"During 1951 built piers by boxing and standing up on pads built from retaining wall. (one photo dates piers 4/9/50) Cement hand mixed. Water was obtained mostly from sink holes dug on site or Racecourse Creek near Ulladulla. Sand from side of roads and tracks. When building started no roads of any sort. In fact truck driven through bush track and materials carried 10 to 50 metres to site. Orfords started building some time later. Bill and myself took 3 weeks holiday at Christmas 1951.
All material were supposed to be on site ready to start. In fact timber had not even been milled. First week taken up by waiting for timber and a trip to Sydney and picked up roof tiles, fibro etc. (George Mathews truck)
One week gone by.
Started work second week... Frame cut and erected. Roof tiles on. Fibro on. Concrete slab in bathroom. Drains and grease trap in. Floor laid. Roof guttering by plumber. Ridge capping by (professional?). Dad Morgan, Dad and Bill worked liked Trojans. Women and children helped carrying materials down track. (Hard Yacka).
Built windows and took down at Easter 1952 to fit. Arrived at site and heartbreak set in . Timber being southern hardwood and green had twisted and shrunk. The fibro was hanging off. Even fibro was hanging out of fascia groove. Every stud had to be V cut in the same three places twisted back and wedged to get degree of straightness. Never the same.
Later on water tank was fitted and able to be lived in.
I did not do much after that as I had my accident March 1953. All timber local hardwood even facia rough sawn and had to be dressed and grooved by hand. Roy Booth (a friend of Berts) helped put the roof on."
Doris and Marian before tank installed. (right) Greg in doorway, now with tank c1953
I guess this is the late 1950s
from the left, Greg, Ken Philip Wilson?, Mum, Elsa, Marian and Dad
The tile colours show up well. Note also the black guttering, yellow window frames and the fascia board was yellow also, even though it's not visible here.