{"id":654577,"date":"2026-05-07T02:21:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T02:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/654577\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T02:21:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T02:21:30","slug":"tour-yarras-homestead-a-restored-georgian-farmhouse-near-bathurst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/654577\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour Yarras Homestead, A Restored Georgian Farmhouse Near Bathurst"},"content":{"rendered":"

Belinda Siejka never takes the view from Yarras Homestead for granted. From the wide, wraparound verandah<\/a>, she can see auburn hills and a valley, river flats and her family\u2019s Angus cattle grazing. \u201cWhen the sun sets, the colours are unreal,\u201d Belinda says, \u201cand when it\u2019s quiet, you can hear water running in the rivulet. It\u2019s just beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

This special place, just 11 kilometres from Bathurst, NSW, on Wiradjuri lands, holds precious memories for Belinda and her adult sons, Tom, Jack, Storm and Hunter and their partners. The entire family spent two years painstakingly restoring the 1860s Georgian-style property<\/a>, which Belinda and her husband, Peter, a farmer and concreter, had bought from their neighbour.<\/p>\n

\u201cPete would finish work, check on the stock, then come up to the house and wait for me to finish whatever I was doing,\u201d recalls Belinda. \u201cIt was nice, just to sit on the verandah together after we\u2019d both worked hard all day. Then we\u2019d head home. I\u2019ve got some lovely memories of that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheBelinda tried endless green paint colours on the front door, ultimately taking a magnolia leaf from the garden to Bunnings and asking staff to colour match it. Dulux Hellebore was the ticket. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

\"BelindaBelinda never tires of the scenery. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

Devastatingly, a few weeks after the completion of the renovation in late 2023, Peter passed away suddenly. \u201cIt was very hard to hold it together and keep going, but we had to,\u201d says Belinda. \u201cThe animals still needed looking after, the lawns still needed to be mowed. So, we kept moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peter grew up in Uralla on the Northern Tablelands, riding horses and learning the ropes from his farm-manager uncle. \u201cHe always loved farming,\u201d says Belinda. Running cattle, breeding Australian stock horses and being the custodian of a historic home<\/a>, amid pristine countryside, was a dream come true for both Peter and Belinda.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe grand facade of the 1860s homestead. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

\"CowsBelinda runs Angus cows on the property. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

\u201cYarras had been in the one family for over 100 years,\u201d explains Belinda. \u201cIn 2014, we bought half the Yarras property, around 101 hectares, when the previous owner, our neighbour and friend, was slowing down towards retirement. Then in 2018, Pete and I purchased another 40 hectares and in 2020, we purchased the final 68 hectares \u2013 including the homestead, which we\u2019d always loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previous renovations had marred the house with 1970s shag-pile carpets and Mission Brown everything, while bathroom flooding had left water damage in the ceiling. The building, first owned by an industrious convict who\u2019d become wealthy, needed a little TLC. \u201cIt was in pretty good nick, though,\u201d says Belinda with typical country optimism.<\/p>\n

\"ATimber is a feature of the elegant interior. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

\"AThe living room is furnished with a sofa and ottoman from Dovetailed & Doublestitched in Girraween, a drop-leaf table found online, a tapestry sewn by Belinda\u2019s grandmother and a landscape from a local antique shop. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

The couple started stripping wallpaper<\/a> the very day they received the keys. \u201cThere were about six or seven layers of wallpaper in all different patterns, as well as newspaper shards from the 1860s,\u201d explains Belinda. \u201cWe ripped up the carpets; I spent days pulling staples out of the floorboards. Then there was the underlay, and more underlay, then vinyl, paper, more vinyl and more paper! Under all that, the original boards weren\u2019t too bad. That was a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AThe barley-twist dining table came with the homestead \u2013 along with a barley-twist lounge. \u201cI felt they belonged to the house and added to the historic charm,\u201d says Belinda of the well-crafted pieces. Bentwood chairs found
on Facebook Marketplace complement the setting, along with a large rug from Ruggable. Belinda scoured op shops for ceramic vases and artworks to complete the scene. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

