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Welcome to Ingleby.
Once a grand old dame on the banks of the Barwon River, Ingleby is noted for its historical, architectural and archaeological significance to the State of Victoria, Australia.
Filled with irreplaceable character, the homestead and outbuildings stand on Eastern Marr Country, proudly overlooking the Great Otway National Park. Ingleby is located near Winchelsea and is only 90 minutes from Melbourne.
In 2020, Ingleby was sold to Winchelsea farmer, Georgie Thomson. Now a working sheep and cattle farm, Georgie is committed to bringing the homestead and garden back to life for everyone to enjoy. The homestead, garden and farm can be booked for weddings, special occasions, events and location shoots.
T H E H O M E S T E A D .
Looking back this evening at photos of Ingleby we’ve been collecting for our records. Taken in 1985, these shots of the back and front of the homestead are relatively recent and are held by the Winchelsea and District Historical Society. Please reach out if you have any photos in your own collection that you’d like to share with us. 🌿
T H E G A R D E N .
It’s been an odd summer but there’s still been beautiful moments here in the garden.🌿
#Ingleby #InglebyHomestead #OldGarden #Roses #AustralianGarden #SummerGarden #OldHouses #OldRoses #HistoricGarden #Winchelsea
C H R I S T M A S E V E .
As we head towards the big day tomorrow we couldn’t resist sharing some moments from the year that’s been.
With all the stormy weather about today, it doesn’t really feel like the right time of year to be reminiscing but it’s a good opportunity to pause for a minute and say thank you for joining us as we continue sharing snippets of our time here at Ingleby, and indeed, those who came before us. May you have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. 🎄
#Ingleby #InglebyHomestead #ChristmasTime #AustralianChristmas #SeasonsGreetings #OldHouses #OldTrees #HistoricGarden #FarmLife
C O M M U N I T Y S P I R I T
It must be near the end of the year. The grass has a distinct yellow tinge and local groups are flocking together to mark the year that was and bring in a bit of Aussie Christmas cheer. And who could blame them!
This past week we’ve happily hosted Winchelsea Land and River Care for an AGM with a difference with a walk along the river to the homestead, while U3A Colac Otway enjoyed a cuppa under the verandah. Community spirit is alive and well, exactly as it should be as December draws us in. 🌿
#Ingleby #InglebyHomestead #CommunitySpirit #VolunteerWork #Otways #Winchelsea #FarmingHistory #SurfCoastShire #LandCare #AustralianHomes #RegionalVictoria #FarmLife #FarmWalk
T H E H O M E S T E A D.
Chasing the evening light. It’s easy to get lost in the moment coming down the main staircase and thinking of all those who once found their way down these steps and out into the garden. Or perhaps they took a turn to the left to continue a dinner party in the dining room or a turn to the right for a tipple in the drawing room? Either way, we love that many of the original features of the homestead are still intact. 🌿
#Ingleby #InglebyHomestead #AustralianHomes #Winchelsea #OldHouseLove #CountryLife #LocationScouting #RegionalVictoria #CountryLife #CountryLiving #HistoricHouse #HistoricProperties #LocationShoot #LocationHire #HistoryInPictures #AustralianHeritage
T H E H O M E S T E A D .
Parties with friends and family under the stars and in the company of old trees. We wouldn’t have it any other way. 🌿
#Ingleby #InglebyHomestead #GeelongEvents #Otways #Winchelsea #Photoshoot #LocationScouting
#OldHouses #OldGarden #LocationShoot #LocationScouting #AustralianHomes #RegionalVictoria #GardenLife #HeritageAustralia
T H E H O M E S T E A D .
Wow, more than a year has passed since we celebrated under a moon-lit sky to raise much needed funds to help rebuild the Winchelsea Op Shop. Take us back! 🌿
#Ingleby #InglebyHomestead #GeelongEvents #Winchelsea #Photoshoot #LocationScouting
#FrankSinatraMusic #LocationScouting #AustralianHomes #RegionalVictoria #FarmLife #HeritageAustralia #LocationShoot
T H E G A R D E N .
Through the looking glass and out to the trees bordering the Ingleby garden. A unique take on sunset here at the homestead. 🌿
T H E G A R D E N .
The first signs of spring are always a welcome and colourful addition to the homestead garden. 🌿
F R O M T H E A R C H I V E S .
Today we’re getting into the spirit of weekend footy and turning back the clock to August 1913 when a game took place at Ingleby between Winchelsea and Armytage. It’s hard to imagine filling a team from Armytage today but considering they took home the win there must have been some handy skills about, or perhaps it was a decent home ground advantage? 🌿
đź“° Geelong Advertiser, page 5, 12 August, 1913 via @nationallibraryaus
T H E G A R D E N .
A beautiful sunny winter’s afternoon here looking out to the bottom of the homestead garden and onto the river flats. 🌿
T H E F A R M .
Heading into the weekend like… 🌿
T H E H O M E S T E A D .
We’d just like to make it clear that this post is in no way football related, but it is easy to get distracted by the winter sun beaming through this red and blue stained glass window when you make your way down what would have been the servant’s stairs. The homestead has many decorative interior features and this is certainly one of the more bold. 🌿
C O N N E C T I O N S .
