The Tolman Years at Lauderdale

In April 2022, we met with and interviewed Amira and Mitchell Tolman, who were part of the last family raised here. They brought nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren, some of whom have memories of visiting Lauderdale through the 90s and 2000s. They were kind enough to sit with us and our neighbour, Brian Webberly (Poplarville), to answer our many questions about life at Lauderdale Cottage. 

The afternoon was fascinating, with many interesting anecdotes about certain trees, places in the house and significant events during their time in New Town. Unexpectedly it also revealed a darker side to Lauderdale. In speaking with Amira and Mitch, it became apparent that their childhoods were markedly different from what we'd imagined, and their recollections of their father, Wilfred are not always happy. They both bear strong memories of hard work, discipline and having less freedom than their peers. When speaking with Amira and Mitch, there seemed to be a degree of austerity and seclusion in their childhoods, despite Lauderdale Cottage's suburban location. The recounted experience varies within the family. Of course, recollections have a way of morphing and changing, depending on who's reflecting. We've been fortunate to have a great deal of input and correction supplied by Nigel Tolman, whose recollections are lighter and extend up to Lauderdale's sale in 2004.

The Tolman place in Lauderdale’s History

Lauderdale Cottage has been home to four families; Evans, Jordan, Tolman and Hutchinson] in its almost 180-year history. Initially built by hotel and mill owner John Mezger in 1844 as a weekend retreat or, perhaps, if the rumour is to be believed, a mistress's lodgings. 

The property was rented for much of his time and, not long later, was sold to Charles Jordan. Charles and his family spent several generations here before Lauderdale was eventually passed from Janet Jordan to Wilfred Tolman. 

The Jordans and Tolmans had been neighbouring merchants at the Salamanca Wharfs. Sarah Tolman (Wilfred's aunt) was a very close friend of Janet Jordan. The pair lived at Lauderdale Cottage until their deaths in the 1940s. Sarah, affectionately known as auntie Tot, died on 1 Sep. 1972. 

Wilfred Tolman also worked at the Salamanca business. Still, from 1930 onwards, he spent much of his life at Lauderdale Cottage as a gardener. Once married to Eve Watters, Wilfred and Eve raised six children there. Godfrey, Carolyn, Amira, Mitchell, Nigel and Bronwyn. When Wilfred died in 2002, he left Lauderdale Cottage to his children, including Nigel, who had always remained on the property. In 2004 the property and its contents were sold. The title then passed through two development companies before coming to rest with the Hutchinsons in 2017. Most of the furniture from the Jordan's time, dating from 1867 and original to the house, was sold at auction. Some pieces were purchased by members of the Tolman family as keepsakes. 

During the ownership of the Jordan sisters in the first half of the 20th century, the house and property fell into some disrepair. As stipulated in Charle's will, Janet was obliged to put Lauderdale Cottage up for sale. Still, no offers to purchase were received over approximately five years on the market. The property subsequently passed to Wilfred Tolman as he had put much work into the upkeep and restoration of the property. There was a need to replace rotten wood and treat and repair fittings like the bell system, the complex wooden shutters, windows doors, guttering etc. Maintaining the house surroundings and the garden helped maintain a drained environment to preserve the building. A venturi water-ejector pump was installed in the cellar (we think by Wilfred and a fellow workman) to help keep the water table as low as possible to reduce damage to the house due to dampness.

Lauderdale Cottage is an old, large property requiring ongoing maintenance and work. This was a task Wilfred undertook with dedication. Many projects were completed. Wilfred commissioned Max Lagewaard to design a broad, strong, yet thin concrete bridge. The width matched the Huon pine gates Wilfred acquired from the New Town Park.

Wilfred knew all of his garden's botanical names of trees, shrubs, plants and bulbs. He searched for special and unusual plants, even via the Government House and Runnymede gardener, to make Lauderdale's gardens lovely. Against the trees in his 'ornamental bed', he planted choice shrubs allowing a central area for lawn and a rectangular reflection pond.

The post-WW11 period saw Hobart, and the rest of Australia come under development pressure, with many historic homes being demolished and redeveloped.

