The History of our Property

William & Johanna Hurley

Hurley Farm was first established by Irish settlers, William and Johanna Hurley, in the 1860’s. The couple had 12 twelve children in the historic wattle and daub cottage which they built in 1876.  It was derelict in 1998, but has now been restored.  The youngest child, ‘Aunt Mags’, was born and lived in the cottage for a 100 years.  The Hurley cottage was the site of Balnarring’s first post office and a general store. The natural attributes of Hurley Farm, to which we were attracted in 1998, have been long-recognised as shown in this article in the ‘Mornington Standard’ on 6 September 1902: 

“About half a mile distant from Mr Buckley’s, situated on the top of a hill, is Mr Hurley’s homestead.  Unlike his neighbour, Mr Hurley pays more attention to fruit growing than dairying, having an orchard of about 15 acres in full bearing.  Being situated on the side of a hill, it is naturally well drained, and as the aspect faces north-east, it gets the full benefit of the morning sun – a most important consideration in fruit growing in a cool, moist district – and it is immune from damage by strong winds, owing to the protective character of the surrounding country”.