Historical information
This secretaire once stood proudly in the de Kerilleau homestead at Wodonga. The homestead had been built for William Huon, son of the early pastoralist Paul Huon, in 1870 and named after the family's ancestral estate in France. The original lease of the Wodonga Run was granted to Paul Huon as No. 202 on 7th February 1837, about a year after his cousin Charles Huon had squatted on the land.
Kenneth Darnton Watson bought de Kerilleau homestead in 1922 where the Watson family lived for three generations, caring for the land and serving the Wodonga community. Kenneth, his son Ian Darnton Watson and his grandson John Kenneth Darnton Watson all served on the Wodonga Council.
John Kenneth Darnton Watson was born on 28 August 1960 in Wodonga. After completing his primary schooling locally, he boarded at Geelong College from 1973. John joined the rowing crews, starting in the 8th VIII crew and reaching the 1st VIII crew in 1978. He received multiple House colours awards for cross country, athletics and rowing and received School colours for rowing.
On completion of his schooling, John spent some time jackarooing before studying farm management at Marcus Oldham College. He then returned home to de Kerilleau, Wodonga to manage the family property. In 1984 John married Christine Honybun, daughter of David Lewis Honybun and Marian Josephine Edkins. John and Christine had three sons.
John was community minded and involved in a number of local organisations such as Apex and agricultural societies. He was elected to Wodonga City Council in 1997, serving until 2004. Due to increased pressure on available land to cater for the growth of Wodonga, some of the property was sold and in 2003 John donated 200 ha of Huon Hill ‘s western slopes to the City of Wodonga. After this time, he moved away from farming to become a Hungry Jack's franchisee. In 2009, the hard decision was made to sell de Kerilleau and John and his family moved into Wodonga.
After sadly losing Christine to cancer in 2017, John became a member and Deputy Chairperson of the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre Trust Fund Board and Ambassador for the Sunshine Walk.
Tragically after his own cancer battle, John Kenneth Darnton Watson passed away on 24 August 2023, aged 62 years following a life of service to the Wodonga community.
Significance
This item is significant because it was owned by a prominent Wodonga family and came from a Historic Homestead in Wodonga
Physical description
A secretaire with bookcase made of cedar.
The bottom section has two cupboards with shelves. These doors support the desk when it is fully opened. Above this section is one large drawer, the front of which opens by pressing a small internal button on each side. The open drawer reveals a desk with a leather writing mat and several compartments. The desk is topped by a book shelf with 3 adjustable shelves. It has lockable glass doors.
