Those Places Thursday - Acacia Farm, Nelligen

Acacia Farm, Clyde River, Nelligen

George and Catherine Lee

"Acacia Farm" has been part of our family history for over 100 years.  The old farmhouse was on the banks of the Clyde River, up stream from the small town of Nelligen, NSW, Australia. My great grandparents George Thomas Lee and his wife Catherine (nee McGregor) moved to the farm in the early 1900's, with their family of nine children.  

My Grandmother Christine Sterland Lee was their seventh child, and she and her siblings would travel by boat down the Clyde River to the small school in Nelligen.

 When I was very young I can remember crossing the Clyde River on the punt at Nelligen (in the days before the bridge was built).  In the Christmas holidays cars would line up for miles waiting for their turn to go across on the Punt.  We would get out of the car and look over the side and watch all the jellyfish in the river. There used to be thousands of them blobbing along in the water as we passed.

Waiting to catch Punt to cross the Clyde River, Nelligen

Dad used to tell stories of when he lived there with his grandmother (Catherine Lee) after his father, Malcolm Shepherd died following a logging accident. He described how they would row the boat down the river  to Nelligen for supplies and catch the tide on the way back to the farm. I can remember visiting there as a little girl with my dad and Pop. My Nan's brother Uncle Jordie lived there at the time. We walked down to the paddock towards The Point where there was a nice little sandy beach. Uncle Jordie was growing turnips and I remember he pulled out a couple and gave to me to give to Nan to make soup. The lushness of the farm made a big impression on me as at that time our family lived on a sheep station in the far west near Broken Hill.

The "farm" as everyone called it, was often the meeting place for family get togethers. Everyone would roll up with huge baskets of food and drink.  The big black kettle would be put over the small open fire in the old kitchen that my great grandmother used to cook in.  It was constantly kept on the boil to keep up with the copious quantities of tea that were made. The adults would sit around in the front garden, surrounded by huge old blue hydrangeas plants,  swapping stories  of days gone by, while all the kids would run wild, playing hide-and-seek etc. There were always strict rules not to go on parts of the old veranda, as the floorboards were rotten. At the back of the farm house there where huge old fruit trees and an outside loo and shed that was covered in a choco vine that had certainly got out of hand. Lots of great hiding places!!

After lunch, and more cups of tea, if we were lucky everyone would go up to the beach at The Point for a swim while the men folk tried their hand at fishing.  I  clearly remember spending time with my Nan using a stick with a short line and hook and bread  to catch little fish for bait. It was great fun. The farm has now been sold, but I do believe the old ruins of the original farm house are still there.