It was sold to the Bunbury port authority, now known as Southern Ports, in 1968.<\/p>\n
Significant and progressive degradation has been consistently observed and flagged by local residents and councillors in recent years.<\/p>\n
![\"Damaged](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6b239935e3e8d3248aedcc63b5825a3a.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Architect Kent Lyon’s report highlighted the ongoing deterioration at the homestead. (Supplied: Kent Lyon)<\/p>\n
In May 2024, Southern Ports told a community committee the cottages had “been reviewed by Kent Lyon, who will provide a report on the stabilisation of the buildings”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In August 2024, the same committee was told “a local heritage architect is working on steps on how to stabilise the buildings”.<\/p>\n
When the ABC asked Southern Ports for a copy of this report last year, a spokesperson said it would take some time to source.<\/p>\n
After a Freedom of Information application by the ABC, a copy was released.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Urgent’ work required<\/p>\n
Completed in April 2023, the report recommends a range of measures, several requiring urgent attention and the remainder requiring attention within 12 months.<\/p>\n
Urgent work included removal of plastic sheeting placed over the eastern wall of one cottage, which Mr Lyon said had “exacerbated the deterioration [of the weatherboards] with a humid ‘glasshouse’ effect”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Damaged](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/7b349ff0e4092f9df951dfce56d935c8.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
A photo from Kent Lyon’s 2023 report shows damage to one of the cottage’s bases.\u00a0 (Supplied: Kent Lyon)<\/p>\n
Southern Ports said it had installed the black plastic “with good intent; to preserve and weather protect the interior of the building”.<\/p>\n
Almost three years later, this plastic sheeting remains in place.<\/p>\n
The port authority said the conservation works should occur as a package, and the removal of the plastic sheeting was contingent on cladding being installed.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/9ddcbba988df46c795ef32de68009ded.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
One of the Leschenault Homestead cottages on January 3, 2026. (ABC South West WA: Jacqueline Lynch)<\/p>\n
Other issues highlighted included dampness in brick fireplace and chimney walls, and the need to disperse rainwater away from buildings, with “considerable conservation and reconstruction work” required.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The cottages have deteriorated extensively over the past two decades and remain unoccupied,” the architect noted.<\/p>\n
“Urgent work is required to fully weather seal the cottages \u2026 doing as little as possible is not feasible.”<\/p>\n
Mr Lyon noted several times in the report that previous reviews as far back as 2008 had produced similar recommendations.<\/p>\n
Southern Ports stands by restoration timeline<\/p>\n
Southern Ports told the ABC “temporary stabilisation works” on the cottages had been undertaken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the more substantial work recommended in the report had “not been achievable in the 18-month time frame recommended”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Black](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0bbfb4425f4f14b8f0435e75d895292e.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Former occupants, the Johnstons, pose for a portrait at the Leschenault Homestead in 1902. (ABC South West WA: Ezra Kaye)<\/p>\n
“These works are extensive and take time to plan, scope and complete in a considered manner that also reflects broader port planning and heritage requirements,” a spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Southern Ports is committed to undertaking the next phase of these works, which is scheduled to commence later this year.”<\/p>\n
The port authority said it had inherited the homestead “in a state of disrepair” and had restored the main building, now being used as an office.<\/p>\n
Strict heritage requirements<\/p>\n
As the owner of a heritage-listed site, Southern Ports is required to comply with obligations under the Heritage Act.<\/p>\n
The Heritage Council can issue a repair notice compelling it to undertake certain works and, if they are not completed by the specified date, advise the relevant minister to make a repair order.<\/p>\n
A Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) spokesperson said Southern Ports had flagged its intention to pursue the required work this year.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/e2e0971b39c906ec364b40c6b1dfad56.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
A painting of one of the original cottages of the Leschenault Homestead, which is now falling into disrepair.\u00a0 (ABC South West WA: Ezra Kaye)<\/p>\n
“The department attended Leschenault Homestead in late 2025 to assess its general condition and record photographs for reference, and will continue to monitor the condition of Leschenault Homestead,” they said.<\/p>\n
Warning on ‘cheap’ promises<\/p>\n
Bunbury historian Brendan Kelly said promises felt “cheap” given how much time had passed.<\/p>\n
“People are trusting that everything is being done and being done correctly,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Then you have a look and say, ‘whoops, hang on a tick, nothing’s being done’. You get new managers, you get new people on board, and sometimes the priorities slip down the list.”<\/p>\n
Mr Kelly, also a former Bunbury city councillor, called for more transparency around conservation efforts.<\/p>\n
“What needs to be provided quite openly is how much progress the port authority has made over the last two years,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Preservation of heritage buildings and history is an ongoing process that passes on from generation to generation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“At the moment, it’s on the port authority’s watch. They are responsible for ensuring that the Leschenault Homestead is looked after, and they must step up and do that.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inaction by a West Australian port authority may have accelerated the deterioration of one of the state’s oldest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,216817,216823,216815,216821,132465,216824,216822,216813,216814,135474,216820,85,216816,216818,216819],"class_list":["post-409360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australind","tag-bunbury-heritage","tag-bunbury-history","tag-bunbury-port","tag-colonisation","tag-heritage-listed","tag-heritage-protection","tag-leschenault","tag-leschenault-homestead","tag-settlers","tag-southern-ports","tag-sports","tag-wa-history","tag-william-clifton","tag-william-pearce-clifton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}