Everything Old is New Again: The 20-Year Rescue of Meroo Farm

The circa1901 weatherboard farmhouse was built by a Scot, John Fletcher, who struck gold at nearby Yalwal. Photo credit: Nathan Thomas @innovisuals

Nestled in the lush landscape of Meroo Meadow, near Berry on the NSW South Coast, this heritage farmhouse is a masterclass in architectural preservation, upcycled design, and off-grid patience.

Some people renovate to flip; others renovate for life. For serial renovators heritage architect Robin Graham and creative director Catherine Shields, the move from inner-city Sydney to the NSW South Coast 22 years ago wasn't a sudden whim, but the natural next step. Having spent a decade of weekends restoring vintage fibro beach shacks in nearby Jervis Bay, the couple were well-versed in the region's coastal charm—they just needed a permanent place to anchor their roots after busy lives in the city.

Their dream home wasn’t actually on the market when they first spotted it. "We were looking to buy another farmhouse down the road but missed out," Catherine recalls. But a little curiosity—and a stroke of perfect timing—changed everything. Sometime later, the couple went back down the road to stickybeak at the progress of the house they had missed out on. As they passed, the owners of the farmhouse they had truly fallen for waved them down.

"They said they'd had enough of renovating and were going to sell," Catherine laughs. "They offered it to us and we bought it straight away before it was even listed—we probably paid too much!"

What they had purchased was a heritage-listed original dairy farmhouse. While partially updated, it was far from ready for a young family complete with an active toddler and pets. The previous owners had hit a wall with the strict heritage guidelines, but for Rob and Catherine, the constraints were just an invitation to get creative and the challenge was accepted.

"You can’t just push out the rear of a heritage-listed house like you can with other old places," Rob explains. "To preserve the historic fabric of the original farmhouse, you have to build separate, linked pavilions."

The Wandering Convent

Rather than building a clinical modern extension, the couple wanted a living wing with soul and history. "We put it out to the universe that we wanted an old church," says Robin.

The universe answered swiftly. They discovered a local school was preparing to demolish a shabby timber classroom that bore a vague resemblance to a chapel. The headmistress was thrilled to sell it rather than pay demolition fees. In the dead of night, the building arrived at Meroo on the back of a massive semi-trailer sourced from Forbes.

The building already had a nomadic history, having served as a nuns' convent in a former life and moved at least once before. It required significant restoration. Rob and Catherine set to work, using old sandstone footings to construct a double fireplace and wrapping the structure in wide decks on three sides. Inside, layers of plasterboard were stripped away to reveal the original timber wall paneling. Years of "ticky-tacky" patched repairs were cleared out, uncovering charming original vents, historic moldings, and wide hardwood floorboards.

The new kitchen became the heart of the pavilion, anchored by a large island bench crafted from old doors and traditional joinery.

"Handmade cupboards by a local craftsman are always nicer than the flatpacks we might use for standard beach house renovations," Catherine says. "In an old house, the details truly matter. They are worth the extra expense." One of the most memorable features of the original house were the doors with colored glass. “We sourced the same doors for the convent and even had some in the shed ready to go.”

The "Go-To Suckers" for Heritage Rescues

A few years later, the need for a dedicated guest wing sparked the hunt for another architectural transplant.

"Once again, we put the word out that we were looking to reclaim an old timber shack slated for demolition," Rob says. "Often, house movers or demolition crews hear about these buildings first. By now, everyone knew we were the go-to suckers for saving old structures—even the local council would tip us off."

Their reputation paid off when an old Sunday School classroom was unearthed during a demolition. Saved from the landfill, it was trucked to Meroo.

"It was a complete wreck," admits Rob. "The front wall was entirely gone and had to be rebuilt from scratch. We had to replace all the doors and windows, and track down vintage weatherboards to replace the front facade and sections ravaged by rot and termites." Fortunately, Rob’s legendary stash of salvaged doors and windows—amassed over 30 years of working on vintage properties—saved the day.

