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Popular Off the Beaten Path | Miscellaneous Off the Beaten Path Tips | All Tips (3)  | |  |  | The Briars Park Homestead 3 | |  |  | |  |
Here we have the most famous exhibit of the museum (but which I still didn't know existed until recently) the actual death mask of Napoleon made about 48 hours after his death (I believe there are very few of these existing in the world, as you can imagine)
Some of the smaller items in the Napoleonic collection included the coins which were found in Napoleon's pockets when he died, a lock of his hair and an inkwell.
Our guide was most informative, and told us many stories of the homestead, including a few ghost stories from his own experience...by the time we left, we were half believing the house was haunted too, just like the guide... some of the stories were quite eerie.
I had a most delightful visit to both the wetlands and homestead – I could have spent hours admiring the Napoleonic collection, from the large right down to all the smaller ones.
My only regret is that I didn’t allow enough time to spend there – 1-2 hours is just not enough. My tip is would be to come for a picnic lunch, and spend a whole afternoon here, exploring.
There's also Josephine's Restaurant on the hill behind the homestead, which also caters for functions. Leave a Comment
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| | | | The Briars Park Homestead at Mt Martha | | | | | |
The Briars is one of the most historic properties on the Mornington Peninsula, situated about 20 minutes south of Frankston.
What brought me here though was not the house, beautiful though it is, or the numerous wetland walks you can take around the property (I didn’t know about those before) or even the restaurant called Josephines… but rather the house’s history of French connections and its Napoleonic collection with even a very rare death mask of Napoleon which was made only hours after his death.
The story is a little complicated, but here goes.
In 1846, a man by the name of Alexander Beatson Balcombe and his family purchased the property and built the first part of the 12 room homestead. They named it
‘The Briars’ after the family home on the island of St Helena.
William Balcombe, father of Alexander, whilst living on the Island of St Helena, befriended French emperor Napoleon who was in exile there. (William seemed to have been, at first, a kind of jailer to Napoleon, and the latter stayed in his house while Napoleon’s ‘official’ lodgings on the island were being built).
Before his death, Napoleon presented the family with items of furniture and memorabilia, which formed the basis of the collection. It was added to over the years by Alexander’s granddaughter, Dame Mabel Brooks, and that is how it comes to be on display in the Briars homestead.
The Briars Homestead stayed in the family from 1846 right up until 1977 when it was presented to the local shire and National Trust of Victoria for preservation and the public to enjoy.
Park open every day 9 am – 5 pm. Wildlife reserve open daily 9 am – 4.30 pm
Note: homestead opens later – 11 am – 4 pm (guided tours only)
Address: Nepean Highway, Mt Martha 3934 Leave a Comment Phone: Ph: 5974 3686Website: www.thebriars.com.au
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on May 25, 2005
