The Cogla Homestead Demise

For generations, visiting and photographing the Cogla Homestead has been part of the Beaton family travels. We visited the old homestead in 2021 and met the last owner of Cogla Downs, Desmond Beaton, at the site.

Unfortunately, there was very little left — and I mean very little. We eventually found the old steps hidden under a large bush. Desmond told us that someone had turned up with a bulldozer, dug a large hole and pushed what remained of the homestead into it before burying it.

I contacted Nallan Station, who now own the land, to see if they knew what had happened to the homestead, but they had no idea. Des thought the council may have been responsible for cleaning up old properties, although you would wonder why this would happen after so many years.

I also made a video of our visit, which you can watch below.

A Brief History

Here is a quick recap or brief history of the homestead. It seems they moved up from Mt Lawley in 1919, but I will have to dig deeper to see if I can find any photos of that homestead. In 1927 they dismantled the abandoned Barambie Hotel and transported it by camel dray for the new homestead.

1919

Charles and Lottie acquire Cogla. The family moves from Mt Lawley to Cogla and settles there.

1919–1926

They are living at Cogla, but the book doesn't describe the house they initially occupied.

1927

Charles, Ron, Peter and Ashton Craven dismantle the Barambie Hotel. It is transported by camel dray and rebuilt as the main Cogla homestead.

After construction

Surveyors discover the new homestead is actually outside the Cogla boundary. Instead of moving the house, the boundary is altered in exchange for about 1,000 acres.

1946

Charles and Lottie leave Cogla for Mundaring in 1946. Alex and Barlie continue operating Cogla.

Abandonment

I am still trying to identify when the property was actually abandoned. I had a chat with Desmond Beaton (26/8/26) the last owner of Cogla Downs, he has a memory as a very young lad (he was born 1946 and had lived at Yallotte for as long as he can remember) visiting Cogla homestead with his Dad Alex after Alex had sold a swag of land (including Cogla Homestead ) to Nallan Station. When they visited Pat ? Morrissey was living in the Cogla homestead with his dogs. The homestead was very dilapidated at this time. I still cannot idendify when it was abandoned

Photographs of Cogla Homestead Through the Years

The photographs below bring together some of those memories from across the years.