102 Australian Country HOMES
These pages: The large brick homestead on Perricoota was built in the 1860s, a time of prosperity in the
region. The owners were partners in Cobb & Co and the stables were also built around this time.L
ocal lore around the twin
towns of Echuca-Moama
on the Murray River has
it that you can trace the
fl uctuating fortunes of Australia’s
rural industry through the buildings
on Perricoota station. There’s the
imposing double storey, nine-bedroom
brick homestead, built in the 1860s as
the HQ for pastoralist James Maiden,
who had established a 120,000-acre
[48,562-hectare] sheep and cattle grazing
property on the NSW side of the
Murray in 1843. The sprawling shearing
shed, although no longer part of the
station holding, also dates from this
time, when the economy was booming
thanks to the gold rushes and the wool
industry and wages for working men
reached world-record levels.
Perricoota was sold in 1865 to wool
brokers Kirk, Row and Goldsborough,
founding fathers of what would
become agents Goldsborough Mort,
which today trades as Elders Limited.
They in turn sold the station to
Robertson and Wagner in the late
1860s. The new owners, who were
partners in Cobb & Co, used the
property to breed their coach horses
and the voluminous stables, complete
with detached kitchen and sleeping
quarters date from this period. Hay
crops were also added to the station’s
output and the fodder was shipped
north to Hay by paddle steamer or
barge. In the 1870s, portions of the
property were sold off for wheat