Falls Farm is located on Cagney Way, Lesmurdie. The original property of 91 acres, part of which bears the name “Falls Farm” (named after Lesmurdie Falls) belonged to a Mrs. Grace. It is thought that the stone walled cottage was built sometime in 1911 by Mrs Grace’s brother Mr. W. Pattison (who also the built St Swithins Church and Lesmurdie House).
In 1916, the property was sub-divided, leaving the homestead piece of 30 acres including the cottage which was brought by the Sanderson Family (who also owned Lesmurdie House). The Sanderson family immediately rented the property to a Monsieur Antoine, a wool buyer who had recently moved his family from Melbourne to Perth, and shortly afterwards to Lesmurdie. Their stay was a short one and the property was sub-let by M. Atoine to a Mr. & Mrs. V. Ketter and their daughter.
In 1919, the Red Cross bought St Andrews School (now St. Bridgid’s School) and the farm property from the Sanderson Family to establish the Repatriation Convalescent Home for returning WW1 service personnel, and one of their staff (a Mr. Wood and his family) occupied the property until late 1923.
1924 saw new owners, the Sudlow family who purchased the property from the Red Cross to establish a poultry farm, as they had a contract to supply eggs to one of the major hotels in Perth. It was at this time that the property acquired the name of “Falls Farm”.
In 1931, “Falls Farm” was again sold to a Captain Melson & family, and it was during this time that a tennis court was built on the property by some of the young family members and their friends, who formed the Lesmurdie Tennis Club. The tennis court that was built by these young people was reputed to be the finest in the district and attracted players from as far away as Perth, who would make the journey up to the hills to play on it. Captain Melson and his family occupied the property until 1937 when they sold to a Mr. Quinlivan who lived there until 1953 when it is thought that a Mr. Brescasin acquired the property and then leased it to the Bottegea family.
From this point the history of “Falls Farm “is vague until 1983 when the homestead block became part of a Shire of Kalamunda owned public open space allocation in a residential land sub-division. By this time the cottage had been vandalized , was infected with white-ants and needed a new roof and flooring , so the Shire Council proposed to demolish the building and proceeded to call tenders for the work, however a local resident and Shire Councilor Mr. Hugh Sanderson, brought the matter to the attention of the Lesmurdie Ratepayers Association who mounted a vigorous campaign for the restoration of this historical building. This the Shire Council agreed to under certain conditions, one of which that the restoration had to be completed at no cost to the Shire in any way. After much fund raising by the restoration committee, plus the acquiring of several monetary grants, plus 26 weeks work under a CEP programme, the restoration of the homestead and the surrounding area was completed, but unfortunately during this period the original 75 yr old mantelpiece surrounding the fireplace in the building was stolen.
On the 26th March 1988, “Falls Farm” was officially opened as a shire-owned community use facility, The guests of honor on the day were Sir Charles and Lady Court. The property bears significance for Sir Charles who had many fond memories of playing tennis on the court at “Falls Farm” when it was owned by the Melson’s and as a cornet player, joining in jazz sessions with the Melson family members. “Falls Farm” is still used by a variety of community groups today and remains one of our treasured assets.
(written by John Ellison, Kalamunda & Districts Historical Society)