Cedar Glen Farmstay

Built in 1901 from timber grown on the property, The Homestead had only ever been occupied by the Stephens family until they began using the house solely for Farmstay purposes from 2000.

As was common at the turn of the 20th century, the old Queenslander style houses were built in two sections. This is evident in the Cedar Glen Homestead, where the front section is all living area, while the back section houses the kitchen, dining and lounge area.

The Farmstay
In 1980, Janet and Peter Stephens were in Sydney on holiday. They had previously seen an advertisement from a travel agent looking for farms to send guests to for rural Australian experiences. They thought that this might be a nice way to meet new people, as well as a chance to supplement dwindling income from the beef cattle operation. They met up with the agent while in Sydney and that’s how it all began.

The family started taking guests on a very small scale in Cedar Glen Homestead where they also lived with their primary school aged children. Janet did all of the cooking on an old wood combustion stove which was kept alight 24hrs a day. The stove was also responsible for generating the hot water, as well as cooking.