Thursday, January 04, 2007

If only these walls could speak to me

My husband and I last weekend took a car trip up to the town of Ararat a very old town with a history of gold miners and being part of the gold rush in Australia, anyway my husband and I are doing our family tree and we have discovered he had relatives there in the time of the old gold rush and a great great grandfather (I think that is right) came from St Helena of the coast of south Africa to Australia to then live in the town of Ararat........So we went to see anything and on the way we got to see some beautiful old homesteads and then got to thinking what life was like and who lived in these now empty walls.
This one is huge and still looks very strong it sits here all on its own in a paddock so dry and brown. Who looked out of these windows and who would have knocked at this door.
My husband loved this one the best and being a builder he had to tell me a great long story about how it was built and the skill needed to put up such strong walls. this home is built from "blue stone" a very hard rock and it is everywhere in central Victoria and was mined here in our little town of malmsbury.

This is a lovely big farm house with the roof almost gone and the buildings being taken over by the wild garden. you can see everything here the sheds and the huge double house front and the workers sheds. I have no idea why this one was left like this but gosh I would love to get and have a little look about in there but there was a sigh "private property" so I respect the owners wishes.

O! and this one a little miners cottage I am sure and how sad to see it not longer as I do in my mines eye, children running around the house playing with wooden toys made by their father. mother hanging washing on a long line in the yard and the dog scratching for flees in the shade of the side of the house. :o)

This beautiful brick home must have belonged to someone who felt the blue stone was not as handsome as the hand made red bricks I am sure if we jumped over the fence (I could do that you know! lol lol) I am sure we would find bricks with thumb prints on them indicating how they counted them while they were being made in order for the maker to get paid correctly. The lady who lived in this house would have preferred to be back in England and so her garden and her home would have been run and kept and decorated exactly as she would have had it in England I am sure. :o)

the day was wonderful and we discovered my husband's great great had 14 children they may even have lived in the first big house at the top of this page but then again they may not have too.

This is my Thursday and I hope yours is going to be a nice as mine was!

13 comments:

Pamela said...

Lee-Ann, this was such a fascinating journey. Looking at all the old homes just brings bright vivid images of how they must have been in all their glory!

How wonderful to discover all that valuable information regarding your family heritage. My hubby has done a remarkable job researching our lineage, as well. We have several families that had over ten children and lived off the land and then a number of them were wood workers. :) Enjoy your day!

TJ said...

Sounds like your little day trip brought out your imagination...maybe you should write a story??
:-D

Sheila said...

What a great post. I look as places too and wonder what their walls have seen. Nice that you found the connection you were looking for. I think Tammy is right ...there is a story here.

Ramblins of a middle-aged goddess said...

Lee-Ann, I have always wondered the same thing about what walls would say if they could talk. Also I just LOVE trees the older the better. Living here in Savannah,Ga I know some of these trees (LIVE OAKS) are really old for the USA and I love wonder what they have seen and heard. I really enjoyed your trip. Thanks or sharing it with us. Sandy

Barb said...

I love the title of this post. So true. I'll bet every one of these houses has an interesting story to tell. What an interesting day trip!

Kari said...

Oh what wonderful imagery!!! I can hear those children you described as they played with the wooden toys! Just perfect!

Alice said...

Whenever I see a very old house like these, I too wonder about the occupants. These homes were once brand new and someone's dream home. Who lived there, what sort of lives did they lead, where are their descendants, etc?

Just the sort of inspiration for a Life Story ... ha,ha ... I'm back on my favourite subject again.

Thanks for these great photos, Lee-ann. A little slice of our past history.

Puss-in-Boots said...

Great post, Lee-Ann. What a story the walls could tell, eh?

Sounds like you had a wonderful day, especially finding some of your husband's history.

Lisa Oceandreamer Swifka said...

I liked being able to share in your day. I always wonder when looking at old homes and buildings about past occupants...who lived there...what they were like. You are lucky there is some actual family connection to it all.
XO

Susie said...

LeeAnn,
What an interesting trip to take and learn some of your families history!
Each of those homes has its own special charm, doesn't it!

Annie Jeffries said...

Lee-ann, what an intriguing look at this historic area. I could not help but compare it to our American Praire and Great Basin areas. Also the American Southwest. The homes are somewhat similar though the roofs are very different. The brick house reminded me most of the adobe homes of the southwest. Not particularly in style, but certainly in material.

Carole Burant said...

Oh Lee-Ann, I just LOVE exploring places like these!! How fascinating and like you, I always wonder/imagine who lived there and what the history behind it is! Doing the family tree is so exciting and finding places your ancestors may have lived in is fabulous!! Much love xoxo

Gina E. said...

You have such a wonderful talent with words and photos, Lee-Ann! I must show these to Ken; we also like to drive through country Victoria, looking and wondering about the old deserted homes.

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