OUR HISTORY

1871 - Weir Group PLC was founded by George and his brother James and is one of the United Kingdom's oldest engineering firms, and the last of the great Scottish engineering firms to remain an independent company in the 21st century. The Weir Group originated as a marine engineering Company and pump inventor supporting the Scottish shipbuilding industry from Glasgow of the late 19th century. 

1895 - Blackburn Hall, as it was first known, was built by George Weir. It is a good example of a substantial homestead with influences of the Victorian Italianate style, featuring the tower and two storey verandahs. The house is unusually large for the district and demonstrates the success of its owner George Weir. 

The house faces east to overlook Thieves Creek.  Brickwork is of English bond. Windows are double hung six pane sashes, and French doors have two panes each. Internally there are stained timber ceilings and moulded classical plaster arches off passageways. A larger timber stair in a generous stair hall is the central space of each floor. The stair has mid landings and is partly suspended with iron tie rods. 

Drawing on his engineering background, Weir installed a fireplace in each of 16 rooms using two chimneys, the flues from the fireplaces leading to one or other of the chimneys. 

He built a dam to hold half a million gallons of water, supplying bathrooms, kitchen and garden, and an underground tank at the house holding 38,000 gallons (170,000 litres). He also installed a septic tank and used 12-inch (30cm) steel girders to support the ceilings and chimney pieces. 

The timber of the upstairs verandahs is laid on the diagonal in the style of ship decking, and cantilevered passageways connect the upstairs bedrooms.  A wide, graceful staircase is a significant feature of the house, providing access to the upstairs galleries and former widows walk from the main hall on the ground floor. It is a distinctive ‘hanging’ staircase, featuring steel support rods. The bricks for the homestead were reputedly made on the property, and the lime for the mortar quarried and burnt nearby.

1909 - George Weir died on 7 November in Blackburn, Yass, New South Wales, Australia, at age 76. His wife Jane died in 1914.