Greyleigh
Six of the seven children of the Gray family (children of John and his wife Mary) emigrated from Fermanagh in Northern Ireland to Australia in 1841 and settled in the Illawarra – Shoalhaven area. The second eldest child, George Gray, purchased the property 'Mount Salem' on Saddleback Road in 1854. Sometime between 1851 and 1854, George Gray changed his surname to 'Grey' and his wife Isabella nee Vance, briefly returned to Northern Ireland to receive a significant family legacy of 3-4 thousand pounds from a family estate. The legacy was used to fund the purchase of the 'Mount Salem' property. Subsequent land purchases by George record the transition from Gray to Grey.
George’s eldest son, William, worked with his father and uncles on the Robb property called 'Riversdale' and was later closely associated with developing the Agricultural Society of Kiama. William married Mary Jane Walmsley to whom he had five children, and after she died, he married his second wife Margaret Jane Ritchie, who died with no children, and finally married his third wife, Emily Agnes Elizabeth Baxter with whom he had four children. From his first marriage, his third child and oldest son was also named George Grey.
George was born at 'Mount Salem' in 1865. George and his siblings all assisted their grandfather George on the dairy farm until his death in 1887. George and his brother Arthur inherited a half portion each of 'Mount Salem'. Four years later, Arthur bought George’s half portion of the property and became the sole owner of 'Mount Salem' and renamed the property 'The Pines'.
In 1891, George Grey bought 78 acres of land within sight of his grandfather’s original 'Mount Salem' property. He added to his 78 acres by renting portions of his neighboring properties and added other adjoining parcels of land as they became available for sale. He incorporated 7 small farms into one farm of 500 acres, of which 320 acres were freehold and 180 acres were rented.
In 1892, George married Susan Lee from Jamberoo. George named his newly acquired property 'Greyleigh' – a combination of Grey and Lee. George and Susan went on to have nine children, six girls and 3 boys. Susan died in 1928 aged 60.
George built up an impressive dairy stud of Australian Illawarra Shorthorn cows and bulls at many Agricultural Shows over the years, including the Royal Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane agricultural shows. George looked after his stock impeccably and was the first farmer in the Illawarra to make silage and introduce stall feeding. His prized dairy cows often featured on the 'Greyleigh' Christmas card and sent to family and friends. George Grey was awarded an MBE in 1952 with the citation ““The greatest living constructive breeder of dairy cattle in the British Empire”.
Due to the lack of labour during the 2nd World War years, George reduced his properties to 320 acres freehold and quit all of the adjoining rented properties. In 1942, George held a disposal sale of his prized cattle, selling 60 cows and 11 bulls for an average price of 41 guineas each. His champion Illawarra bull Greyleigh Wootan sold for 202 guineas and his champion Illawarra cow Greyleigh Gem 77 sold for 113 guineas, at the time when the average annual salary for a male worker in Australia was just 238 guineas (or 250 Pounds).
In 1951, aged 86, George remarried to Jessie Little and moved to Victoria, unfortunately Jessie only lived another year and died in 1952. George returned to live at various residences between Kiama and Sydney and died in 1962, a month short of his 97th birthday. George, Susan and many of their descendants are buried at Kiama (Bombo) Cemetery.
In 1952, the Greyleigh homestead and farm consisting of 320 acres was sold for 11,000 pounds to Frank West Herbert, who owned a sawmill at nearby Jamberoo. He retained the property until he died and his son subsequently inherited Greyleigh.
In 1982, the Greyleigh homestead and 150 acres of farmland was sold to a property developer Lemina Pty Ltd for $370,000. The owner, Jose de la Vega, retained the property for many years before putting Greyleigh on the market.
In 2017, Greyleigh was purchased by a developer named Traders in Purple. The Greyleigh homestead has recently received a $5 million makeover and is now a 6-star holiday destination, while the farm itself continues to be used for agistment purposes. While the corrugated iron-clad exterior, restored to its original terracotta colour, may look much as it did in George and Susan’s day, the property now boasts modern luxuries including a pool, spa/meditation rooms and electric car charges.