From the late 1830's the weatherboard station pastoral run, which was owned by the Derwent Company, was located on both sides of the Barwon river near Inverleigh.

In 1854 it was subdivided into Weatherboard No.1 on the north side of the river and Weatherboard No.2 on the south side. Weatherboard No.1 became the property in 1856 of William Berthon. He kept journals of his time on the property from 1864 until 1875, which are now part of the Geelong Heritage Centre collection.

The original Weatherboard property was a prefabricated iron house imported from England in the 1850s, manufactured by John Walker of Millwall, Poplar in London. These prefabricated houses have both architectural and historical significance.