She was a guest house called "Myrtlebank" and she was a very gracious old residence in a near perfect setting, surrounded by the towering peaks of the Grampian Mountains in Victoria. She was visited by thousands in her time, many of whom returned year after year to enjoy her hospitality. I first visited her 40 years ago and she won my heart from the moment I saw her. In those days, guest houses were in their prime - motels were unheard of. To this day, I can recall the delicious meals at "Myrtlebank" with pure country cream and home grown produce featuring largely. All the guests would gather in the enormous sitting rooms warmed by huge log fires in colder weather and , in the evenings, all sorts of games would be played, charades being first favourite with young and old alike. Several days a week a bus would pick up guests, along with those from other guest houses, and surrounding areas would be visited. Mostly, though, we walked - sometimes right across behind the Wonderland Range to Mount Victory. Now, "Myrtlebank" is no more. The site where she once stood is at the bottom of the Bellfield Lake, covered forever with fathoms of water. But I and many others will always remember and love her. Letter to paper with photograph of MyrtlebankSubmitted by Mrs O. Woolcock, Tottenham Vic who won $15 prize describing accomodation for guests at Myrtlebankaccommodation, guesthouses, myrtlebank

Residence of owner of guest house MyrtlebankOriginal residence of Myrtlebank with garden in foregroundKodak professional endura paper buildings, houses, myrtlebank

stawell grampians

Until the closure 40 years ago, the Myrtlebank Guesthouse near Halls Gap in the Grampians was a thriving family - run business. In 1962, all that changed when the government of the day purchased the land on which the guesthouse stood and some neighbouring farms and houses. For almost 40 Years, the remains of the buildings have been submered under the man made reservoir known as Lake Bellfield. Due to drought, the eater levels have dropped steadily and, in the past month, the memories underneath Lake Bellfield have come to the surface. Local resident Don warren 70, has been to have a look. His grandmother Anne Flower Warren, was 56 when she opened the guesthouse in 1916. Widowed, the year before after a horse kicked her farmer husband, Mrs Flower needed to provide for their large family. "She had 13 children - seven daughters. I think she built it to look after the girls," Mr Warren says, "The whole think was built on a 500 acre farm." With the guesthouse sited in the centre of the farm, the land was divided between two of her sons- Mr Warren's uncle working one side and his father taking the other. For Mr Warren, the grounds of the two-storey guesthouse were an extension of a huge rural playground in what he remembers as an idyllic childhood. "I used to get taken over there and I'd sit there and watch her make all the toast for the guests. It was quite full all the time - maybe 40 or 50 people. It was a great big place - very grand. In the bedrooms I can remember the great big bowls full of water to wash your face in. There was a big dining room, too. My grandmother was a great cook." By the time of Mrs Warren's death in 1936, her eldest daughter also Anne, had officially taken over the running of the business. "It was in the family right until the last bit. The youngest daughter, Auntie Hilda, took it over right at the end. they got a notice to say that's it - it's over There was no way out of that one." Mrs Ida Stanton, 78, is the historian for the Halls Gap and Grampians Historical Society. Can she remember it when it all happened? "Of course" she says "It's only 40 years ago" Her memories of Myrtlebank are of a place popular with honeymooners, who would often return year after year, bringing their families with them. "There was a lovely ballroom where they used to invite the Gap people and the tourists in to have balls. During the war it was one means of making money to send stuff over to the soldiers." Seeing just the stumps of the guesthouse and what had been his family home, Mr Warren says the bitterness is still there. "The hardest part was poor old dad. He was 70 years old when he got turfed out. Dad had been a farmer all his life - 214 acres, he had, and he got 22,000 quid. Had to move into town" Also showing beneath the drying lake is the concrete slab of the new home Mr Warren planned after his marriage to wife Anne in 1955. Another lost dream. " I was the only child, I was going to take over the farm, but that all changed. You can't take it over when it's full of water.Newspaper clipping of history of Myrtlebank by Don Warren and photo of Don at old site of pooland guest House photo Article by Claire Halliday from newspaper 2002accommodation, guesthouses, myrtlebank

Residence of Warren family overlooked by Upper Halls Gap range Site now under Lake BellfieldBuildings of Myrtlebank overlooking paddock Back drop Upper Halls GapPhoto mounted on cardboardbuildings, houses, myrtlebank

Myrtlebank before bridgeGuest House before bridge Appears to be taken from post card photoThe rose Series P 4971accommodation, guesthouses, myrtlebank

Men in front of Myrtlebank Guesthouse.Four men on horseback and one man standing, in front of guest house108 m CNNA 10A06 Dec 99 Gold reef Photosaccommodation, guesthouses, myrtlebank

Photograph of Myrtlebank Guest House in Upper Halls GapGuest House and other buildings behind wooden fenceThe Rose Series P 13883accommodation, guesthouses, myrtlebank