\"AFresh and light, the kitchen is painted in Dulux Beige Royal, with subway tiles from Beaumont Tiles in Atmosphere White Gloss. Belinda enjoyed sourcing vintage ceramic pieces to display on shelves and surfaces. \u201cMy daughter-in-law Ally and I would call in to op shops during the renovation, picking up little gems,\u201d says Belinda. Bentwood stools from LivingStyles are tucked beside the bench. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

The Siejkas repaired cracked and water-damaged cornices, refitted the kitchen and bathrooms, and restored the architraves. \u201cIt didn\u2019t feel right sanding them back,\u201d says Belinda. \u201cWe gave the architraves a good scrub and wipe of polyurethane and brought them back to life without disturbing any of that authentic detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ATwin beds from Early Settler hold linen, cushions and throws from Bed Bath N\u2019 Table. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

\"AModern elegance in the bathroom. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

Belinda foraged on Facebook Marketplace and in antique stores for furniture and decor items, and splurged on the Ilve kitchen stove, beds, linen, leather sofa and rugs. The fireplaces<\/a>, which had been boarded up, were retrofitted with original Victorian cast-iron inserts sourced from Adelaide.<\/p>\n

\"TheBelinda Siejka (centre) with her sons (from left) Tom, Storm, Hunter and Jack, and their quarter horse and Australian stock horses. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

\"ASpace for relaxation. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

With the final touches made, the homestead is now available as guest accommodation. Belinda and her sons \u2013 who run the farm with her \u2013 all live close by, so there\u2019s always someone around, moving cattle or carting hay. <\/p>\n

Onsite weddings<\/a>, photo shoots and special events can also be arranged. \u201cIt\u2019s great to share Yarras, because it\u2019s such a big part of Bathurst history,\u201d explains Belinda. She adds: \u201cMy son Jack wanted to get married at Yarras. The inside of the house was still under construction, so we finished the outside, and held the ceremony on the lawn, with the reception in the shearing shed. Pete had worked so hard to get it looking beautiful. People saw the photos on Instagram and asked if we\u2019d host their weddings, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AMorgan & Finch linen is layered with a cushion and throw from Mayvn Interiors. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

\"TheMagnolia trees flank the front steps, alongside potted hydrangeas. The garden comprises lavender, blue and pink salvia, rockrose, daisies and catmint. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

In November last year, Belinda\u2019s son Storm also tied the knot, adding to the trove of memories linked to Yarras. \u201cIt was another beautiful day with a clear marquee on the homestead lawn,\u201d says Belinda. \u201cIt was stunning.\u201d <\/p>\n

Peter\u2019s legacy lives on through Yarras, the idyllic farm he always dreamed of, his beloved sons and, now, two grandchildren. \u201cIt\u2019s just lovely for the boys to have the farm and that connection to their dad,\u201d says Belinda.<\/p>\n

\"AThe family by the fire pit: Jack and Ally with sons Jacob and Cooper, Tom and partner Phoebe, Storm with wife Georgia, Belinda and Hunter. (Photography: Monique Lovick | Styling: Ainsley Sullivan)<\/p>\n

Visit yarrashomestead.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Hanna-Marton\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWriter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHanna Marton\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Journalist and content producer Hanna Marton can\u2019t walk past an open-for-inspection sign without having a sticky beak. Hanna has renovated two historic houses (and a little Airbnb) in Sydney\u2019s inner west, where she lives with her husband, two daughters and a very scruffy standard poodle. When she\u2019s not writing about homes and interiors, you\u2019ll find Han on a tennis court or in the hammock, hiding from her kids, with a non-fiction book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Belinda Siejka never takes the view from Yarras Homestead for granted. From the wide, wraparound verandah, she can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134,178854,128926],"class_list":["post-654577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-home-tours","tag-homestead"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}