This 1880s artwork, by Herbert J. Woodhouse, is of Whittlesea, looking east, probably sketched from just north of Christ Church. We can made out Whittlesea House on today’s corner of Church St and Beech St (Yea Rd.). The township of Whittlesea had its origins in 1838, when Robert Hoddle issued instructions to “survey Plenty River and [the] Dividing Range to Mount Macedon”.
In 1853, Robert Mason conducted a survey of a reserve and named it Whittlesea, after the village Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire, England. The economy of the township of Whittlesea was initially heavily reliant upon logging, but, following a Select Committee report to Parliament, the Yan Yean catchment was closed to logging to prevent pollution of the Reservoir.
The decline of logging saw Whittlesea become more dependent upon grazing and farming for its revenue. The arrival of the railway in 1889 provided a reliable and efficient way to transport produce from the district to Melbourne.
Whittlesea House is associated with the early days of Whittlesea village, with the oldest sections of the building dating from 1864, although it also includes two more recent wings.Whittlesea House was built as a hotel and operated as the Prince of Wales.
In the mid part of the 1920s the property was purchased by Neil McKendrick JP and Rachel McKendrick. They operated the property as a guesthouse and function venue until 1945.