Not much left of what was once a happy home

@JudyEv (357978)
Rockingham, Australia
July 9, 2025 7:45pm CST
I wrote about the sheep yards at Pergande’s farm at Mt Marshall. The Pergandes were very community-minded. Once Ted Pergande got the farm established, he and his wife created a swimming pool at the base of the rock. They then created a nine-hole golf course and a tennis court nearby. The surface of the tennis court was made from ant-beds. These would have been smashed then dampened and rolled out flat to create a hard, flat surface. Neighbours would flock there at weekends to enjoy swimming, or to have a hit of golf or tennis. The photo shows the ruins of the homestead. The blob to the right of the fireplace is an old fridge. It has double doors and would have been an expensive item in its day.
15 people like this
15 responses
@DaddyEvil (152829)
• United States
18h
In the US, that fridge would not be allowed to sit there. It's illegal for an abandoned fridge to still have the doors on it. The property would be penalized until the fridge was removed.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (152829)
• United States
17h
@JudyEv Whoever pays the taxes on that property would be penalized...
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
17h
I think mostly they take the doors off them here too. Maybe someone will alert the authorities and they can track down the owner.
1 person likes this
@rsa101 (38994)
• Philippines
19h
Whoa, it makes me sad to see it. It appears to be a story that has come to an end and is gradually dying down. Time is gradually consuming what remains of it, despite the fact that it may appear to be having difficulty telling its story.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
17h
There is a newer house a mile or two away so once they built that perhaps this was abandoned. It is sad to see these ruins and to think about what it was like in previous times.
1 person likes this
@rsa101 (38994)
• Philippines
11h
@JudyEv Whenever I witness an old house being demolished, I am saddened because so much of its history is also being destroyed.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
7h
@rsa101 This is one of the few that has panels telling a little of the history of the place. There are many other places where the history has more or less disappeared.
1 person likes this
@cherigucchi (15236)
• Philippines
12h
So sad looking at this site
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
7h
Yes, it was someone's dream home once.
@LadyDuck (478541)
• Italy
13h
It is sad to see an old home, that was surely pretty, went to complete ruin.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (478541)
• Italy
5h
@JudyEv I am sure it was the case in the past.
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
7h
The family would have had a lot of fun times there during their lifetime.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (194036)
• United States
13h
What year was the house built do you know?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
7h
His wife arrived in 1913 but they might have lived in a tent for year or two while the house was being built.
@porwest (102966)
• United States
7h
I imagine the owner standing before the rubble scratching his head saying, "Well, it's paid for." lol
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
7h
The owner would have been long gone by the time it became rubble.
1 person likes this
@porwest (102966)
• United States
6h
@JudyEv I know. But then the joke wouldn't have worked.
@GardenGerty (164657)
• United States
2h
It sounds as if it was fun in its day.
@snowy22315 (192502)
• United States
5h
You are right, not much left.
• Philippines
15h
That's sad to know. How was the community there right now?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
7h
It's in the middle of a paddock and the town is about ten miles away. The town is small and appears to be slowly dying. Small farms have been amalgamated into bigger stations which means less people in the area.
@FourWalls (76487)
• United States
17h
It’s sad to see things like that gone to ruin. I realize that it’s in the middle of nowhere and modern conveniences have made things like this practically worthless, but still…
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
7h
You're right. It is sad but really, that's the way of the world.
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (54137)
• Canada
17h
It is so sad to see an area such as this, once loved and enjoyed, to be left covered with the rubble from itself. It would be only fitting for them to restore this section of their property up, to repurpose it or to have a quiet place to remember the good times they lived there.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
7h
The present owners probably have no investment in this actual site. It wasn't their ancestors who lived there. As nice as it might be for them to do something with the site, I think they'd have too many calls on their available money.
@aninditasen (17229)
• Raurkela, India
6h
That's really sad. I don't remember reading the earlier post of yours. No one of the entire family might be alive.
@Mshafeeq (2149)
• Kuwait, Kuwait
19h
It's really sad to see this, nothing left.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
17h
It was once a happy home with lots of visitors coming and going.
@Beestring (15599)
• Hong Kong
14h
It is sad to see that the site looks like this now.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (357978)
• Rockingham, Australia
7h
It is sad but there are many abandoned houses throughout this area. People come and go and build better residences when they are able.
@wolfgirl569 (118977)
• Marion, Ohio
7h
It would have been a beautiful place at one time