HOLIDAY HOME: The Grange guesthouse in its heyday. In those days holiday makers on their way to Sussex Inlet to stay at Christian’s Minde Guest House travelled by train to Bomaderry and then horse drawn coach to the Basin site and finally sailed the nine miles across the Basin to reach the guest house.
AN early piece of St Georges Basin history is up for sale.
The property known as The Grange at 23 Deane Street on the water at St Georges Basin will be auctioned on site on February 23.
The Grange, which overlooks Home Bay, has Island Point to the north and Pelican Point to the south, has a fascinating history dating back to the early 1900s and at one stage was a guest house and the first St Georges Basin Post Office.
It is a surviving cottage of the original subdivision of the area.
According to the state heritage registers it was once known as portion 126, the property contained 40 acres and was first purchased by William John Turner by conditional purchase.
In 1911 it was occupied by a fisherman George Vost.
By 1913 it was owned by Paul Joann Friedrichsen, an engineer and his wife Catherine.
At first Friedrichsen farmed the land but by 1917 he was recorded as a boarding house keeper.
The Grange was the first holiday cottage at St Georges Basin and according to early recollections was just a small cottage but over the years rooms were added to accommodate guests.
In 1929 the property was sold to Henry Arthur McGregor and the St Georges Basin Post Office operated from the cottage with McGregor as post master.
In 1939 Harold Leonard Charles Richards and his wife Ruby purchased the property and were appointed post master and post mistress.
In 1941 Mildred Washban was the owner and then engineer Clarence Charles Henry purchased the property.
Old photographs from the ’40s show a large timber framed guest house building that is reported to have accommodated 18 guests.
By 1959 Lot A of 11 acres containing a cottage, sheds, tennis courts and workshop was owned and occupied by Edwin Wendover Stanford and his wife Edna.
The Stanfords also owned Lot C containing a further 19 acres.
Part of the boarding house was believed to have been burnt during the 1950s.
According to local knowledge the burnt section was rebuilt with the family operating the guesthouse and the post office until 1972.
Mr Stanford sold the property at the age of 72 to Tracey Investments Pty Ltd of Warilla and the post office was closed down.
In 1991 the property was purchased by Steve and Nadine Delauney, with the current owners Ron and Annette Daley taking over 10 years ago in 2003, with the last two owners using the property as a residence and holiday home.
