The Elephant House looms out of the landscape among the trees and crops of a plantation on North River Road in the North West town of Carnarvon. It is an odd building, somewhat nondescript and stands silently, central to two homes, a packing shed, water tank and various farm machinery and implements. Situated on Lot 147, a large plantation of 41 hectares, that extends both sides of the road with a river front along the mighty Gascoyne River. The Elephant House is an unusual building, nothing else quite like it in the town, or the North West for that matter. It is a simple structure and the materials are quite unique.
The Sanderson family who lived and worked this plot of land for three generations called it the Elephant House; a curious name which begs the question “Why is it called the Elephant House?” This question is one that members of the Sanderson family have asked but failed to find an answer. They were curious however happy to just go with the affectionate name that conjures up memories formed around the ebb and flow of the seasons, the planting and harvest, the heat and the cool, the dry and the floods. And at the centre of the hard work and toil was the built form of three family homes, a packing shed, water tanks and …the Elephant House.
The original building was just five and a half metres in length and three and half metres wide creating a single room on the ground floor. High overhead in the ceiling space is a functional loft. Many years later a second room was added at ground level, almost doubling the living space. The original timber framed door opens facing west and is the only point of entry at ground level. Just outside the door, a water tap juts out of the ground near a small cement slab. On the eastern side of the building a window looks out at the thick, heavy trunks of two large tamarind trees. Situated almost three metres above this window is another door. The door opens to a dark loft. Curiously there are no external steps or even a ladder to reach the loft door. The only access to the loft is by climbing a simple vertical ladder, made of rough timber positioned just inside the front door. A grappling point is still in place today, jutting from beneath the peak of the tin roof.
The Elephant House represents many things to members of the Sanderson family. The family farming enterprise commenced when Stan Sanderson purchased the property in 1942. The Elephant House was part of the bill of sale, along with the other buildings and farming infrastructure. In the following years the Elephant House was the first home for newlyweds, a great play house for children, a storage space and spare room and temporary lodgings for friends in need of a place to stay.
Although the name is unusual, it became instilled in the minds and memories of those who grew up on the plantation, their children and grand-children. The Elephant House is more than a building, it is repository of memories and it forms a small part of the history of the Sanderson family with their childhood and adult memories dotted with stories where the Elephant House is quietly placed.
The following is an abridged history of the property at 147 North River Road and the origins of this odd building is told by Stan Sanderson’s grand-daughter, Tami Maitre (nee Sanderson) who grew up in a carefree and playful environment on the plantation. Through researching the history and searching through plantation records and diaries, online newspaper records and piecing together family recollections and anecdotes, a surprising discovery is made that explains the origins of this building and how it became so named.
Follow the story with me as I explore the history of the plantation and the story behind the Elephant House.
Artwork by Miranda Plum
The Elephant House 