Beauty lost

My Sunday drive took me past a wonderful old homestead. Years ago in the company of several other video enthusiasts plus a couple of actors in period costume, I visited this beautiful old house. It was open to the public and completely furnished as it had been left. At the time we were told that two sisters lived here up to the ends of their lives. After that the place was given a complete new coat of paint (It used to look like a haunted house!) and the interior cleaned up and made presentable. The caretakers of the place provided teas and scones in the large kitchen. The garden too had been scoured of rubbish and made suitable for public scrutiny. So you see, I have vivid memories of the place.

A typical fence made in the early days of Australia's white settlement was one made from native timbers and constructed without nails. The boundary fence to the property still stands as a testament to those difficult times and shows that there must have been a home here long before this two storey structure was put here.

The house still looks very imposing even though rust is showing through the paint of the iron lacework.

The garden is now overgrown and the white fence a bit the worse for wear but thanks to being able to zoom in on a photograph I can see that the original lace curtains still hang in the windows!

From the state of the lacework you can tell that it has been made of iron and not zinc or aluminium (as the lacework on my veranda is). This will be hand forged and most likely be worth a bit of money to someone who is restoring an old home somewhere!
It is a shame that once again this beautiful looking place is slipping back into a state of decay but the upkeep on a timber home is very high. There could be all sorts of reasons for it being left to rot.
I would not be at all surprised that the place is riddled with white ants and cursed with asbestos.
You can see it was once magnificent.
AJ
I have just found a story about Lisnagar Homestead and encourage you to follow this link to read more about it. This is an article written by a family member.