After 70 years, we had the pleasure of welcoming Brian and Noel Fowler back to Ingleby. The Fowler family lived here in the 1950s and were the third owners of the property.
What a thrill to hear their stories of being children at Ingleby; swimming in the river, checking rabbit traps, climbing trees, and eating mulberries from the trees in the orchard which are still here today. The old bluestone-lined reservoir in the garden was their fishpond.
Their family footprint is still visible with the pine trees they planted in the garden and up the driveway standing as high as the sky and the Aga stove still pride of place in the kitchen. There were also stories of the big flood in 1952 covering the farm but not quite reaching the homestead.
It was easy to envisage a seven and 10-year-old boy spending hours outside, exploring, playing, imagining and probably getting up to a little bit of mischief.
Pictured here is Brian in his old bedroom, pointing out to his children what he could see from the window when he was as a boy.
Thank you for visiting and sharing your stories with us. 🌿
#Ingleby #InglebyHomestead #HistoricHouse #OldHouses #FamilyHistory #AustralianHomes #FamilyMemories #FamilyStories
T H E F A R M .
These two winter babies (Angus heifers) caused a stir amongst admiring onlookers when they arrived a few weeks ago! 🌿
T H E F A R M .
We recently got to see firsthand what happens to our wool when it leaves the farm; the end chapters of shearing. The day begun with clip inspections in Geelong, followed by the auction in Melbourne. A fascinating part of the wool industry we had not seen before.
We hope you enjoy this clip which tells the story from shearing to this point. The final chapter is when the wool is turned into textiles. Our thanks to BYV Wool Brokers. 🌿
T H E O L D C O T T A G E .
As you approach the old cottage one of the first things you notice is the verandah is not the height it should be. Over the years it has sunk and although the building is no doubt a shadow of what it once was, it still has some remarkable and surprising features such as these beautiful French doors.
They hang off the bluestone wall at the back of the cottage seemingly ready to spring back to life to keep the cold wind out and let in the sunshine and sounds from the river below when the weather is calm. 🌿
#Ingleby #OldHouses #FarmHouse #TimberDoors #HeritageAustralia #FrenchDoors #OldCottage #Cottage
T H E H O M E S T E A D .
We’re not sure what name a collection of ceiling lights goes by, but in this day of mass produced interior fittings there’s something wonderfully quirky about what hangs from the ceilings here. You just have to look up! 🌿
#Ingleby #InglebyHomestead #LightFittings #Winchelsea #Photoshoot #LocationScouting
#HeritageInteriors #LocationShoot #LocationScouting #AustralianHomes #OldHouses #HeritageAustralia #LocationShoot
S H E A R I N G - P A R T I I I
This report from the @geelongaddy (November 23, 1897) wraps-up our posts about shearing over the years at Ingleby. It reads:
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WINCHELSEA - A dance was given by the shearer’s Wednesday last in the Ingleby woolshed (which was prettily decorated with flags, flowers and ferns), at which there were about 80 couples present, the fun being fast and furious. The catering was in the hands of Mr Griffin of Birregurra and Messrs P. Challinan and W. Reynolds provided the music. The arduous duties of MC were undertaken by Mr F. W. Fitzpatrick.
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There was no dancing at the end of shearing this year (although watching the shearing is equally fast) but we’ll have to make enquiries for the future!
As always, a big thank you to Cutting Edge Shearing contractors and BYV Wool Brokers. We’re fortunate both are based in Winchelsea and provide a wonderful service. 🌿
🗞️: @troveaustralia
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#Ingleby #InglebyHomestead #Shearing #SheepFarming #FarmingHistory #AustralianFarming #Winchelsea #FarmLife #AusAg #RegionalVictoria #CountryLife #FarmingAustralia #Wool
S H E A R I N G - P A R T I I
With our new shed up (photo 6) and shearing done and dusted, we’ve been looking back at shearing over the years at Ingleby and thinking about how the Armytage Family would have felt when they finished building their first shearing shed in 1882 (photos 1 to 3 and no longer part of Ingleby). Funded by the sale of a bumper oat crop and designed by architect A.T Moran, it is a T shaped design and reflects the status of a grazier at that time.
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Oscar Armytage loved shearing time and even after he relocated to the UK, he often returned to Australia by ship spending six months here at a time. During this time, Oscar would supervise operations on the station including shearing 10,000 head of sheep. Oscar’s wool went to market in excellent condition and commanded high prices.
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Today in a four-stand shed, 10,000 head could be completed in 13 days or 3 days in a 25 stand shed! Advances in technology over the past 140 years in the wool industry are incredible. No doubt Oscar would be a little envious of us having power, Evo shearing plants, hydraulic wool presses and tractors to load bales, replacing the block and tackle!
Our wool is pressed and traced from the farm to our broker using WoolClip, which is a mobile way to specifcy, complete the vendors declaration, follow the Baletrail and be RFID ready. It uses a simple, intuitive workflow designed to reduce workload and errors. 🌿