Six generations of the one family have lived at Happy Valley over the last 150
years and you could be excused for thinking they never threw anything away.
Visitors have an opportunity to view much of this material and also to inspect
some of the original buildings. One of the earliest of these is an unusual grain
bin of vertical wood slab construction, lined with lathe and plaster, dating from
around 1855.
Happy Valley was held up by bushrangers on a number of occasions.
Mary Locker, writing in 1865, mentions being held at
gun point by bushrangers and in her words 'one of them was playing with his
revolver and the thing went off. The bullet went through my skirt and entered the
floor close to my feet. Of course he may have only done it to frighten me, if this
is so he certainly succeeded!'x
The wood slab old kitchen or wash house was built around 1880. Its smoke blackened
beams and massive open fireplace, and outside the cast iron boiling down pots and
outdoor bread ovens, tell the story of a different lifestyle. The milking yards and
stone dairy were the centre of activity on the property during the 1890's, when
butter factories were established at Bolaro and Adaminaby, selling the produce
under the most appropriate name of Cold Country Butter.
The hay and grain sheds of hand-hewn timber clothed in corrugated iron were
built during the Depression of the 1930's. The rude but comfortable hut close by
was erected at the same time. This hut has its original furnishings, as if awaiting
the owner's return. This is a rare surviving example of a type of building that was
in common use during the Depression.
The timber shearing shed erected in 1862 was more than adequate for four blade
shearers. It has a three man wool press beneath the old shingle roof.
