Robe homestead’s new custodians
A burning desire to restore a grand old homestead has given new life to the stunning 1850s property that is also an important piece of Robe’s history.
When SALIFE arrives at Moorakyne, owner Margaret Ferguson is outside in her glorious garden, pottering among the brilliantly-coloured dahlias, sunflowers and artichoke flowers. She winds her way along the path made from reclaimed brick salvaged from the property to greet us.
This is a garden Margaret has lovingly spent four years cultivating; transforming it from lawn and 110-year-old Norfolk Island pine trees, to a country garden with something interesting to see at every turn.
There’s her “picking garden” next to the quaint garden shed made from materials found on the property and stingray sculptures by artist JoJo Spook, which seemingly glide above the native grasses that dance in the wind.
But long before the garden project began, the mammoth task to restore the 1853 home in Robe was all-consuming for Margaret and her husband, Donald (aka Ferg).
Margaret and Donald Ferguson have taken on the challenge of restoring the grand old home to a modernised version of its former glory.
Heritage-listed Moorakyne, just a short stroll from Robe’s main street, was a property that Margaret and Ferg had driven past countless times, and every time, Margaret turned her head towards the old building, with a “what if” hanging in the air.
In 2017, that “what if” became “what now” when the property came onto the market. They placed an offer on a Friday, with the deal done by Monday.
“It was completely out of character for me – it was foolhardy probably – but I just flew in and said, ‘I’m going to do this’,” Margaret says.
It became a conservation project for the couple, especially Margaret, who was incredibly passionate about its restoration. The roof had asbestos at one end, the verandah was sagging, window frames were rotting and it wasn’t uncommon to step right through the floorboards. But still, there was something very special about the place.
“I got a friend, who is a builder, to come in and have a look before I bought it and he said, ‘If you don’t buy it, I will’,” Margaret says. “It’s well-loved by a lot of people. So many people say they’ve always loved this house, so it certainly had an aura. I thought, someone’s got to do something about this, so I guess I’ll put my hand up.”
For the first 18 months after purchasing Moorakyne, Margaret and Ferg would travel an hour from their Kalangadoo cattle farm to slowly chip the cement away from the exterior walls. When they’d cleaned up and done as much as they could, the tradesmen started and Margaret found herself at the house more and more.
“I noticed the builders were a little bit gung-ho throwing things out,” Margaret says. “I was digging things out of the skip and I realised I wanted to hold onto everything, so that’s when I got involved.”
The desire to save as much as possible can be seen literally from the top of the home to the bottom.
“I didn’t want the floorboards ground down to nothing so I’ve left nail holes and the old knots in them,” she says.
The home’s kitchen is a long, cosy room, its warmth amplified by the walls in Dulux Sloane – a deep sage green – and earthy-toned tiles on the splashback of the servery area. The room is filled with beautiful character, including a gifted painting of pomegranates and a collection of vintage baking tins hanging on the wall.
The kitchen at Moorakyne has been designed with the help of Annemarie Pyne, and painted with Dulux Sloane for a chic country feel.
Perhaps the most charming details are a couple of small tin squares integrated into the flooring; a reminder of patchwork from owners long gone. Margaret refused to rip them out and fill them with new timber – even the smallest pieces of history were to be retained.
This room exemplifies the rest of the home, with its history honoured while the aesthetic is gently ushered into the current century, with the help of Annemarie Pyne of AP Interior Design.
Stretching along the room is a copper island benchtop that has earned a patina – “It has spots and marks on it and it doesn’t matter,” Margaret says.
Pride of place on its own wall, a painting by local artist Suzie Riley depicts the coast and its flora – a perfect match for keen gardener Margaret, who grew up beside the sea at Beachport.
“It’s just gorgeous and I get to see it every day.”
Margaret says her decorating theory is to find things she likes and “plonk” them where she thinks they may look good. It’s all trial and error.
Margaret’s support for local artists continues in the main entryway, where a painting of an expanse of Robe’s ocean greets everyone who opens the door. Margaret found the piece, by Maris Biezaitis, at the Southern Ocean Art Prize.
One of the most special historic touches in the home is an inscription in a bedroom window by the son of the home’s first owner.
“It was very nerve-wracking sending those windows away to be repaired,” Margaret says. “They went on a mattress on the back of a ute.”