Recreating the Rhythms of the Land

Fast forward another decade, and the couple embarked on a second, comprehensive phase of renovation, shifting their focus toward true low-impact living. But rather than inventing something entirely new, they were simply looking backward to look forward.

The farmhouse traditionally relied on time-tested, self-sufficient features like rainwater tanks and an Envirocycle system to process waste on-site. By adding more solar panels, building a thriving compost setup, and establishing a kitchen garden, Rob and Catherine were simply honoring the property's roots.

"In the old days, every farmer had a kitchen garden out of necessity," Catherine explains. "We weren't trying to reinvent the wheel—we were just recreating the sustainable way people on the land have always had to live."

Catherine, the resident green thumb, now manages a vibrant bounty of flowers, dahlias, and vegetables. Her favorite sanctuary is the potting veranda attached to the old convent pavilion. Even this space is a patchwork of local history: the windows were salvaged from a neighboring farm's renovation (fitting the space to the exact millimeter), the storage is a treasured family pine dresser, and the workstation is the home's original concrete laundry sink.

For Catherine, decorating the rambling six-bedroom, six-bathroom estate presented a unique challenge: doing it without buying a single piece of new furniture.

"I’ve always loved vintage furniture and antiques," Catherine explains. "I wanted to avoid the endless packaging waste of online flatpack furniture, which is often held together by chemicals and glues only to fall apart within a couple of years. Being in the country also means delivery miles are terrible for the environment and costly. Instead, we leaned into the incredible antiques and upcycling projects waiting to be found right here in local country towns."

Aside from new soft furnishings, every bed frame, bedside table, and bathroom vanity was sourced from Facebook Marketplace, antique dealers, junk yards, and local op-shops. Armed with mineral and chalk paint, Catherine transformed her finds—including a 1970s fabric bedhead bought from a wedding stylist’s liquidation sale, which she successfully whitewashed, fabric and all.

Farmhouse Function meets Industrial Edge

The six bathrooms defy standard interior design trends. You won't find mass-produced subway tiles or flatpack vanities here. Instead, in some of the bathrooms walls are lined with flat galvanized metal cladding—a clever nod to the corrugated iron farm sheds that dot the surrounding South Coast landscape—fabricated by a local sheet metal worker.

The plumbing fixtures are equally unique, featuring bespoke copper taps, spouts, and showers handmade by Simon Cullum, a talented local plumber and surfer. The vanities themselves are cleverly upcycled from old timber chests and consoles, while one standout bathroom features a rare antique French porcelain trough originally brought out to Australia as a ship's ballast.

The home’s decor is rich with local storytelling. Hanging prominently in the living room is "Bruce," a large red deer head acquired from Dirty Janes in Bowral. It’s a cheeky tribute to the local wildlife; wild deer are a known pest in the region, often wandering down from the mountains into the adjacent paddocks.

Now, after more than two decades of meticulous layering, salvaging, and building, Meroo Farm stands as a proud testament to what happens when heritage expertise meets an uncompromising commitment to sustainability.

“We still have a few items to tick off the sustainability list and have had to make a few compromises," says Catherine. "But we do have an EV charger now, and we hope to set up a farmstand to share our flowers and fresh produce with neighbors and visitors one day in the not too distant future.”

Behind the Soil: The History of Meroo Farm

• The Land: The Meroo farmhouse sits on a portion of the original, historic Berry Estate, established by pioneer David Berry. It features rich alluvial soils situated between Berry and Nowra, close to Broughton Creek and the Shoalhaven River.

• The Infrastructure: Celebrated for their exceptional agricultural quality, the farm's paddocks were originally drained via a network of channels dug by convict laborers in the 19th century.

• The Homestead: In 1895, a Scottish farmer who struck it rich mining gold in nearby Yalwal purchased the property from the Berry Estate. It operated as a highly productive dairy farm for generations. Built from resilient local hardwood in 1901, the main homestead remains one of the few surviving original timber homesteads in the region.