Goodwood Station was originally part of the much larger “Momba” block until after WWII, when large tracts of Momba were extracted from the original block for Returned Servicemen to live, work and raise a family. In the early 1950’s James Turner (Jim), chose ‘Goodwood’ because it had a Woolshed and a Shearers Quarters, as well as a working well approximately 1.5km south of these buildings on Pine Creek.
Newly married, Jim and Rita moved to Goodwood where they lived in the Shearers quarters for a couple of years until the main Homestead was built. Rita’s dirt floor living quarters were a far cry from her life in Williamstown, but once Jim concreted the floor she was able to make a home. Harry Barlow who had drawn the ‘Peery’ portion of Momba also joined them to live at the Quarters on Goodwod until his house next door was built. A new set of Shearers quarters was erected in the 1960’s. This became the first iteration of Goodwood Stationstay and in 2023 we have had a full refurbishment and the concrete that once formed the floor of the first Quarters is now the foundation for the outside BBQ area.
In 1954, Jim and Rita paid out one third of their shearing cheque to have a concrete block house constructed on a cement slab approximately 1.5km north of the Quarters. This was considered quite luxurious with 3 bedrooms, a kitchen and dining area and a formal lounge. The original bathroom (with features) was still in use until it was refurbished in 2022 and the outside toilet and laundry as well as two other bedrooms built for a governess and a gardener/handyman are still used today. All of the outside buildings still stand and are now part of the Goodwood Stationstay arm of our business.
Rita was well known to have a large garden full of roses and fruit trees. Today, her ashes are buried at the bottom of the (back) garden in a bed full of her favourite roses and some fruit trees have been planted on the western and northern sides of the house. The garden itself is only about 1/3 of its original size.
