Calthorpes House

Calthorpes House is a 1927 Canberra home preserved as a house museum, offering a close look at domestic life in the city’s early years. The house was built for Harry and Della Calthorpe, who moved to Canberra from Queanbeyan as the new Federal Capital was taking shape. Designed by Oakley and Parkes, the architects behind The Lodge, it reflects the period’s Garden City ideals, with a freestanding cottage, verandahs, shuttered windows and surrounding gardens.

Inside, the rooms retain much of their character and many of the furnishings and fittings chosen by Della from Sydney retailer Beard Watson & Co. Original household objects, photographs and appliances show how a middle-class Australian home was furnished and run in the late 1920s. The public rooms include a sitting room and dining room, while the kitchen, pantry, bathroom, breakfast room, bedrooms and domestic work areas reveal the practical divisions of the household. A gramophone, pianola, bridge cards, family photographs and Harry’s military items add personal detail to the collection.

The house also gives attention to the less visible work that supported family life. The laundry contains a wood-fired copper, concrete troughs and hand-wringer, while the former maid’s room sits near the kitchen and laundry. Visitors can see reminders of changing household technology, including an early electric Kooka stove, as well as older equipment such as the ice chest and solid-fuel stove. Outside, the gardens include formal plantings, hedges, an orchard, vegetable areas and a summerhouse. A former workers’ hut serves as a cubby house, and an air-raid shelter remains in the garden as a reminder of wartime fears.

Entry is by guided tour to help protect the interiors and collection, so booking ahead is recommended. Calthorpes House is open on Saturdays from 1pm to 4pm, with admission listed as $12 for adults, $10 concession and free for children under 12. It suits visitors interested in architecture, social history and Canberra’s early development, as well as families who may enjoy the garden and historic cubby house. Community and learning programs run during the year, and online exhibitions and an interactive tour provide alternatives or useful context before or after a visit. The house is at 24 Mugga Way, Red Hill, Canberra.