When Bill and Peg Gebhardt decided to restore the original 1898 homestead on the family property, Mokota, just out of Burra, they were honouring future generations, as well as those who had come before them.

Words Genevieve Meegan | Photographs Jarred Walker

Renovating a derelict homestead that was built in 1898 and last renovated in 1934 was always going to be a massive undertaking, but Bill and Peg Gebhardt had a vision.

Their property, Mokota – a sixth-generation family owned-and-operated sheep, cropping and hay property – spans more than 125,000 acres (50,585 hectares) of farming property at Mount Bryan, just outside of Burra.

The vast site sits amongst the rolling hills that define this Mid North farming area and the howling winds that sweep through here are evident from the giant wind turbines spinning across the landscape as far as the eye can see, including across Peg and Bill’s property.

Mokota, a Maori name meaning “fine view”, has been in Bill’s family since the 1850s, when his great-grandfather Gustav Gebhardt migrated to Australia from Germany. Gustav gave up his work as a butcher to become a successful farmer, buying up large parcels of land in the Burra area.

Bill’s family, including his grandfather Ludwig and father Donald, continued the farming tradition, as did Bill who was born and raised in another house on the property, built in 1947. But the original homestead, built by Ludwig, had been left empty for decades, decaying away until Peg and Bill began the major overhaul in 2013.

“It was basically a mess,” Peg explains. “There was also no running hot water, asbestos around the place, it was a wreck. No one could believe we took it on. People said it would be sad to see it rot but not many of them would have taken it on.

“We needed to do a lot of demolition to start with and while Bill was very hands-on with this, we also got a couple of backpackers here to help. They were hard workers.”

Engineering and structural work was also needed to get the house to a modern, liveable standard.

This included new ceilings, wiring, plumbing, underpinning of foundations and the construction of a modern extension.

Unearthing the old bones of the old home was a journey of discovery, Peg says, including finding horsehair insulation in the original ceilings.

The house also featured exterior stairs leading to a large viewing deck on top of the verandah. This deck overlooked two tennis courts built in the 1930s – one court for the women and one for the men. The tennis courts disappeared years ago, but Bill and Peg removed the viewing deck and replaced it with a new pitched roof.

Bill, who is also the mayor of Burra and has been a local councillor for many years, says during the renovation he and Peg used local contractors, including Benton Builders who are now based in Jamestown.

The renovation also involved the restoration of much of the home’s stonework and that of the old stone sheds, as well as the installation of new sandstone walls to create the garden area.

This work was done by local stonemason Rob Farrelly, who spent months on the property completing all of the painstaking restoration.

Peg and Bill were also keen to push their sleeves up and get hands-on with the renovation and Bill says they worked well as a team with “me on construction and Peg on the finishing touches”.

“I enjoyed doing it at the time because we managed it ourselves,” he says. “It helps to have deep pockets, but we tried to stretch the money as far as we could by doing a lot ourselves.

“I was cleaning old bricks and moving wheelbarrows of cement around. We had our own loader and bobcat. I like those boys’ toys and it was rewarding to be hands-on every day. Knowing we were restoring a house that had so much family history also made the project enjoyable.”

While Bill grew up here, Peg hails from Adelaide and moved to Mokota 20 years after the couple married.

They first dated years before, in the 1970s when Peg, a teacher, came to the area to work at the Burra kindergarten. However, when she was relocated to Loxton for work the couple separated, and each married other people and had families.

Peg has four children – James, David, Victoria and Elizabeth – and four grandchildren, including 17-month-old twin boys. Bill has two children, Sarah and Will, and four grandchildren.

Will now runs Mokota and lives on the property with his wife Ali, and their two children Hugo, four and Lou Lou, six months.

“We’re a bit like the Brady Bunch,” Peg says, explaining that she and Bill reconnected 20 years ago when both their sons were at Prince Alfred College.

When Peg first moved to Mokota in 2004, the couple lived in the house where Bill grew up before deciding to take on the renovation of the original homestead.

