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222:. The ruin is on one of the earliest land grants in the Rockingham area and is one of the oldest structures in the area. It is associated with the Bell family, especially James and Jane Bell, early pioneers in the region. Jane Bell gained public attention in 1840 after the death of her child, conceived after being raped; she was incarcerated for two years on
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saw the
Western Australian State Government purchase land in the area for a proposed future railway marshalling yard and rail line. The construction of the marshalling yard never materialised and the land was sold into private ownership again in 1996. The area was fenced off and the condition of the
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The block of land Bell purchased had some trees, with swamp to the rear, and bordered Mead's farm. Bell originally built a hut to the back of the block, planted fruit trees, and grew vegetables. The swampy nature of the ground where the hut stood proved cold and damp in winter and was too small for
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After the deaths of Jane and James, the property was inherited by their son John Bell. In 1936, John Bell died and Bell
Cottage came into the possession of Joseph Stokes, who lived on the adjoining property. Stokes rented the property out, and the state of the cottage began to deteriorate. The
312:. The local limestone used for the cottage was a popular building material in the region at the time and available close by. Following completion of the cottage, Bell also built a stone barn on the property. James Bell rose to prominence after he raised the alarm during the
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The land on which the cottage ruins stand, 8.1 hectares (20 acres), was purchased by James Bell (1821–1911) in 1854 or 1855 from local landholder Henry Mead. Bell was a boat builder and ship's carpenter by profession and had been living in
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Little is known about the history of the cottage after passing out of the hands of the Bell family, but the report compiled for the state heritage listing presumed that it saw limited occupation after that and no significant alterations.
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and the Mead
Homestead as well as heritage listed places on the municipal inventory like the East Rockingham Cemetery. Bell Cottage was added to the State Register of Heritage Places on 27 September 2002.
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Attempts were made in the 1990s to restore the cottage, but these failed. Funds were allocated in 2018 to carry out archaeological digs at the site.
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the extended family of ten living there. Consequently, in the late 1860s, Bell constructed Bell
Cottage, with the combined property referred to as
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316:. He built the first school in the region and the Bell family became prominent in early local commercial enterprises and civil developments.
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Two of the Bell children, James Junior and Fanny, together with her husband Daniel Hymus, were instrumental in establishing the
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The cottage is part of the East
Rockingham Heritage Precinct, which also includes other
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The cottage is part of the East
Rockingham Heritage Precinct, which also includes other
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602:"Historic Homesteads. No. 38: Bells' Homestead, East Rockingham"
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Grave of James and Jane Bell at East
Rockingham Pioneer Cemetery
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State
Register of Heritage Places in the City of Rockingham
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State
Register of Heritage Places in the City of Rockingham
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Thorpe, Thomas and Bell
Cottages conservation study (1999)
487:"Bell Cottage (ruin), Rockingham Assessment Documentation"
18:
Ruined cottage in East Rockingham, Western Australia
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573:"Rockingham Hotel (Place number 02321)"
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453:McKnight, Gareth (16 January 2018).
630:"East Rockingham Heritage Precinct"
261:Front of the ruined cottage in 2020
145:Western Australia Heritage Register
789:East Rockingham, Western Australia
520:"Rockingham women part of history"
220:East Rockingham, Western Australia
35:Bell Cottage ruin in February 2020
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638:State Register of Heritage Places
581:State Register of Heritage Places
495:State Register of Heritage Places
430:State Register of Heritage Places
422:"Bell Cottage (ruin), Rockingham"
357:State Register of Heritage Places
314:Fenian escape from Fremantle Gaol
235:State Register of Heritage Places
228:Fenian escape from Fremantle Gaol
209:State Register of Heritage Places
799:1868 establishments in Australia
518:Seeber, Elisia (25 March 2013).
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804:Homesteads in Western Australia
634:inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au
577:inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au
491:inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au
426:inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au
155:Bell Cottage (ruin), Rockingham
545:"Jane Green's trial continued"
340:cottage deteriorated further.
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382:Mervyn Bell Regehr (1999),
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282:Children's Friend Society
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722:Chesterfield Inn Stables
455:"Funds for heritage dig"
310:Victorian Georgian-style
213:Victorian Georgian style
384:The Bells of Rockingham
337:Kwinana industrial area
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230:and raised the alarm.
163:State Registered Place
119:32.26250°S 115.78139°E
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194:Construction started
124:-32.26250; 115.78139
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66:Architectural style
53:General information
784:Ruins in Australia
610:. 14 December 1939
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290:concealing a birth
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176:Reference no.
70:Victorian Georgian
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712:Bell Cottage ruin
553:. 14 October 1840
205:Bell Cottage ruin
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171:27 September 2002
89:Western Australia
45:Alternative names
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758:Rockingham Hotel
717:Chesterfield Inn
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81:Mandurah Road
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130:Bell Cottage
24:Bell Cottage
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732:Hymus House
727:Day Cottage
369:Day Cottage
365:Hymus House
278: Green
273:Jane Bell (
247:Day Cottage
243:Hymus House
122: /
109:115°46′53″E
96:Coordinates
773:Categories
401:References
393:0646379186
168:Designated
128: (
106:32°15′45″S
302:Woodbine
268:Mandurah
76:Location
48:Woodbine
705:Current
308:in the
286:Toodyay
253:History
216:cottage
751:Former
643:10 May
614:10 May
586:20 May
557:11 May
529:10 May
500:10 May
464:10 May
435:10 May
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306:jarrah
207:is a
645:2020
616:2020
588:2020
559:2020
531:2020
502:2020
466:2020
437:2020
388:ISBN
245:and
203:The
197:1868
180:2329
160:Type
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58:Type
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218:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
