Flaxton

The name Flaxton possibly originated from Flaxton in England. Dixon, a significant figure in the history of Buderim and the largest landowner in the district at the time, selected nearly 800 acres of land in Flaxton in c1880 and by 1892 was cultivating oranges and coffee there, as well as planting trees and shrubs selected from his Buderim property, Canambie Dixon, who married Elizabeth Fielding in 1873, erected ‘Canambie’ cottage in Buderim in the 1880s, which is now entered on the Queensland Heritage Register.

The Dixon’s eventually moved to their property at Flaxton, after residing in Gympie for a number of years. Flaxton at the time was sparsely settled – by 1921, fourteen years after Dixon moved to the area, there were only 85 people. The Dixons established a dairy on the property, while most other farmers in the district grew oranges, bananas and pineapples. The Dixon’s initial accommodation was a rude slab hut. A more substantial home, Chermside, was constructed in c1908 from pit-sawn beech timber and was originally raised on high stumps, which were subsequently lowered. A kitchen was attached to the rear of the building.

A journalist from the Brisbane Courier noted in 1926 that the house was a ‘famous landmark’ that was ‘handsome and magnificently set’ in the landscape (Brisbane Courier, 7 December 1976: 8). Elizabeth is reported to have been a keen gardener and the gardens surrounding the house were established by the time the house was built. A stand of bamboo was also planted nearby, supposedly to provide shelter for Dixon’s bullocks. Elizabeth died in 1927 and Joseph in 1928. Both were buried on the property (see separate entry). The house remained in the Dixon family for the remainder of the twentieth century, and hosted local functions. Sunday School was also apparently conducted under the fig tree at the rear of the house. The house was converted to a bed and breakfast around 2005.