Osborne House is a historic building built in 1858, located in North Geelong

North Geelong, Victoria

North Geelong is a suburb of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. The suburb will be bypassed by traffic from Melbourne coming from the Princes Freeway by the creation of the Geelong Ring Road, due for completion in 2009....

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

History

Osborne House was built in 1858 for local squatter, Robert Muirhead, who named the mansion after Osborne House

Osborne House

Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....

 in the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Muirhead lived at the house until his death in 1862, with the house being sold the following year after the death of his wife.

The house was leased for a number of years, finally sold sold by Muirhead's executors in 1878 to James Francis Maguire. Located on Swinburne Street, the original 1888 subdivision plan of St Helen's estate had it named Maguire Street.

In 1900 the State Government of Victoria

Government of Victoria

The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...

 purchased the house as a country residence for the Governor of Victoria

Governors of Victoria

The Governor of Victoria is the representative in the Australian state of Victoria of its monarch, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level...

, although it was never used as such.

The Geelong Harbour Trust purchased the house in 1905 for 6000 pounds (A$12,000). A dining room and seven bedrooms were added in 1910, the Trust using Osborne House as a guest house for a number of years. The Trust offered the house to the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 in 1911, with nothing coming from it.

In 1913 the Navy took up offer to use the house as a naval college. Improvements to the buildings were carried out, including the erection of block of buildings as quarters for unmarried seamen, two new classrooms, and alterations to the main room to provided a large barrack for 28 cadets. The college was opened by the Governor General, Lord Thomas Denman

Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman

Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman GCMG, KCVO, PC was a British Liberal politician and the fifth Governor-General of Australia.-Early years:...

 on March 1, 1913, with Prime Minister Andrew Fisher

Andrew Fisher

Andrew Fisher was an Australian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister on three separate occasions. Fisher's 1910-13 Labor ministry completed a vast legislative programme which made him, along with Protectionist Alfred Deakin, the founder of the statutory structure of the new nation...

 also present. Lord Denman arrived by torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

, with 200 invited guests arriving by train from Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

. The college housed 28 cadets, 4 petty officers, and 10 seamen, together with the professors instructors and domestics. The initial class of 28 cadets was chosen from 137 candidates. It was considered as a permanent location for the naval college as it was close to rail transport

Geelong railway line, Victoria

The Geelong Line is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves passengers between state capital Melbourne and the regional city of Geelong....

 and had safe anchorage in Corio Bay

Corio Bay

Corio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...

, but the college was relocated to HMAS Creswell

HMAS Creswell

HMAS Creswell is a shore establishment of the Royal Australian Navy, a part of the Australian Defence Force, and consists of the Royal Australian Naval College , The RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range and an administrative support...

 at Jervis Bay

Jervis Bay

Jervis Bay is a large bay bounded by the state of New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, and a detached enclave of the Australian Capital Territory. HMAS Creswell is located between Jervis Bay Village and Greenpatch in the Jervis Bay Territory.-History:...

 in 1915.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 Osborne House was used as a military hospital

Military hospital

Military hospital is a hospital, which is generally located on a military base and is reserved for the use of military personnel, their dependents or other authorized users....

, and during between 1919 and 1924 was used as a base by the Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service

Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service

The Royal Australian Navy Submarine Service is the collective name of the submarine element of the Royal Australian Navy. The service currently forms the Navy's Submarine Force Element Group and consists of six Collins class submarines....

 for the J-class

British J class submarine

The J class of submarines was a seven submarine class developed by the Royal Navy prior to the First World War in response to claims that Germany was developing submarines that were fast enough to operate alongside surface fleets...

 submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

.

The Geelong Harbour Trust regaining control in 1929, with a caretaker being the only resident. In 1937 the Shire of Corio council purchased the house for use as shire offices.

Between 1939 and 1945 the Department of Defence

Department of Defence (Australia)

The Australian Department of Defence is a Federal Government Department. It forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation along with the Australian Defence Force . The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests...

 took over the site as an army training centre.

In 1945 the Shire of Corio regained control of Osborne House, with the shire purchasing adjoining land in 1947, and remodelling the offices in 1966. The amalgamation of the shire into the City of Greater Geelong

City of Greater Geelong

The City of Greater Geelong is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia.It is located in the western part of the state, south-west of Melbourne. It has an area of 1,240 square kilometres. In 2006 it had a population of 191,000...

 in 1995 saw the house lay empty.

Today

Today the stables house the Geelong Maritime Museum and the Geelong Memorial Brass Band, the house itself housing various community groups.

External links

• Geelong Maritime Museum (official site)