This Old House by Cate Patterson, Montville Historical Group

This old house is aptly named Fig Tree for the landmark giant fig that dominates its road frontage at 257 Western Avenue, Montville. It was built in 1935 by newlywed Kev Manley on 155 acres described as Portion 80v in the Parish of Maleny and originally selected by Edward Cronk in 1889. 

This second-generation pioneering home has become an exemplar of a dairy farmhouse transformation. 

The renovations lovingly carried out by several different owners have extended and modernised the building, but the character of the original homestead has been preserved. 

Kev was a painter, so it was his wife Doreen who largely looked after their herd of 80 cows. The once hillside paddocks with paspalum pasture are now dotted with houses where Manley Drive runs down to the Baroon Pocket Fauna Sanctuary adjoining scenic Kondalilla National Park. 

Today the front yard is as recognizable as it was in the 1930s. An ancient fig tree, a Ficus watkinsii named for the neighbour who identified it as a new variety a century ago still stands sentinel. 

A Ficus watkinsii – named for the neighbour who identified it as a new variety a century ago –still stands sentinel. 

The creamery too, still stands in the front yard where it was located for convenient collection of the cream cans. A prolific and fragrant jasmine vine once covered the creamery to ensure the cream remained cool.

Dairy farms always come with extra out-buildings. These almost 90-year-old structures have been maintained and refashioned. Kev Manley built a separate tool shed and laundry and beyond the house yard he built a milking shed to accommodate six cows at a time with a separator room at the east end. 

He made sure the piggery was downwind and well away from everything. After the cream was separated, the milk was taken to the pigs using a horse and slide. When electricity was connected, an underground pipe took the milk directly from the dairy to the piggery. Locals stopped by to watch the wonderful innovation and were always offered a cuppa and a freshly baked treat. 

Doreen, fondly known as Dors, was a patroness of the Montville Ladies and Social Benefit Club, and the Club enjoyed many happy events at Fig Tree. From one owner to the next, Fig Tree has maintained its reputation for neighbourly hospitality.

The original farmhouse consisted of two bedrooms and a sleepout, a central hallway and a kitchen and dining room at the rear of the house. From here, the uninterrupted view to the sea and Mount Coolum is still as breathtaking as it was when the house was first built.