ROSLYN is one of those grand Federation homes, and Noel and Miriam Daley have invested a lifetime and love into it, raised a family and brought it back into its own.
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Now they are leaving it for the capable hands of a new owner, but it is not without regret.
The large house that stands on the eastern edge of Inverell will go up for auction on November 23.
The home was built in 1878 by Thomas Mather who served as Inverell’s mayor from 1876-1879. Thomas purchased 170 acres of land and established orchard and acclaimed vineyards on the property.
Other families took ownership of the home until it became a residence for the De La Salle Brothers who were teaching at Holy Trinity. They remained at Roslyn until their purpose-built residence was completed.
The Daleys bought the home in February of 1986 to upsize from a smaller home they built to begin their family.
“But three bedrooms, one bathroom, four kids later, this came up and it was just ideal for us,” Miriam said.
The house was in need of a large dose of TLC when the couple took possession and they took on the challenge.
With the help of images from the past, research and plans for the 1940s renovations by local architect Bob Lockwood, Miram and Noel were able to piece together the original design of the home.
They uncovered stencilling, and replaced architraves, doors and picture rails, and in the paddock, discovered only one of the 20 original lace columns that originally flanked the home.
The Daleys restored some of that grandeur with cast ironwork from a local source.
“That actually came out of the Byron Arcade. So we put that back,” Miriam said.
More history and knowledge has been gained from members of the Mather family over the years.
“They’ve been back here for quite a few reunions, and every time they come, there’s someone different who’s got something, a photo to send, or some information. So we’ve been able to source a lot of information,” Miriam said.
Noel and Miriam raised their children Rebecca, Mark, Tim and Sarah, in the sprawling home, hosting their friends and forging lasting friendships.
“They had a wonderful life here, and they’re all quite sad, but they know that it’s an evolving process,” Miriam said.
Noel said they made the decision to sell Roslyn mostly due their advancing age and the ongoing maintenance such as trimming the property’s hallmark hedges.
“A lot of people that have asked us, ‘Are we leaving?’ and the answer to that is no, we’re not leaving and the main reason for that is that we’ve got too many good friends here,” Noel said.
“And we love the town. It’s a great town and we’ve pretty well lived all our lives here,” Miriam added.
“Noel’s in Rotary and Apex, I’m in National Trust, we belong to a lot of different clubs, a wide circle of nice friends and it’s so we don’t want to leave.”
They plan to build a smaller home in the community, but have no regrets about the nearly three decades in a relationship with a piece of Inverell history.
“This here, we’ve had a mountain of work, but it’s been enjoyable work, it’s been educational, it’s been satisfying, and I feel that it’s been a labour of love, but also, it’s put it back to be here for more generations to come,” Miriam said.
“Everything we’ve done, we’ve done to last.”
