The original weatherboard house was built around 1889 by the Wallarah Coal-mining Company to house its mineworkers.
Alf and Min Farraway and their family were the first remembered tenants.
George McDougall and his wife Maggie then moved into this house. They had two daughters Phyllis and Marge. Marge still lives in Swansea. George joined the Australian Forces for World War 1 and went he returned the family did not stay together and Maggie, with the children, left.
Potsy and ‘Diddy’ Smith then moved into this house. The Smiths, with their children, later moved to Mine Camp.
The next tenants were ‘Digger’ and Lexie Peacock with their children Rhett and Carol. Lexie left and ‘Digger’ lived there alone for a while. When he left the house became derelict as doors etc were removed and ‘reused’ in other homes.
Jewel and Ross Laing bought the house by tender in late 1964 and made it liveable. They installed a tank, repaired the stove and used it for 14 years; however, the council demanded it be demolished. Mr Laing, a builder, built a new home.(pictured)
‘My family would come every weekend, all school holidays; later university holidays; two sons had honeymoons in it. When grandchildren arrived it was always’ The Bay’ for holidays. My father died in 1994 and every summer my Mum would stay in the house and some of us would be up every weekend. Mum joined the Bowling Club and played a lot. My youngest daughter (who was 10 in1965) remembers all her teenage activities were at CHB-local kids would come in to play cards etc, music on the verandah-it was wonderful. …Five generations of my family have enjoyed this lovely place and four generations are still enjoying it. My children, their children and their children also my brother and his family, especially in the early days.
My husband built our small retirement home on the same block, over two and a half years. We still used the old house till April 1979,when we had to demolish it with much sadness. The 14 years of using it were (we all agreed) the best years of our lives. We began living here permanently in September 1976 when Ross retired.’
When Jewel died the family sold the house.