Historic Towong Hill homestead unlikely to be salvaged after fire

Locals are still coming to terms with the loss of the iconic Towong Hill Station homestead – once home to renowned Australian author Elyne Mitchell of Silver Brumby fame – more than a week after it was destroyed.

Towong Hill Station is unlikely to be restored to its former glory after it was extensively damaged by fire.

A HISTORIC Upper Murray mansion razed by bushfire is unlikely to rebuilt to its former glory.

Locals are still coming to terms with the loss of the iconic Towong Hill Station homestead – once home to renowned Australian author Elyne Mitchell of Silver Brumby fame – more than a week after it was destroyed on January 4.

Towong Hill caretaker Kevin Goldsworthy, who with his wife Alleyne has worked for current station owner and Mrs Mitchell’s son, John Mitchell, for the past 15 years, told The Weekly Times this week the facade of the circa-1902 homestead had held up extremely well despite the fire’s intensity.

Alleyne and Kevin Goldsworthy stand before the iconic Towong Hill Station homestead, which was razed by bushfire. Pictures: Dannika Bonser

“There was a government man here taking notes on what damage was done and he said ‘I’m a builder, I could build this place … the bricks are perfectly in line, there is no warping’,” 85-year-old Mr Goldsworthy said. “He said it would be easy to rebuild. It’s only over one doorway that there’s a crack that could have been there before. The bricks were all made on the place here.”

But Mr Goldsworthy said Mr Mitchell wasn’t keen on restoring the homestead to its original state. “He said ‘I don’t want to go to that expense, let the next people who take it (make that decision) I won’t be living long’.”

Mr Goldsworthy said the loss of the homestead in the fire was “tragic”. He said numerous items of historical significance were also lost in the blaze including antique furniture and Elyne Mitchell’s library. “The stairways and banisters were so beautiful,” he said. “It was such an icon for the district and people come here just crying over it. There was no other building like it around.”

Towong Hill Station homestead.

The Goldsworthys evacuated from the property ahead of last week’s firefront.

“I never ever wanted to (stay and defend the property) … I reckoned it would never be safe here – we wouldn’t have enough to fight it … there was just too much grass and too many pine trees (around the homestead).”

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Mr Goldsworthy said a neighbour from Bringenbrong Station across the valley had witnessed flames engulfing Towong Hill in “a terrible inferno”. “He said you never saw so much flames and smoke in the air … and the explosions,” Mr Goldsworthy said. “He said it was frightening to look at.”

The devastation at Towong Hill Station.

While the homestead burned, the Goldsworthys’ home about 40m away survived unscathed. “We’ve got a little cottage right on the firefront and it didn’t touch it,” Mr Goldsworthy said. “There are sheds burned within a few yards on either side of it, and all the trees and grass are all burnt. It withered up the PVC piping coming down from the tank but everyone that comes here can’t understand how it is still standing.”

Towong Hill caretaker Kevin Goldsworthy, who works for the station owner, with his wife Alleyne.

Mr Goldsworthy said fire had ravaged about three-quarters of the 1820ha Towong Hill property. “We didn’t lose any stock,” he said. “We lost two sheds of hay and still got one shed left. It didn’t go near the stockyards or the machinery shed or the shearing shed, the wind must have changed so there’s quite a bit of land that has got grass on it. We haven’t got to feed.”

Towong Hill Station.