It would be fair to say that most people are blown away when they arrive at Mona Farm at Braidwood, awed by the century old elm trees, the iconic coach house, elegant homestead and a Palladian bridge, which spans the lake - not to mention the attention-grabbing sculpture and contemporary art placed all around the historic property.
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Mona Farm has had many transformations since it was established in 1836. The latest is as a state-of-the-art accommodation, wedding and events venue, which is set to reinvigorate the town.
There have been eight owners of Mona Farm since European settlement and the current owner Bill Pulver, who purchased the property with his wife Belinda in 2018, said each custodian had left an incredible legacy. It was Dr Thomas Braidwood Wilson, a Scottish navy surgeon, who first owned Mona Farm, which was at the time known as Braidwood Farm.
Braidwood Wilson joined the Royal Navy as a surgeon in 1815, making nine voyages from England ferrying convicts to Australia.
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In return for his service he was granted acreage in Tasmania, which he subsequently exchanged for 5000 acres in the Southern Tablelands of NSW.
Braidwood Wilson purchased more land to establish a 12,000 acre property and began planting Scotch Firs, Oaks and Elms.
He is also credited with bringing the European bee to Australia, along with plants Viburnum and Lilac.
"He was significant in the development of the region, as a consequence the town of Braidwood was established in 1839," Bill said.
Braidwood Wilson died in 1843 during the drought and the property was purchased by John Coghill who had been captain of The Mangles, a ship Braidwood Wilson had served on for his third trip to Australia.
Captain Coghill left the property to his daughter Elizabeth and she married Robert Maddrell from the Isle of Man.
They renamed Braidwood Farm, Mona Farm, as Mona is Gaelic for the Isle of Man.
In the 1850s, Braidwood experienced a gold rush and Bill said with it came the bushrangers including the infamous Clarke brothers, whose descendants now work as contractors for Mona Farm.
"At that time Robert Maddrell was a wealthy landowner and hoping to protect his fortune from the bushrangers, he hid 3000 gold sovereigns on Mona Farm.
"Unfortunately he passed away before he told his son where they were, so somewhere on Mona Farm there are 3000 gold sovereigns buried underground."
In the early 1900s Robert Maddrell's son Henry Francis expanded Mona into a 30 room mansion.
When the property was passed on to his son Garnett during the Great Depression he quickly sold to Arthur Wilton in 1934, who proceeded to demolish half the homestead and much of the garden to make it more financially manageable.
Arthur Wilton sold to Jock and Janette Mackay in 1946. As one of the Mackay's four daughters Kirsty Altenburg grew up at Mona and later lived in the Coach House with her own family.
Kirsty said her parents had been living overseas for eight years as her father served in the English army, but when the war ended they returned home to Australia, settling at Mona.
In the early 1950s the Mackays expanded the homestead, a difficult venture given how hard building materials were to source following the war.
The Mackays also resurrected and expanded the garden, establishing the walled garden and planting the Linden and Oak trees.
"My parents created a garden to enjoy in all seasons," Kirsty said.
"Even in the terrible 1982 drought year with a grasshopper plaque the leafy, cool and shady gardens kept the grasshoppers out, it was such a refuge, a green haven in the midst of a dust blown landscape."
In 1995 the Mackays sold the property to Kerry and Greg Schneider, who first set it up as a function centre. The Schneiders dammed Mona creek to establish the lake and built the Roman Palladian bridge and new stables. Rose Deo then purchased the property in 2013 and built an Olympic-size equestrian centre.
"When we took over the property in 2018 it quickly became apparent that to renovate the buildings and maintain the property we would have to run it as a business," Bill said.
"For this business to be successful we realised that we would have to provide or source accommodation for around 150 people on Mona or in town, so we purchased a motel in Braidwood and a couple of cottages."
Today, Mona Farm employs more than 40 people and has 42 weddings booked in for 2021. Earlier this year the Pulvers also bought the Provisions deli business and established a creperie.
"Jugiong and Taralga are good examples of places that have been reinvigorated through investment and that's what we want to do for Braidwood," Bill said.
"Braidwood is famous for having millions of cars driving through the town every year on their way to the coast, but the great commercial challenge is to have them stop and spend money in the town."
The Pulvers believe bringing hundreds of people to stay in Braidwood each week may be a very good place to start.
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