Our Charlton house is an historical legacy of the residential developments in Charlton during the interwar period.

The land upon which the Charlton House sits was first acquired by local auctioneer Alexander Robertson of Thomas Morrow and Co in December 1912. Robertson was one of Charlton‘s most prominent citizens, and took an active part in many local movements and charitable institutions. In 1914 he donated a horse to the Australian Expeditionary Forces and later was a member of the local water trust and secretary of the repatriation committee. In 1922 Alexander Robertson was appointed Municipal Land Valuer for the Shire of Charlton. He lived in Charlton for the whole of his life and died in 1928 aged 59 years.

The original land included 2 adjacent blocks, one of which was sold in 1920, most likely to finance construction of the house. The other was sold in 1957 and we think that this might have been to carry out renovations, including the replacement of the lath and hessian walls with fibrous plaster.

After Robertson’s death, the house was purchased by Sam O’Brien and his wife Mary in July 1929. O’Brien had been apprenticed to builder Richard Windsor and became another of Charlton’s local builders before taking up concrete pipe construction during the depression in the early 1930s.

Bricks for the Rex Theatre, in Charton’s main street, were hand made by  Sam O’Brien when the theatre was first built in 1938.

Sam O’Brien was also a renowned local marksman having won countless medals and awards, including the Longfield Aggregate prize of 50 pounds at the Prince of Wales Championship at Sydney in 1919.

At the state rifle matches at Williamstown in 1936 Sam won the Sargood event – a shoot of 900 yards. In December 1936 he won a gold medal for the VRA championship at Williamstown during the Kings Prize event, when he scored the highest possible score to win the shoot.

Sam’s son, John, from whom we purchased the property, was awarded the Charlton Citizen of the Year in 1996 for his services to scouting and the Lions Club. John’s wife Bernadette received the same award in 2002 for her services to the Catholic Church, the Red Cross and the Guide and Scout Movements.

Sam O’Brien c 1911

Read more about Charlton and it’s history at http://www.charlton.vic.au