This weatherboard cottage was built around 1889 by the Wallarah Coal-mining Company to house its mineworkers.
The first remembered tenants were Tom and Nanna Price who had 10 children, The flats that they built at the back of the house would have been needed to accommodate such a large family and the 3 boarders who also lived with them. Mr Price died early leaving quite a young family. They moved to Swansea before WW2 except for son Tom, aged 13, who moved in with relations in the Bay.
Mr and Mrs Rossiter were the next tenants followed by Fred Griffiths and his first wife.
Lil and Roy McDougall then took up residence. Roy had gone away to WW2 and afterwards brought back a bride from Sydney. His mother was not pleased, as she had already picked out a ‘local girl’.
In 1964 the Coal Company ‘Coal & Allied’ subdivided some of its land. The Company decided that Mr Roy McDougall would purchase this house and land for 350 pounds. The land measures slightly more than 56 feet across the front and nearly 65 feet at the rear. The length of the block is 165 feet 2 and ¾ inches long.
Roy and Lil raised 2 children in this house Kerrie and Michael and since Lil’s death Roy has lived there alone. (His daughter lives next door and his sister lives opposite) Roy spent most of his working life in the mine except for a couple of periods when he had been cavilled out.
Roy and Lil took on the care of Roy’s mother and added another bedroom at the rear of the house.
Lil died and Roy continued to live in the house until 2011 (fished daily) when he moved to a Nursing Home. One of his 5 grandchildren now lived in the house with her family until Roy’s death when the house was sold.
A garage has been added to the rear of the block and the house is a holiday home for the young family from Balmain