The History of Moira Gums

The first part of Moira Gums, as we know it today, was built in 1856.  It was just a small hut which is now the kitchen. The hut was built by Joseph Waldo Rice, the first European settler in Barmah. There is a sketch of the hut just outside bedroom 1.

Joseph Waldo Rice was born at Lincoln, Massachusetts in the United States of America on 8th February 1828.

At the age of twenty, like thousands of others Joseph decided to travel to the gold fields of California to seek his share of gold.  He searched for gold with little success and decided to join a group of miners who wanted to try the gold fields of Australia.