no longer be cleared for other activities so now Fingers Barn remains as we intended, the centre of the our orchard museum.
Source: 1996 03 DTHS Newsletter
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