About Ellis House
Built in the early 1900s, Ellis House was the first dairy farm in the Bayswater District. Fully refurbished, it is a great example of early settler architecture.
In 1912 the Ellis family arrived in Australia by boat, the ‘Australind’ which landed in Fremantle. George Fox and Alma Rebecca Ellis and their seven children (their eighth child was born at Ellis House) first lived in Maylands before they rowed their boat up the river to Bayswater and purchased the land where Ellis House stands.
They lived in tents on the land until they could build a shed which became their temporary home. George was a carpenter and often worked away whilst Alma and the children took produce from the fruit trees and vegetables grown at the rear of the property to sell at the open markets in Eighth Avenue.
George incorporated a turret in the design of the home which was used to watch the cows and also proved useful for watching the horse races across the river.
The refurbishment of Ellis House in 1995 was a joint undertaking by the City of Bayswater, the Department of Employment, Education and Training, the Morley CES and the Wearne Training Centre under the ‘New Work Opportunity Programme’.
In March 2004 the ‘Ellis House Community Art Centre’ was officially opened. Ellis House is now home to a contemporary art gallery. The Ellis House Art Centre brings art to the community and supports local emerging artists through art exhibitions and classes.
Ellis House Art Centre is WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE
