Brick Cottage, Gayndah

Brick Cottage is a heritage-listed cottage now used as a museum at 8 Simon Street, Gayndah, North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1864 by Henry Fenwick. It is now known as Gayndah Museum. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 14 December 2001.HistoryThe Brick Cottage in Gayndah was built in 1864 by Mr Henry Fenwick for a Mr Alexander Walker, early resident and licensee of the Gayndah Hotel. The cottage is located in the centre of town and is the oldest surviving brick residence in Gayndah.Gayndah was first settled as a town in 1849, shortly after squatters selected land in the Central Burnett. The site of what was to become the Gayndah Township was selected and named in 1849 by Maurice Charles O'Connell, Land Commissioner for the Burnett. In 1850 the name of Gayndah was recognised when the Post Office and Courthouse were gazetted, but it wasn't until 1852 that Gayndah was gazetted as a town.Once the road to the Port of Maryborough was surveyed and cleared in an influx of settlers followed and over the next ten years Gayndah's sheep, cattle, diary and agricultural industries began to flourish. Early freehold land sales were held in Gayndah in 1854. Joseph Hadley was one of the first people to buy land in the town and purchased the land that the brick cottage now resides on in 1854 for £3/12/-. In 1864, Alexander Walker purchased the land from Mr Hadley and employed local builder, Henry Fenwick, to build a brick cottage, where it is believed he resided for the next six years. Alexander Walker was an early resident of Gayndah. He was the licensee of the Gayndah Hotel and owner of the property, Mt Cyrus, located just outside Gayndah. He was also foster father to the Barnard boys, who he had taken into his care when their father died in 1858.