Wilfred Tolman's resolved respect for the Lauderdale Cottage estate is why it still exists in its completeness today. Over the years, there were temptations and offers for the Tolmans to subdivide the property for short-term gain. Wilfred resisted this as it would destroy the property's integrity and remove its status as the last remaining fully titled villa in Australia still being used for its original purpose.

Note that Lauderdale Cottage is the only remaining property. All other estates have been divided or demolished but Lauderdale remains as the only one with original house and title in tact.

Wilfred loved beautiful gardens, architecture, poetry, music, knowledge and history. His deep interest in the provenance of Lauderdale led him to write a short summary of its associations with the history and buildings that became the homes of families around lovely New Town Bay. 

In the Hobart Library is Wilfred Tolman's essay, typed by Eve Tolman on the typewriter familiar to each of her children. The following excerpt reflects Wilfred's warm and caring disposition and sense of social history.

Living at Lauderdale

Since the 1930's, Lauderdale Cottage was home to Wilfred Tolman and his family, who were not merchants at Salamanca, unlike the Jordans. They had a much smaller income to maintain the property. Still, the ~6-acre allotment produced enough fruit, nuts and vegetables to sustain the family and provide a small income. This income was bolstered by renting out several rooms in the house, leaving the large family a much smaller living space than you'd expect upon looking at the home. Still, the place with outbuildings, spacious land, gardens, creeks, tunnels, and secret hideaways, even a hollow tree two children could hide in, seemed big enough and was the envy of many peers at school. 

Wilfred and Eve shared a room, with their three youngest children, Mitchell, Nigel and Bronwyn, in the upstairs bedroom on the eastern corner. Carolyn and Amira slept in the attic room on the Risdon Road side. The larger, central bedroom at the top of the stairs with a wide window installed by Wilfred looked out on the old mulberry tree. This room was, for a time, rented out as a flat along with the 'breakfast room' and scullery adjacent to the stables. 

The Tolmans' dining room was the rear room downstairs. The adjoining pantry served as the kitchen (now a bathroom), with a pantry to the left. It was in the dining room that several of the children were born, delivered by none other than Wilfred Tolman himself. It was a remarkably self-sufficient lifestyle! 

The orchard as it was during the Tolman’s time. It has changed somewhat in the 20 years since but the structure and many of the trees remain.

The Orchard and Market Garden

The Jordans cultivated apples at first, but Lauderdale became famous for Moorpark apricots. The apricots were so extensive that they grew close to the eastern windows of the house. Even in years when fruit failed the size-gauge-test of the tinned fruit exporter Jones and Co. on Hobart's waterfront, the Jones and Co. buyer would ignore the fact that they were too small and purchased all that Lauderdale could produce without hesitation because the quality and flavour of Lauderdale apricots were so desirable. 

Wilfred considerably reordered and extended the orchard and garden layout from the pattern existing during Jordan's tenure. He introduced paths lined with special apple, pear and plum tree varieties to mark off the various areas of the property. Between 2004 and 2017, many trees died or were damaged due to neglect and abuse. Today, however, a large portion has been replaced with a mix of heritage and new varieties.

This arrangement of pathways and fruit tree borders was designed by Wilfred to try and make order out of the existing, more haphazard garden that had previously made it very difficult or impossible for horse-drawn or mechanical tilling machines to operate. Disease and weeds could then potentially be managed easier. As old Mr Charles Jordan watched his property fall out of order, he was quoted to comment to a friend concerning his Lauderdale estate that 'Everything had gone to rack and ruin.'

The Tolmans grew apricots, pears, apples, lemons, grapefruit, persimmons, peaches, nectarines, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet corn, carrots, parsnips, radish, cabbage, cauliflowers, cucumbers, pumpkins, greens, plums, quince, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and even mushrooms grown in the dark stables at times. Grains were ground by hand into flour for bread, and the original dairy entered from the original back porch (now a powder room) was always packed with jars of preserves. Green juices (apple, carrot and greens for the evening meal only) and lemon juice were had with most meals, while porridge was served for breakfast with apples or preserved fruits. The Tolmans ate primarily food grown on the property as available, except for perhaps Christmas when a tin of Hinze tomato soup and an orange. "We always had Heinz tomato and other soups on hand and often had oranges when the abundant fruit from the property was out of season. Food was always so abundant we couldn't use it all. Mother made wonderful bread on which we had all spreads like butter, peanut butter, yeast spreads, honey, sweet conserves and more butter. Baked vegetables and Savoury dishes were always served with seasonal salads, plenty of eggs and sweet desserts on many evenings. Birthdays were always extra-special with the nicest foods, sweets and cake", Nigel Tolman. The family's famous homemade nut and vegetable "Nut Duck" was often eaten but was only one of the many tasty savoury dishes the family enjoyed. It was quite unlike the processed 'faux meats' of today. 

