Historic wedding venue for sale
The historical Woodburn Homestead turned iconic Langhorne Creek wedding destination is on the market.
Nestled among the vines on the edge of the Fleurieu Peninsula is a piece of South Australian history that Cindy Westphalen and her family have spent the past 10 years restoring, preserving and transforming into a destination.
Now, Woodburn Homestead is known as a breathtaking backdrop to the happiest day of people’s lives, but when Cindy and her husband, John, first happened upon it in 2016 it was in need of some serious TLC.
“I had always had a dream of driving up a big, long driveway and coming upon a surprise and when we came to Woodburn, that’s exactly what happened,” says Cindy, an award-winning caterer and owner of Woodburn Homestead.
“It was very unloved and it looked like it needed attention, but the bones were good.
“I’ve always been quite imaginative and saw the potential, and right then and there I sketched a picture and that picture has now come to fruition.”
Across almost 17 hectares of sprawling land, the property comprises a chaff shed turned open-air chapel; stables that are now an intimate function space; workers’ cottages built in 1918 and transformed into a couple’s retreat; and the original coach house that is now a private two-bedroom suite.
Then, of course, there is the original homestead featuring four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a generous kitchen and living room.
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The 1864 structure features high ceilings and each room opens onto the wraparound veranda through classic French doors.
“My main objective was to look after the history,” Cindy says.
“Everything we source is old – nothing that we have put here is new because we wanted to keep the sense of the age of the property.
Cindy engaged local stonemason Rick Wheatley to help with the extensive stone work and restoration across the property.
One of these projects included the reinvention of a stone wall with wrought iron gates along the homestead’s southern side.
When Cindy and her father, who was heavily involved with the transformation of the property, were looking into Woodburn’s history they happened upon a photograph of Melville and Melrose Rankine – the son and granddaughter of Matthew Rankine who built the homestead – in this part of the garden.
“We had the picture, so we called it Melrose’s Garden and we dedicated that garden to all the children of the past, present and future,” Cindy says.
This is a popular spot for wedding ceremonies and the rest of Woodburn’s vast gardens feature an array of break out areas for ceremonies and receptions – the Olive Tree Lawns in what was once Rankine’s paddock; the Angas Lawns overlooking the Angas River; and the Stable lawns adjoining the old stables.
The gardens were majorly transformed with the help of Cindy’s late fatherand the pair would often sit on the wrought iron bench in Melrose’s Garden, something Cindy still does.
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“Dad and I would sit on that bench and Dad would always say, ‘What do you think about that then?’ and we’d look across at his work,” she says.
“I feel like my dad is in every fibre of Woodburn.”
Cindy named the driveway after her father, Philip Walter, and erected a sign for her parents’ 60th wedding anniversary – something she wishes to take with her, but hopes will remain as a foundation of Woodburn, just as her father is.
Woodburn is full of stories like this that Cindy and her family have created as they built the property into what it is today.
The Homestead where John and their son Michael camped on stretchers and cooked over small burners while they worked tirelessly to breathe new life into the place.
The ‘Woodburn’ sign etched into the open-air fireplace behind the stables that stonemason Rick gifted Cindy for her 60th birthday.
The stories of each of the couples that have chosen this destination as the backdrop to the happiest day of their lives.
And the stories of the history that Cindy and her family have worked so hard to preserve – the tally marks embedded in the wall of the open-air chapel where sheep were once shorn and the date stamp once engraved into one of the old workers’ cottages.
“One thing that people just cannot buy is history,” Cindy says.
After 10 years here, Cindy and her family have done everything they sought out to, and now feel it’s time to pass the torch.
Woodburn Homestead has been named as a finalist in the South Australian Premier’s Business and Export Awards, and Cindy says to be recognised will be the perfect ending to this chapter.
The sale of 410 Angas Plains Road, Langhorne Creek, is being handled by Harry Shorland and Belle Ker of Harcourts Adelaide Hills.
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