History of Lyons Cottage
Local contractor, Harold G Snell, completed Lyons Cottage in 1925; a remarkable achievement considering that it was probably only the second building he put up. Residents recalled that he would push his tools and materials in a hand barrow from home to the worksite. Snell employed an Aboriginal assistant and the work seems to have been done by only the two of them.
The porcellanite stone from which the building was constructed was locally quarried, possibly from Larrakeyah. Porcellanite had been used extensively in the construction of many nineteenth century Darwin buildings; Government House, the Victoria Hotel, Fannie Bay Gaol, and other British and Australian Telegraph buildings. This, however, was the first stone residence to be erected in Darwin in 30 years. Although the stone was local, the roof shingles came from England and much of the timber was imported from Asia.
The building was tenanted by a series of managers employed by the cable company who managed the Port Darwin connection of the international submarine cable to Java, originally the British Australia Telegraph Company (often known simply as BAT).
The building is a bungalow style dwelling reflecting the style of tropical British colonial architecture elsewhere. Although there are louvres and extensive verandah spaces, except in the dry season the cottage is very hot and despite its location, captures little of the sea breezes. Probably for this reason, an overhead punkah fan was installed at the back verandah area which, with its proximity to the kitchen, was the natural site for the dining room.
The floors were concreted and potted palms placed throughout the house and the furniture came from Singapore. The toilet had a pan which was removed from the outside through a hole in the wall and the bathroom had a low, round dipper bath called a Shanghai Jar. Arthur Black, a 1930s resident, remembered the garden as: an avenue of Crotons in half kerosene tins along the pathway between the house and the servants' quarters … Quite striking.
The 1930s saw an increasing military build-up in northern Australia in anticipation of a Japanese invasion. Fortunately, the cottage was not damaged in any of the Japanese bombing raids that destroyed so much of Darwin throughout 1942 and 1943. Between 1943 and 1945, the United States Army occupied the cottage and a septic tank system was installed, toilets added and the bathrooms painted a battle-ship grey. When the Americans left, the Royal Australian Navy took over until the civilian population returned.
There was a great housing shortage in post-war Darwin and squatters tenanted the cottage until 1948 when lawyer John (Tiger) Lyons returned to Darwin and leased, then purchased it in 1952.
Lyons had had a distinguished War career, rising to the rank of Major. He acted as a legal adviser to United States Army units based in Australia. After the war Lyons lived at the cottage with his family, practising law and serving on the Darwin Municipal Council when it was formed in 1957. He then went on to serve as Deputy Mayor and Mayor respectively. ‘Tiger’ Lyons died in 1970.
The cottage was sold in 1974 and the site earmarked for redevelopment, but cyclone Tracy intervened. The cottage was restored after extensive cyclone damage and used by community groups and others, such as the National Trust and Australia Day Council, until it became a part of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory for some years after 1984, and permanently in 1994.
