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Wairanga

DESCRIPTION

NameWairangaTypeFarmResidenceGeolocation^[1] Last edited by: Will Chittick

Description'Wairanga', a beautiful Federation home on Yellow Rock Road, was built for Edward Couch 1893-1895.

The home was built on rubble foundations using local materials, including sandstone quarried from Stockyard Mountain. All of the building materials were transported to the house site, by horse and dray. The interior walls are nearly two feet thick, and constructed from stone gathered from the paddocks, rendered and trimmed. White marble and cedar fireplaces adorn the interior, and the roof of the home was originally slate.

The buggy shed, which one stood beside the home, was built of the same materials. Originally, there were four stables with wooden feed troughs and hay racks, with hay and grain stored above the loft. The stables were used for buggy ponies, riding horses and draught horses.

Edward Couch planted a row of apricot trees from the house along the driveway down to the imposing cement and rock posted gateway at the road.

The Couch family was synonymous with dairying in Shellharbour. James Couch, was convicted of sheep stealing in 1827 and transported to the colony. He was assigned to W. Jenkins at Berkeley, and eventually moved to the Shellharbour area. James and his wife Mary had ten children, Mary Ann 1836, Elizabeth 1837, Edward 1840, twins Louisa & George 1842, Eliza 1846, James 1850, William 1852, Susannah 1854 and Emily 1856.

Edward Couch was on the Board of Directors of the Illawarra Cooperative Central Dairy (ICCD) Company, along with his brother George. George travelled to the goldfields as a young man to try his luck, even following the ‘rush’ to New Zealand for a time. He settled at Dunmore, and for some 55 years, was a successful farmer and horse breeder. George believed that by sticking together, farmers could vastly improve conditions in their trade, and only by cooperation, would their best interests be served. Another brother, James Couch Jnr., farmed at 'The Meadows' (now 'Boles' farm'), on the Illawarra Highway, at Albion Park.

In the 1920s, Edward’s son Eric took over 'Wairanga' farm. Eric and his wife Ruby had four children, Mervyn, Gladys, Eric Jnr. (Logan) and Dorothy. Eric’s neighbour Albert Robb, often helped Eric plough the farm. He once planted a ten-acre crop of saccaline in less than four days, and in those days, an acre a day was considered good going. Albert started each morning at 6am with a pair of draught horses, and ploughed for three hours. Eric would then bring up a fresh pair of horses to continue, and take the first pair down to the stables, unharness them, wash their shoulders of sweat with a bucket of water and a cloth, and give them a feed of bran, oats, and oaten chaff. They would rest for three hours before being re-harnessed, and taken back up the hill to relieve the second pair of horses. Albert and Eric continued like this for the three days until the crop was planted. Every harness pony or draught horse had its own individual collar, made by the local saddler (Martin, Jack 2005, Tongarra Tales, Tongarra Heritage Society).

Eric (Logan) Couch Jnr., ran the farm from the 1960s, after his father's death. When Logan was a boy in the 1930s, he would take milk from the farm, in the horse and cart to the Illawarra Cooperative Central Dairy (ICCD) Factory at Albion Park Rail. His father often wondered why it took him so long to return, and so one day, took the milk himself. Much to his surprise, on the way back from the ICCD, their carthorse Ned, stopped at the grocers, Hazelton’s, Sawtell’s, O’Gorman’s and even the Catholic Convent. When he got home he questioned his son as to why Ned stopped along the way. Logan had to explain that when he dropped off the milk at the factory, he picked up ice for the townsfolk, and delivered it to them on the way home (Martin, Jack 2005, Tongarra Tales, Tongarra Heritage Society).

External LinkOrange Blossoms 1903Wanted 1904Correspondence 1905Clearance Sale 1908Auction Sale 1926

Object

Mary Jordan

Couch and Downes Family

'Wairanga' and Buggy Shed Collage

Horse Shoe (Shetland Pony)

Branding Iron

Catholic Identification Wallet

Eastman Kodak No 2 Folding Autograph Brownie Camera

Hand Mirror - Robb Family

Flat Iron - Robb Family

Household Scales - Robb Family

Water Jug - Robb Family

Mangle - Couch Family

Glass Butter Churn - Couch Family

Dress Belt - Robb Family

Shoe Button Hook - Robb Family

Hat Pins - Couch Family

Black Silk Petticoat - Robb Family

Person

Couch, Edward

Family

Couch

Locality

Yellow Rock (Ridge)

Wairanga and buggy shed, Yellow Rock, c.2003.

Heritage Information

Heritage NSW LinkShellharbour Heritage Inventory Sheet Last edited by: Erin Tierney

CONNECTIONS

CollectionPlacesLocalityYellow RockPersonCouch, EdwardClarke, Samuel

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Wairanga