Schwerkolt's Cottage dates from the early 1860s
and is representative of the era of pioneering settlement in the area around Melbourne. The house is built of random-laid quarried stone and surrounded by a group of ancillary buildings, including a barn, a smithy, a wine cellar and a smokehouse.

In 2007, our architecture team was commissioned by the City of Whitehorse to design a new building to join the complex, for the exhibition of historic farm machinery. The design of the new museum was informed by the existing 19th century buildings on the site, harmonising with these simple vernacular stone and timber structures but having a contemporary edge well-suited to the new building's purpose. The museum was constructed in six weeks using exposed recycled hardwood and galvanised iron.