The first owner, George Omerod came to Robe from Naracoorte, where he was a pastoralist. When Omerod came to Robe, he became a shipping merchant, shipping tonnes of wool from the jetty he purpose-built. While in Robe, the family grew to nine children and the house was slowly built onto to accommodate them.
The home’s bedrooms are the next project, but for now, they’ve retained their historic charm and this bedroom even features an inscription on a window from the original owner’s son
“He was very wealthy, but when you look through the house, he wasn’t flamboyant,” Margaret says. “It’s beautifully done, but it’s not showy.
“It has simple bones, but we’re very lucky to have original ceilings, walls, skirting boards – mostly – and joinery around the doors.”
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From the beginning, there was no real grand plan when it came to restoration or design; the house spoke for itself and Margaret listened.
“Things were revealed as we went along and we thought, okay we’ve got to keep that or do this,” she explains.
The original fireplaces aren’t operational, but they’re still beautiful features, including in the formal dining room.
Margaret describes her style as relaxed, comfortable, inviting and casual, and those pillars are unmistakable throughout the home. A gentle country aesthetic has been injected into every room, while retaining all the charm, marks, scrapes and all.
Margaret and Ferg have dubbed a front room “the breakfast room”, and in it there are cosy seats to enjoy a cup of tea in the morning sun, or to relax with a jigsaw puzzle spread out on the table. A library and a dining room have each been filled with furniture sympathetic to the era of the home, while a sunken sitting room that has become the default for relaxing and entertaining is splashed with colour.
Margaret says her style is all about finding things she loves and then “plonking” them wherever they might go – which sometimes leads to a bit of trial and error. In the library, a portrait purchased at Scammells Auctions painted by former Art Gallery of South Australia director Leslie Wilkie, which Margaret believes is of Wilkie’s daughter, hangs above an old fireplace.
The library’s focal point is a portrait painted by former Art Gallery of South Australia director, Leslie Wilkie.
“She was worth saving,” Margaret says. “I dusted her and knocked her eyebrow off, so then there was damage from me, but also probably before that. I took it to Artlab to be restored and they did a beautiful job.”
To this day, Ferg travels between the farm and Robe, staying three or so days at a time. Margaret, on the other hand, intended to do the same, but on one trip to Moorakyne, she never left.
“I knew people here when I moved, but I’ve made new friends since and I love this town,” she says. “I love not needing a giant freezer because there’s a shop just down the road, and for Ferg, there’s a golf course right at our door.”
Margaret also loves the borrowed landscape to the front and rear, as well as her own garden, which can be seen from every window in the home.
“I’m a country girl – I do like to have a bit of horizon,” she says.
Margaret and Ferg have just about completed a renovation on an old outbuilding, while the 170-year-old cottage is a work-in-progress and nearing completion. It’s one of the places one of the couple’s two children might stay when visiting, but today, their Irish wolfhound Mack has crept in for a rest. A pandemic lockdown was the impetus for Margaret to tackle the clean slate of a garden herself, leaving the idea of a garden designer behind.
An old outbuilding was being restored when SALIFE visited. It sits next to a structure constructed with old wharf timber. In the foreground are stingray sculptures by artist JoJo Spook.
“I just went for it and it probably reflects me better because it’s relaxed.”
Margaret and Ferg went to work putting in retaining walls on the sloped site, installing a pergola made of old wharf timber and creating a beautiful, rambling garden, complete with touches of topiary – a newfound passion of Margaret’s.
One of the most-used areas of the house is the porch, where the couple will serve lunch for the grandchildren, or sit sipping a wine in the evening. It looks out to the front garden, which Margaret admits has been a test of her patience. The Norfolk Island pines, planted around 1910, are a grand statement and wonderful piece of history, but they present challenges for growing anything beside them.
The garden is Margaret’s domain and she’s been experimenting with topiary, as well as including hardy plants that will withstand the coastal location.
Margaret says this area of the garden continues to be a work in progress, although there’s definitely a positive.
“There’s always a little pine growing next to the big ones and it’ll be next year’s Christmas tree.
“We’ll cut it down and put it in front of the fireplace.”
This article first appeared in the April 2025 issue of SALIFE magazine.
