Schmidt’s Bakery (Baker’s House)

Architect/s: Unknown (c1830)

Set hard on the street edge, the Old Bakery is two rooms deep with a hip-roofed addition to the rear, which houses the oven – believed to be only one of two of its kind in Australia. The Bakery is thought to have been part of P.J. Nichols’ store, which stood near the site of the current Bridge Cafe. The store burnt down in the 1920s, impacting the Bakery. Jack Schmidt owned the bakery buildings from the 1950s to the mid-1970s, living in one and operating the business from the other, likely making him the town’s longest serving baker. Many locals can remember the smell of bread wafting from the bakery each day, and Jack dashing from house to house with his wicker basket delivering bread – as far away as Dulcot.

According to its Heritage Listing, the Bakery is “… of high historic heritage significance as an illustration of the historical and sequential development of domestic allotments and the early to mid-19th century domestic situation of the working classes [and] because its townscape associations are regarded as important to the community’s sense of place.”

Heritage listed as a pair of buildings (41 and 43 Bridge Street), the early Colonial workers cottages are in largely original condition; maintenance and restoration works are currently in progress.

Open: Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 February 2024, 10 am – 4 pm