Marangan History
Rich in history, Marangan is located on the banks of the Broken River on the outskirts of Benalla in Victoria’s North East.
The current homestead was built in 1920 by Mr Tom Hair for the Cowan family and sits amidst acres of established gardens, surrounded by 16 Bunya Pine trees.
1800's
The farm was first settled in 1847 and the first homestead built for H.W.H Smythe, the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Murray District.
Over the years the property has housed a variety of enterprises. In 1864 the Marangan vineyard, known as 'Bellevue Vineyard' produced 3000 gallons of wine under the guidance of Phillip Smith. In 1867, Smith won the Intercontinental Exhibition of Australian Medal for Excellence for his wine.
1900's
The vines were removed in 1902 by Robert Lithgow to make way for grazing with the property also being used for coursing or racing greyhounds and in the mid 1900’s as a dairy.
The Dore family moved to the property in 1972 and there are 4 generations of the family still living on the farm. Milking cows was already a thing of the past when the family arrived from Gippsland and today the property produces quality beef cattle.
Present
One of many lovely old buildings on the property, the old dairy, has been used as a workshop and storage area for the farm but in 2002 it was given a whole new life. Keeping hints of its origins (make sure you check out the curtain rods and the bookshelves made from the old milk pipes), the old milking shed has been turned into the wonderful space it is today by David Dore and Cate Kennedy with the help of Will Hair, grandson of the man who built the main homestead in the early 1920’s.
This amazing conversion now known as The Dairy provides our guest accommodation and we are sure it will not disappoint.