Family honour: a historic homestead is restored

JOHN AND KEIRAN KNIGHT RESTORED A FALLING-DOWN HOMESTEAD IN NORTH-WEST NSW TO HONOUR OVER A CENTURY OF INTERWOVEN FAMILY HISTORY.

AS A YOUNG CHILD, Keiran Hamilton would often gaze at a rundown and mysterious old homestead as she passed paddocks of Mitchell grass and towering carbeen trees (also known as Moreton Bay ash) on her daily drive to the bus stop. On these days, a young John Knight and his family were almost always bumping along the dirt road behind them, heading for the same destination. Keiran recalls fighting with her siblings over who would open the gates and wave at the Knights, who had been friends and neighbours of the family for more than 100 years.

Growing up, John and Keiran’s lives were often intertwined, with John later helping Keiran’s father during cotton harvest and shearing. However, it wasn’t until they finished school that they really took any notice of each other. “John borrowed Dad’s auger one day and I drove back with him in the ute to open the gates and that was when John asked me out for a drink, and the rest is history,” says Keiran.

They were engaged in 2003 and set an ambitious 12-month deadline to restore the Knight family’s original homestead as both their wedding venue and home. Called Carbeen – no doubt after the distinct gums with rough shingle-like bark at the base and smooth, creamy-white trunks that dot the local landscape – it was the same house Keiran had wondered about from the car window all those years ago.

“I was always hoping to have a peek inside the house as a child because I loved old houses, even back then,” Keiran, 44, explains. “John, who loves old houses, also always knew he wanted to do it up.”

The three-bedroom house, constructed with local cypress milled in the nearby Pilliga forest, was built by John’s great-grandparents, Andrew and Elizabeth Knight, in 1891 at a cost of 500 pounds. Over the years, the Knight and Hamilton families shared many social occasions at the home and in the garden until it was vacated by John’s great-aunt in 1967. By the time John and Keiran turned their hands to it, the building had deteriorated quite significantly.

Most of the locals thought they were mad because the house was so rundown. “There was a yellow cat claw vine covering the house and we found old bones from cattle that had been up on the verandah, which was falling off,” says Keiran. “We were very fortunate that the house had not been altered since it was built and we were determined to restore it to its original state as much as possible.”

Almost immediately, their work was rewarded by the discovery of many family treasures. “I found letters and photos in the office and learned our families would visit one another for tennis matches, picnics along our creek and parties,” Keiran explains. “It is wonderful to know that my ancestors would have visited my home for many social occasions over the years.” >

“It has survived many storms, droughts and floods and has housed four generations of the Knight family and now we are raising the fifth generation in the house.”

“We love that our home is entirely made of local timber, is solid, unique and original.”

The Knight family’s 1891 homestead, Carbeen. FACING PAGE Owners Keiran and John Knight with their daughters Audrey (top), Sabrina (left) and Kitty (right), and Bonnie, the Jack Russell.

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE Photos of the couple’s ancestors line the walls; the bullnose verandah; carbeen trees; more family treasures on display; the much-loved jacaranda; a cosy nook. FACING PAGE Portrait of Elizabeth Knight, John’s great-grandmother; Keiran and John are raising the fifth generation of Knights at Carbeen.

Not seen in the area for decades, brolgas appeared on the property at the height of the drought. They have since moved on and the drought has now broken, turning the dry brown paddocks to green.

The girls are growing up surrounded by rich family history. FACING PAGE Keiran’s beautifully curated collection of artwork is mostly from The Moree Gallery and Paper Pear in Wagga Wagga.