Just as the rings on a tree reveal much about its past and the conditions it’s lived through, you can read much into the layers of history of a property through its garden developments and house alterations. The homestead and garden at Noojee Lea, the country estate of Charles Curran AC and his wife, Eva, near Canowindra in central-western NSW are a case in point.
There’s the orchard, filled with citrus, stone fruit, almond, pistachio, pear, mulberry and fig trees, that’s existed since the property was first selected in the 1860s. Of course, it’s been augmented and replaced through the years, just as the homestead, which was built in the early 1900s by then owner Frederick Matthews, has evolved. It remained in the Matthews family until 1936 when it was…
