Corunna Station was once the largest sheep shearing station in the Hunter Valley.
The historic property, on 100 rural acres in Belford, now serves as luxury farm stay accommodation.
"The original land title with 10,000 acres was issued to Richard Jones in the 1840s. Not long after, the property was set up us as a shearing station," explains Angela Kesby, who owns and oversees the iconic property with her husband Gerard.
"They used the farm's ironbark forest and milled the wood onsite - the wood mill still exists - building the homestead, shearing sheds, hay sheds, and various outbuildings."
Gerard inherited the 100-acre property and historic buildings in 2010 from his father, Chris Kesby. He bought the then 3000-acre property years earlier, grazed cattle on it, and sold much of the acreage off over time before passing it on.
Angela and Gerard, who live on-site, opened Corunna Estate to paying guests in 2015. Angela notes that "it has always been accommodation for family and friends".
Three individual houses are available at Corunna Station as holiday stays.
Though Angela says, "We spend a lot of time maintaining the property. There is always something to do".
"We like to keep around 40 acres mowed, and I like for guests to feel they are at home, not a holiday rental."
Collectively, the three houses can accommodate up to 22 guests. The biggest is the sprawling Country House, an elegant open-plan style home with a colonial wrap-around verandah.
The house sleeps 12 and has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a banquet room for up to 22 guests, a garden room, and a library and entertainment room.
The smallest is the charming Cook's House, which was built around 100 years ago as a place for the station cook to feed the shearers. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and sleeps four.
The beautiful homestead, which Angela describes as "the old dame", is a classic three-bedroom, two-bathroom house that sleeps six.
The former station manager's home, it is the most recent property the couple has converted.
"In the homestead, we removed the carpet floors - and I filled all the gaps between the boards and treated it with Cabot's CFP Floor [floor finish]," she says.
"I love that you can see the saw marks on the floors and be able to run a mop over it."
"Otherwise, we used gallons and gallons of paint. My motto is any colour so long as it's Vivid white. The same for the other houses.
"We removed all 90s fixtures and painted and painted!"
While each house has its own charm, they are all warm and inviting, are styled in soothing neutral tones, finished with luxurious detailing and interiors, and blend country charm, convenience, and modern comforts.
"The houses have such great views that we wanted to keep the interiors really simple and let the historic features shine.
"We used a lot of family furniture, carpets, and decor items. I made the curtains in the homestead out of painting drop cloths."
"It's so much easier re-using and moving bits around than it is to go to a shop and buy the whole room. Our trailer has been well used moving furniture around till we felt each piece had found its home."
Corunna Station is home to a billabong and forest that guests are welcome to explore, while its many paddocks are regularly visited by local kangaroos.
Some of the original agricultural buildings, including a shearing shed, hay shed, and wood mill, remain on the property.
Each house offers a sense of privacy and seclusion, distant enough from the others so that guests can appreciate the surrounding space and openness.
Corunna Station's location also makes it well placed for guests to enjoy the nearby wineries and region's attractions.
"We are on the gateway to the Hunter, at the beginning of Hermitage Road, the cycle track starts at our front gate, and there are wineries - the first is Wombat Crossing five minutes up the road.
"The Farm [at Hunter Valley Resort] is eight minutes up the road.
"There are lots of restaurants too, like Restaurant Botanica and Muse Kitchen."
corunnastation.com.au
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