"Mother was such a good cook that we were never dissatisfied, and we look back on those wonderful tastes with nostalgia. On one occasion, we had the Butler from Government House, George Heron and his wife, as guests to dine with us, and the famous 'Nut Duck' was served. Soon after, he wished to return the favour and invited the Tolman's to his place for dinner, so he went to the manager of a health shop (where Natures Works is now in the Cat and Fiddle complex) to ask if, for a surprise, he could obtain the recipe for 'the delicious meat recipe Eve Tolman had served' him and his wife for dinner. The manager who knew us well said it would not have been meat in the dish he liked so much. 'Oh yes, it was' said the butler. Yet he was finally assured that the tasty 'meat' dish did not contain meat.]." – Nigel Tolman. 

The family's recollections seem to vary depending on who you ask. Still, it can be agreed that there was a strong preference for vegetarian food, though perhaps not a strict rule when visitors were present. "One year, we had real duck meat for Christmas to cater for guests. For guests who stayed with us, meat was cooked. When our mother craved meat when pregnant, it was provided. The Christmas table was always groaning with abundant food, savouries, delicious 'gems' (like a scone, but better), fruit slices, fruitcake, cream cakes, fruit salads and cream. Although the writer had assumed this was tied to religious beliefs (Seventh Day Adventism), Nigel has corrected me and advised it was not religious beliefs but Janet Jordan, who first introduced the health idea. She was a member of the 'Radiant Health Club' and had influenced Wilfred with ideas like morning lemon juice and the benefits of exercise and sunshine. Janet Jordan subscribed to the Radiant Health magazine, copies of which, along with much of the Jordan possessions that had accumulated from the 1870s, were still in the house just before it was sold in 2004.  

Tuberculosis

Wilfred spent around 9 months receiving treatment for Tuberculosis a short distance away at the 'Wingfield' building in the New Town St. John's Park hospital complex. Wilfred put much preparation in place to assist with the management of the property before he was obliged to go to the hospital for TB of the spine. His TB was exacerbated by over-exertion in getting Lauderdale ship shape. Realising that he had to spend a long time in recovery after a spinal bone graft. And to provide an income for Eve and the children, he built a kitchenette, bathroom and toilet on the part of the area now occupied by the glass atrium for a second flat before he went into the hospital. Often they would bring him food and green juice to promote his recovery. When he returned home around 1955, Wilfred, Eve, Carolyn, Amira and Mitchell took their first holiday, a trip to Port Arthur to stay at a friend's shack. 

School, Religion & Rules

Wilfred was father to 5 surviving children, 2 boys and 3 girls, some of whom were born at Lauderdale, others at Calvary Hospital. If the children were found to have eaten something inappropriate, they were firmly scolded. Such were his beliefs, he came to forbid conventional painkillers, white sugar, white flour and meat. 

Attending the local Seventh-day Adventist school provided a welcome reprieve from the chores of home. Although the family couldn't afford the tuition fees (quoted Amira), the school took them in regardless. 

After Amira finished school, her now husband Ray asked Wilfred's permission to marry her and was met with an unfriendly reply. The two married anyway, disregarding Wilfred's wishes and upsetting him greatly. Amira and Ray moved to the mainland, and letters from Amira to Wilfred rarely received a reply. However, Nigel notes that letters from Carolyn, Amira and Bronwyn were eagerly anticipated and habitually read out to the excited family remaining at Lauderdale. It was recounted that Wilfred threatened to cut off all his daughters at various times unless they married according to his wishes. He warned them that moving to the mainland was considered an instant resignation from the family and his will. Yet subsequent visits back to Lauderdale were welcome. Despite this, all three daughters married, although Wilfred never attended any of his children's weddings. His behaviour caused great distress within the family for many years, affecting each of his children differently. 

