Lauderdale Cottage History

During the 1840s Swanston divided and sold a number of lots around New Town. John Mezger, a German hotelier and mill owner, built Lauderdale Cottage as a weekend retreat on one such six-acre parcel. Mezger was an interesting character, born in Wurttemberg in 1791 he emigrated to Van Dieman’s Land in 1823. Prior to purchasing the Bird in Hand Inn on Argyle Street, he worked in a distillery and as a saddler, somehow acquiring vast land holdings and businesses around Hobart. He also owned, Cliefdon, another house in New Town.

Lauderdale Cottage was designed by convict architect James Thomson and completed in 1844. It has been described as the, “only surviving complete Villa and garden in Australia, from a period that produced the finest period of domestic architecture in Tasmania”. Perhaps this is not entirely true, but it is a fine example of a complete villa and garden of that period. We do believe that preserving Lauderdale on its original title and format is absolutely essential.

Not long after its completion, Lauderdale was let to George Francis Evans, a customs agent and liquor merchant. It was perhaps during his time that Lauderdale achieved some attention for the wrong reasons:  one night Evans shot and killed a man whom he presumed to be a burglar from the upstairs window.

The man, David Jepson, was attempting to enter the kitchen window but sought cover in the water closet outside. Jepson was shot and later died in hospital and it emerged that he was in fact courting one of the servants, not stealing at all. There was a great deal of public debate about the issue, so despite being found guilty and sentenced to death, Evans’ conviction was later overturned after public outcry. 

After John Mezger’s death, Lauderdale was sold and subsequently purchased by Charles Jordan in 1867. Jordan, a former convict and alleged gang member had arrived in 1830 for stealing seven fowls.

During this time the land was farmed and supplied a modest income for the family. Like many of the families around New Town Bay and Cornelian Bay, the Jordens enjoyed boating and were well known for beaching their dinghy in front of their house and dragging it across Risdon Road to Lauderdale. This was before any reclamation of New Town Bay had taken place and only Risdon Road separated Lauderdale from the bay.