Description

Werribee Mansion is one of Australia's largest, grandest, and most architecturally sophisticated mansions, and is included on the Victorian Heritage Register. Construction of the large basalt and sandstone mansion was completed in 1877 for the Chirnside family who were originally from Scotland, and made their fortune from wool in Victoria’s Western District.

The Chirnsides rejected the popular vernacular Scottish baronial style of the early-to-mid 19th century, and instead built their mansion in an Italianate Renaissance Revival style. They did, however, embrace the romanticism of Highlandism and cultivate a consciously theatrical Scottish identity in other ways.

The mansion is a symmetrical two storey central block, with dominant tower and a ground level arcade on three sides. With 60 rooms across several wings, the fine interior includes some original furniture set within a richly decorated entry hall containing a Minton encaustic tiled floor, niches, Corinthian pilasters, and free-standing columns leading to a grand staircase. The main reception rooms, library and dining room are all classically ornamented.

Converted into a seminary in the 1920s, the estate was purchased by the Victorian State Government in 1977, and is now managed by Parks Victoria. It has featured in the TV series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and Winchester.

What's On

Parks Victoria staff and volunteers will be onsite to chat to visitors about the Mansion’s history, art, and architectural features. There will be a number of forms of entertainment occurring sporadically throughout the Mansion, in a flash-mob style, providing a lively atmosphere, and surprising and delighting visitors. The café will be open, selling light food and beverages. Visitors will be able to freely move through the Mansion room-to-room.

An entrance fee is usually applicable for access to the interior of the Mansion (but not for OHM!).