THE FATE of the old residence at Korweinguboora, which is undergoing major works, remains unknown.
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The Courier now understands the residence, Herrod's Hut, was built by the three Herrod brothers while they were working in the various sawmills which once existed in the Korweinguboora region in the early 1900s.
Steve Herrod owned and operated many sawmills in the region. He eventually moved out to Ballarat where he established the Brown Hill Saw Mill.
His brother Samuel lived in the cottage after marrying a lady called Beatrice and they lived out their lives in the cottage and its various outbuildings. The other brother moved out of the cottage and to Western Australia soon after Samuel married.
Samuel died in the late 1970s, survived by his wife. But when she also passed away, the property passed out of the Herrod name.
A Land Title certificate highlights the property was sold in 1995 then again in 2002, 2016 and 2019 but The Courier was unable to determine who the land is now owned by.
Ancestor Graeme Herrod said he recalled calling in to see his dad's Aunty Beat in the cottage frequently as a child.
"The cottage had many outbuildings which was an adventure for a young boy," he said.
He has countless stories about the cottage and his memories there.
"It was always warm because the fire was always on in winter and summer. In the country people would bake all the time," he said.
He said the property housed many outbuildings including a well, boiler room and blacksmiths shop.
Mr Herrod said the foundations of an itinerant worker's hut in the back corner of the property can still be viewed. In this worker's hut, his father spent many hours learning to roll a cigarette as a boy.
"He was eventually detected and warned off this habit by his Aunt Beat one winter day when he crawled under the house to warm himself by the foundations of the large open fire. His Aunt Beat saw smoke coming up through the floorboards, assumed an ember had spat from the fireplace, and quickly emptied a full kettle of boiling water from the hob over the area."
"My father had many stories relating to the residence, including one where Sam's money was allegedly buried in an old tea tin in the tractor shed. We searched thoroughly after his death but never found it."
Mr Herrod said one of his grandfather's sawmills sat at the bottom of the hill on the other side of the road.
"I have many happy memories of that cottage. I do hope it's rebuilt. So much history, [there are] so many stories lost to time from that area."