From Monday 12 - Thursday 15 May, 2025, Naracoorte's oldest dwelling, Ormerod Cottage (est 1847, George Ormerod), situated on the grounds of Narracoorte Homestead, was given a new roof!
The team at Grarock & Osman Plumbing, Naracoorte worked on gently removing the "circa 100-year old" galvanised roofing iron, cleaning the wooden shingles underneath, and replacing the old tin with a z600 heritage galvanised roofing iron and rolled heritage ridge capping.
It was exciting to witness this beautiful original roof made from hand-split wooden shingles (now circa 180 years old) sitting quietly under the tin. Their creators at the time would never have known their work would be one of the only examples of this craftmanship left in the district so many years later. In this modern era, it was a humbling experience, and I look forward to uncovering more details of the type of wood, and sharing some more pictures of some of the 'gems' discovered (hand-cut bolts).
Major restoration work at the State heritage-listed Narracoorte Homestead is only made possible through SA Heritage Conservation Grants (50-50% co-contribution). It is the responsibility of the current owner to ensure any works are completed in line with strict heritage guidelines, maintaining this beautiful and unique piece of history for many generations to come.