The old home is divided into two sections, connected by what the couple call “the breezeway”. This breezeway is one of the most captivating areas of the home, with its original bluestone walls and spectacular stained glass features.

The old section of the home contains four bedrooms, including the master with walk-in-robe and ensuite, an office, updated bathroom and powder room, and a large formal lounge and dining room.

The aim of the renovation was to modernise the home, while also respecting the character and history of the property.

A new extension has been added which is flooded with natural light through the expanse of windows overlooking the enormous front lawn and garden.

The extension includes the kitchen, butler’s pantry and informal dining and lounge areas. A slow combustion fire adds more atmosphere and warmth, but Peg admits the old part of the house remains “as cold as charity”.

“That’s just the way it is, Mount Bryan is cold,” she says.

Bill adds: “It’s higher than Mount Lofty”.

What was the maid’s quarters to the side of the house, connected by a corridor they call “the link”, has also been updated. It is now a cosy self-contained area that is the favourite hangout space for Peg and Bill’s grandchildren.

It features two bedrooms with antique brass beds and colourful blinds, a lounge area and bathroom.

“It’s like their own little flat,” Peg says.

Bill describes Peg as “very artistic and creative”, and says he was happy to leave all interior design decisions to his wife.

“It was great to watch it all come together,’ he says.

Peg spent hours online looking for fixtures, fittings and furnishings and says some of her favourite sites included Temple & Webster, The Home and Early Settler.

“I love it,” Peg says. “I can visualise things, I’m very lucky with that. I bought a house in Loxton and did it up, so I have had a bit of experience with it all.”

Peg was a volunteer and on the board of the local Burra Regional Art Gallery but stepped back from those duties during the 18-month renovation process. She is now catering officer at the Burra Golf Club and loves to play a round or two when she can.

“We call it the ‘Royal Burra’,” Bill jokes.

Peg is also the chief gardener at Mokota and it’s clear that she has created a garden oasis from nothing here. Where there was dry earth and gravel is now an expanse of front lawn and greenery including agapanthus, roses and other plantings. “This house was surrounded by 450 pine trees when we began this renovation, so we knocked them all down,” she says. “Nothing would grow here because the pine trees made everything so dark and cold.

“When we burnt the trees after knocking them down, they burnt for three months. You could see it from Burra. We burnt in August and when Bill went to move the pile in November it was still smouldering.”

Each area of the garden also contains rustic metal artwork by acclaimed South Australian sculptor Rod Manning.

Peg gives credit to local gardener Darcy Mudge who helps with garden maintenance, but she still takes on the lion’s share of the planting, pruning and upkeep herself.

“It’s survival of the fittest in this garden,” she laughs.

Peg and Bill have put the front lawn and garden to good use over the years, including holding their combined 60^th birthday party here for more than 100 guests in 2016.

Peg’s daughter Sarah also held her wedding here in 2018, and Peg and Bill have also hosted Liberal party fundraisers at Mokota, welcoming former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and former Prime Minister Scott Morrison to the property.

But it is the lifestyle they have created around family that is at the heart of this renovation and Peg and Bill’s happiness here.

While son Will runs the farm, Bill still likes to help, and is on the motorbike mustering livestock most days.

Peg, who loves to entertain and is a great cook, will often make Anzac biscuits for morning tea, shared with Will, Ali and their children.

“I love it when the place is full of kids, some on bikes, some hooning around on the gator we have,” Peg says.

Bill adds: “This house was dismal and now it’s full of new life. This is our retirement home, for our phasing-down stage, but there is enough room for all the kids and grandkids to enjoy it, too. My grandfather built this house, but I have a son now and he has a son, so we know farming will continue for years to come, maintained for future generations. It’s nice that our hard work and what we have created with this beautiful old house will live on at Mokota. That makes us very happy.”

 

This article first appeared in the June 2024 issue of SALIFE magazine.