When Armidale couple, Jesse Dick and Tahlia Stewart, spotted a real estate listing for Trim Cottage in Armidale, they simply couldn’t resist the temptation. The couple purchased the property in 2020, seeing its incredible potential.
Jesse and Tahlia have spent three and half years restoring this historic cottage, adhering to State heritage guidelines, and their efforts and great attention to detail have been rewarded as shortlisted finalists in the 2024 National Trust (NSW) Heritage Awards.
“My partner Tahlia knew that I always wanted to restore an old building and that I wouldn’t be able to get the bug out of my system until I had the opportunity to work on one,” said Mr Dick.
“I don’t think that either of us thought that the restoration would take three and a half years but from the first moment we saw the house (Tahlia) could see the end product being a beautiful family home for us to live in and so believed in me and believed that it was all going to be worth it in the end.”
Their project ‘Preservation, Restoration and Reconstruction of Trim Cottage, Armidale’ has been entered into the Built Conservation section of the National Trust Heritage Awards. Amongst ten other mostly Government and Architectural company contenders, this is a remarkable result for the commitment shown by the local finalists.
“This is very exciting and quite unbelievable,” said Mr Dick.
“I believe we are the only private entrants to have made it onto the shortlist and are only one of 11 finalists under the Built Conservation category from across the entire state.”
The restoration has been a family effort from the very beginning. Both Jesse and Tahlia have worked together on the project, with support from family during many unforeseeable events which would have deterred the less committed.
“Having an unbelievably supportive and very understanding family has made all the difference to the project given all the life changing events that happened through the building,” said Mr Dick.
“From not being able to inspect the house when it was for sale due to bushfires closing roads, to not being able to visit the house due to floods closing the roads, to Covid not allowing us to travel, to moving town to having our first child come into our lives mid construction, all of these things have been made much easier by having a supporting partner and family.”
2024 is a significant year for the National Trust (NSW) Heritage Awards, celebrating their 30th anniversary. The Awards are an annual celebration of outstanding practice, awarding excellence in conservation of Aboriginal, built, natural and cultural heritage.
Minister for Heritage, Ms Penny Sharpe, acknowledged the incredibly diverse line-up of finalists from across NSW showcasing the important work happening across New South Wales to conserve and enhance connection to heritage. These Awards are an important way to offer due recognition to the people who make these projects possible.
“I have been fascinated with old buildings over a very long time,” said Mr Dick.
“I had always photographed old buildings that took my interest and had a good understanding on what the house should look like once restored.”
“I have also had good advice on appropriate construction techniques from the trades that worked on the project, including from my carpenters, renderers, bricklayers and painters among many others.”
If the walls could talk, Trim Cottage would have some amazing tales to tell. Without knowing much about the history of the Cottage, Jesse and Tahlia have developed a greater than expected understanding of the historical importance this small building has to the Armidale community.
“As it turns out the house has connections with not only the Trim family, but also other notable Armidale people including the Gordon family of Saumarez Ponds, William Miller of Hillgove Mine and Imperial Hotel fame, the Rossiter family and the Donk family,” said Mr Dick.
The Cottage and surrounding area were developed in response to the arrival of the railway to Armidale in 1883. The cottage, a single storey Victorian Italianate dwelling, was the linked residence for Trim’s Store, built by former convict, and Armidale’s first Mayor, John Joseph Trim.
In recognition of the historical importance of this simple cottage to the history of Armidale and the development that flowed from the opening of the Northern rail line, Armidale’s Heritage Bus Tour has included Trim Cottage as a point of interest stop along the route.
Jesse has recorded the trials and tribulations along the way. The visual transformation of this project can be seen on Instagram @trim_cottage
The winners will be announced at the National Trust Heritage Awards ceremony on Friday 17 May at Doltone House in Pyrmont.
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