Doncaster Templestowe Historical Society: Daws' house (72 George St, Doncaster East)

Daws' house

In 1986, Ted Daws' white timber house in George Street, East Doncaster was demolished.

The story of the house and its land goes back to 1853 when George Street was just a narrow bush track through the stringy-bark forest. A group of Germans from Silesia had purchased, from the crown, a half square mile section between the present Victoria Street and Blackburn Road. Then the street was called German Lane by the English and Waldau Lane by the Germans.

Late in 1853, Gottfried Uebergang with his wife Caroline came to Waldau Lane and leased land from Johann Hilebrig, one of the group owning the area.

Gottfried built a wattle and daub hut to live in. He and his wife had come from Silesia in Germany where they had three children, but when they arrived at Doncaster the two boys had died, leaving only their three year old daughter Caroline. A son, Carl Heinrich, was born shortly after settling into their new home. Later the following year, Gottfried's wife Caroline died.

Daws' House

After a few years, Gottfried left Waldau Lane, leaving the children with friends. Gottfried made a return visit to Germany, eventually buying land in King Street.

Another German family, Andreas Zander, with his wife Maria and brother Wilhelm came to Doncaster in the 1850's. Andreas bought land in Doncaster Road at the corner of Strip Road, now called Church Road, where his family have lived ever since.

In January 1860, Wilhelm Zander married Charlotte Haag in the Waldau Church. (This may have been the first wedding in the church.) They went to live in the wattle and daub hut that Uebergang had built in German Lane. The but was small but it had four rooms - a front room, two bedrooms and a kitchen. While living there, Wilhelm built a well at the rear of the house and behind that an outhouse. There was a cool room for milk and a smoke house of handmade bricks with a bake oven built into it. At a later time, a wash-house and two small store rooms were added to the cool room.

Five children were born in the George Street home and happily all the children survived the epidemics that caused so much heartache among the early pioneers, except 3 year old William who drowned in the dam.

Wilhelm Uebergang died in 1884 at the age of 48 and was buried in the Waldau cemetery where many of his countrymen lie.

Charlotte Zander (nee Haag) married again to F.W. Aurish and in the 1890's went to live in Warrnambool where her married son Wilhelm lived.

The eldest Zander girl, Charlotte, married William Johnston of King Street, Doncaster.
The other two girls, Johanna and Sophie, both married brothers Muller from the Western District. Sophie and her husband August Muller later returned to Doncaster and during the 1914-18 war changed their name to Miller.
Their eldest son Albert joined the A.I.F during the war and afterwards became a leading member of the district. He formed the Doncaster Branch of the R.S.L. and was secretary of many local organisations.

Charles Sykes, an orchardist from Wilsons Road, bought the property in the 1890's. Sykes later moved to a shop in Blackburn Road opposite the end of George Street. Mrs. Sykes became well known by school children who called at her shop to buy lollies and icecream.

In 1913, Edward Daws, a builder, purchased the wattle and daub house )that had originally been built by Gottfried Uebergang) from Edward Noonan who then owned it. He planned to build a fine new house.
The old home was demolished and, while waiting for the new home to be built, the family moved into the three room outhouse.
Ted Daws laid out and built the foundations for the new building in 1914 just as war broke out. He was in a quandary, for the war would bring many changes. Building would stop, supplies would be difficult to obtain therefore he would be short of money. Ted decided they could not go on living in the small outhouse so he went ahead, planning to build as much as possible to make the house habitable. He was right in his prediction, for there were problems. That year a frost, while the blossom was on the trees, ruined the fruit crop, and they only had three cases of fruit to sell. As he had financial difficulties, some rooms were left unfinished. The family moved into their new home with some walls unlined and no ceiling.

It was 1921 before the house was finished. Ted Daws built an attractive white house. The bay windows on the front rooms and the decorative lattice around the front verandah gave the building a distinctive appearance. Ted used the cool room at the rear to sort eggs from the fowl house and turned the smoke house into a store room. All that remained of the bake oven was the iron door in the brick wall alongside a copper in the wash-house.

Ted Daws died in the 1960's and the house was sold to Gavin Breen. In 1960, George Street had become a beautiful country lane lined with hedges. During the spring, when the fruit trees were covered in blossom, the orchards were a sea of colour and, in autumn, the leaves turned to mellow browns and gold.

By 1970, George Street had changed to a busy road lined with suburban houses. Recently, a developer bought the property. After demolishing Ted Daws house, units were built on the site.

A reminder of the old wattle and daub hut still remains for the bake oven door is now installed in the Schramms Cottage bake oven.

1988 03 DTHS Newsletter

Daws' house 1986 House on the south side of George Street, East Doncaster, built by Edward Daws from 1914 to 1921. It was demolished in 1988. The house was distinguished by its angled latticework in curves along the front verandah. Photographer: Green, Irvine DP0615

Daws Community Kindergarten, SE cnr George & Daws Rds, Doncaster East (194.21)

An Edwardian gable-roofed timber cottage, symmetrical about a central doorway . There are exposed rafters at the eaves. This small timber building is now part of the kindergarten.
The cottage dates from post World War II (probably c1947) and was lived in by Edwin Daws. Of Local Interest.

City of Doncaster and Templestowe Heritage Study 1991 Richard Peterson.
http://www.manningham.vic.gov.au/file/26126/download