Mitchell was kicked out of home at 17 for smoking and would later find trouble with the law. With no skills favoured by employers, Mitchell eventually found himself behind bars after committing petty crimes to feed himself. In time, he moved back to Lauderdale and lived with his wife in a caravan for a while, but the relationship didn't last. 

Outbuildings

In the very early years, a wooden cottage was built beside the Rivulet on Captain Swanston's New Town Park estate (opposite Pitt's Farm). When John Mezger acquired the land, that cottage still stood on the northwest border of the Lauderdale Cottage estate. It was subsequently washed away in flood, but a stone doorstep set in its foundation was still visible in Tolman's time. Wilfred also told the story of seeing a photo of the former owner, Charles Jordan, standing on this doorstep.

In Jordan's time, there was a 'summer house' with lattice and seats at the front eastern corner of Lauderdale Cottage near the Norfolk-Island pine.

While on holiday at Port Arthur in 1955 (the only one they ever took as a family per Amira & Mitchel) the old wash house and gardener's room, affectionately called 'the Humpy,' burned down. The Tolmans returned to find most of the two-room weatherboard building destroyed by fire. The copper, brick chimney, timber framing, rafters, weatherboards and Huon pine wash troughs remained. The building couldn't be salvaged, yet despite being very close to the main house, the fire didn't spread. On an earlier occasion, a fire started in the huts to the west. It spread into the orchard that had become overgrown while Wilfred was convalescing with TB. 

The other weatherboard building known as 'the barn', initially built by the Jordans and set on loose stones and clad with split palings, that still remains, became one of Wilfred's projects. He added four dormer windows, a hand mixed a concrete floor, rebuilt the entire north-western side and roof of the building, reclad it with unique wide weatherboards milled to match a historic style used in Hobart, and installed several windows downstairs, which were recovered from a landmark Hobart home. He even replaced the roof with slate shingles. This project took him 10-15 years, intending to turn the upstairs into a flat. 

The downstairs was used as a garden shed and for the display of fruit and vegetables for sale to the public. Later, one downstairs room became Nigel's office, where he created stationery and pamphlets for the church. Later, adding a bathroom and kitchen, it became a lunchroom, office and studio for the Vaucluse Gardens project. 

The greenhouse was made from handmade salvaged bricks with glass and metal work from the greenhouses of the historic Lenna House in Salamanca. It was built by and for Mitchell Tolman, who intended to grow flowers after returning to live at Lauderdale Cottage in his 20s. The greenhouse was never completed with glass, but the brick and metal remains are presently used as an outdoor dining space. 

Flooding

Lauderdale Cottage is blessed with fertile soils and cursed by floods. 

During the Tolmans' time at Lauderdale, New Town bay was filled in entirely after serving as a dump from 1939 onwards and the Brooker Highway and Risdon Rd upgrades were built. The addition of the culvert under Risdon Rd subsequently caused regular flooding and soil erosion. This drove the Tolmans to enlarge the levy wall on the New Town Rivulet - a massive job, as it was done by hand.  

The changed groundwater level was causing the cellar to hold water so in the 1960s, a 6ft deep pipe was hand dug from the cellar of Lauderdale Cottage to the Maypole Rivulet to drain water that now accumulated and was causing damp issues within the structure. Native water rats, like tiny otters with orange bellies and white tail, would come from the creek into the house to dine on their catch of eel and fish. 

Poplarville

Mitchell mentions that a large amount of coal ash was put in the northern end of Poplarville to build up the land to avoid flooding and improve the soil. The land at Poplarville's rear was given to a Chinese man (Georgie) and his family, who successfully farmed that land and part of Pitt's farm estate across the Rivulet. 

Lauderdale’s living history

Our meeting with the Tolman family was incredibly enlightening and unexpected. 

We thank Nigel, Amira, Mitchell and their family for the insight into the history of Lauderdale Cottage and New Town. Each chapter in the property's history displays a unique perspective on Hobart during the time and provides colour to our local area's cultural history. We hope to continue sharing Lauderdale and its history with the community.  

L-R: Sasha Hutchinson, Mitchell Tolman, Amira McMahon (formerly Tolman) & Vicki McKenzie