I have been wanting to go out to this old farm for a couple of months now, but it is in a National Park that has been closed due to all the rain we have had. Today I checked the National Park website & the notice that it was closed was no longer there, so I headed out there this afternoon.
Believe it or not, but this was the actual farm house!
Hand built by Jim Seaton & his father in 1939 from second hand iron, mill off-cuts, mud earth and hand-cut timber. The farm was 150 acres of what is described as very poor farm land. Jim's frugalness (possibly from the years of the depression) is evident with corrugated iron having been flattened out to make it go further, sheets of iron turned into down pipes and gutters feeding into recycled water tanks and the fencing being made of off cuts joined together.
Jim married Bertha in 1948 and it was here that he brought his new bride which would become their home (I wonder what on earth she thought when she arrived?!). I cannot imagine how hot it would have got inside this tin house during the very harsh Australian summers, nor how cold in winter. They had no children, but regarded their many pets and farm animals as their family. They lived a simple life here for some 35 years, when Jim died in 1983 at the age of 71.....and Bertha then sold the farm to the National Parks & Wildlife Service and moved into town, where she lived to the age of 80, passing away in 2002.
The farm is now kept by the National Parks Service, which is a great way of preserving what is left of the farm. It is a fascinating place & story & well worth the drive out there :) I didn't have a lot of time this afternoon, and my hubby wasn't able to come with me, so I will be planning to head out there again some time soon.
I can't believe somebody built this and called it their home! You're right to wonder how Bertha must have felt the first time she saw it and realised this was going to be her new house. But it sounds like they had a good life together. Would be interesting to see the inside if you can get in on your next visit 😉
Thank you for sharing the interesting history. Fascinating to see these houses built of corrugated iron. The pioneers were made of tough metal as well :)
I really enjoyed reading the history of this place. My imagination was captured, thinking about how Bertha must have felt when she went there. I wonder what it looked like when Jim first built it?
