Visit Mont De Lancey Homestead
Visiting the Yarra Valley?

Explore and learn about this unique historical property on one of our informative and fun tours.

OPEN:

Wednesday to Sunday: 10 am to 4 pm

Relive the history of the Yarra Valley

Do you love immersing yourself in bygone days?  If so, take a drive out to Wandin in the beautiful Yarra Valley, an hour east of Melbourne, where you’ll find the historic homestead of Mont De Lancey, built in the 1880’s by an early settler family, the Sebires.

There’s lots to see when you visit the property – the former milking shed, the slab kitchen on the original house site, the museum collection in the remodelled former farm buildings (which is home to over 5,000 eclectic objects, from egg whisks and butter churns to wedding dresses and pig scrapers), plus the historic dairy and chapel.

Four generations of Sebires lived and flourished at Mont De Lancey for over 100 years. Take a tour and discover what daily life was like back in the pioneering days. Many of the volunteer tour guides are descendants of the original family, so they have great tales to tell.

Tours Start: 10.00 am.
Last Tour: 3.00 pm, Wednesday – Sunday

Step back in time…

In 1867 Henry Sebire, his wife Martha and their four children settled in Wandin Yallock where Henry leased 80 acres of newly-surveyed Crown Land.

As they began to build their farm, the hamlet of Wandin had literally only just been ‘put on the map’.  The Sebires, along with a handful of other European families, had to fell trees and clear their land before they could build their homes.  Henry built their first home using the timber he’d just felled.

Fortunately for him, he was a former stonemason, so he and local labourers made bricks by hand, using clay quarried from the dam – Mont De Lancey became the first brick built house to be built in the district.

Mont De Lancey was their family homestead. It is rich in their history and ready for you to explore.

Walk in the shoes of the Sebire family – wander through the homestead, furnished with original artefacts from their era and explore the surrounding gardens.

What our visitors say…

Trades of Yesteryear

Mont De Lancey is much more than just an old homestead with a museum.  It’s a one-stop-shop where you can see the crafts and trades from yesteryear.

Working blacksmiths in their purpose-built forge, shaping metal into tools & art with heat & hammer.

Blacksmithing at Mont De Lancey

Check out vintage engines and machinery in the Yarra Valley Vintage Machinery Preservation Society shed.

Machinery Preservation at Mont De Lancey

The Eastern Woodturners use age old traditions to turn timber into art and functional pieces.

YV Woodturners