Ziebell’s Farmhouse Museum and Heritage Garden in Thomastown will open its doors to the public this July as part of Open House Melbourne Weekend, celebrating the extraordinary story of how German and Wendish immigrants helped feed Melbourne from a small dairy precinct just 16 kilometres north of the CBD.
Now in its second year as an Open House Melbourne (OHM) participant, the Museum will offer visitors free access to the bluestone dairy farm homestead, heritage smokehouse and delightful cottage garden across three days from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 July – welcoming the community into a living piece of Melbourne’s multicultural food and agricultural history.
As part of Open House Melbourne’s Generous City theme, visitors are invited to consider how the values of generosity, participation and belonging have shaped Melbourne over generations. The Westgarthtown story demonstrates how migrant families built community through cooperation and productivity, creating a legacy that continues to resonate with the diverse communities that call Melbourne’s north home today.
Guided tours occurred with Germantown descendants to explore one of Melbourne’s oldest surviving bluestone homes built in 1850, viewing the cottage garden, walking through the Westgarthtown precinct and hearing a special German storytime on Sunday morning.
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