C 1910 The Warren family in foreground of buildings of Myrtlebank in early stageEarly stages of building Residents in Halls Gap with out buildingscopy Agfa H/GAP 0007 NNNBAbuildings, myrtlebank, people, warren

George and Anne Warren inherited the house, later to be known as Myrtlebank, from Robert and Sarah Graham. George and Anne Warren had thirteen children, so they had to extend the Graham's home to accommodate the large family.The photo shows a house made with corrugated iron. A child is standing to the left of the photo. Smoke is coming out of two of the chimneys."Myrtle Bank, Grampians" inscribed on bottom of photo.buildings, myrtlebank

Large families were the norm, rather than the exception up to the time of the World wars. perhaps the senseless destruction of those young lives sickened humanity- perhaps the increased taxes and cost of living resulting from the wars caused a necessary reduction in family size. Perhaps the independence won by women as they carried on their daily lives without their men, made mothers say, "Enough" The Warren family farmed the fertile Fyans Creek flats in the Grampian Mountains of Western Victoria. Some say Halls Gap was so named because the bushranger Hall holed up there in the early days. The rugged slopes and hidden gullies could have hidden a whole gang of bushrangers, but little remained undiscovered to a wandering family of 12 children growing up with their flocks and herds grazing the ranges. A tired rider could nod off, safe in the knowledge a trusty stockhorse would plod steadily homeward into the night. Responsibility quickly made youngsters capable and reliable. Then Australia went to war. There were three older brothers, then the girls, then young Frank. All the men went, including Frank. So the girls had to run the farm alone. Their mother had her hands full with the youngsters, still attending school, a daily walk over the mountain to Pomonal and return. But the loss of the men's casual wages from timber cutting and labouring jobs, meant great hardship is some method of earning a cash income had to be devised. Paying guests! That was it. So Myrtle Bank Guest House was born. City folk flocked to the mountain resort. High stepping mountain horses met them at the Stawell raid-head, with the tall and beautiful Warren girls driving them in experienced fashion, their auburn hair sometimes falling from its pins to fly free, as the dray bowled along towards the hills. The would hitch up their skirts to saw and chop wood for the stoves and fires. They milked cows and delivered calves. They shore sheep and trimmed their feet. They mustered their cattle as the seasons rolled by, and the paying guests watched and participated, fascinated. With laughter and song, the girls would wash up in a tin dish, throw on their house clothes to wait on table, sing and play piano, violin, accordion, enjoying the talk of the city and that other world so far away from their mountain home. The simple country menu was a hit, and the homemade bread, butter, jams and preserves, fruit and vegetables sent guests staggering to their armchairs. Picnics, hikes, goodbyes and welcomes blurred as the years of the war dragged by. Bookings were made and remade as the new enterprise became established. Peace was declared. the men returned A whole new building rose with two floors, inviting verandahs and bathrooms. Myrtle Bank would remain a family business all its lifetime, until buried below the Bellfield Dam, by which time more than one the girls had joined their beloved Frank, lost on Flanders Field. Article in book or magazine describing life at Myrtlebank during war years Other article written from letter from soldier P Lillis to his sister 3rd article of woman from country enlisting in WAAF Submitted by Carol of Bannockburn, Submitted by D Langley Submitted by Meryl of South Frankstonaccommodation, myrtlebank, people, warren

This is a photo of the exposed swimming pool of Myrtlebank, which became exposed in Lake Bellfield during the drought years (2007 - ). The view is looking towards the dam wall.Photo shows an exposed swimming pool (Myrtlebank Pool) in a very low reservoir (Lake Bellfield). There are dead branches in the water behind the pool and the dam wall can be seen in the background.recreation, swimming pool

This is a photo of the exposed swimming pool of Myrtlebank, which became exposed in Lake Bellfield during the drought years (2007 - ). The view is looking towards the dam wall and further road through the valley..Photo shows an exposed swimming pool (Myrtlebank Pool) in a very low reservoir (Lake Bellfield). There are dead branches in the water behind the pool and the dam wall and former road through the valley can be seen in the background.recreation, swimming pool

This is a portrait of Goldie Warren, aged at approx. 22-23 years old. She was the owner of Myrlebank for many years.A portrait of a young woman holding a bunch of flowers.people, warren, accommodation, myrtlebank

Early stages of buildings with Warren family before becoming Guest HouseBuilding with residents in foreground with additional buildings1 photo mounted on cardboardbuildings, myrtlebank, people, warren

Appears guest house completed at new locationGuest House built, garden not completed People on verandah and car beside buildingPhoto taken by Mr Holmesaccommodation, guesthouses, myrtlebank

Information supplied with accommodation details Victorian Country Hotel, Guest and Boarding House Guide "Myrtle Bank" The Grampians Electric Light, Sewered, Hot and Cold Water Service, Asphalt, Tennis Court, Milk and Cream from our own farm, Motors meet all melbounre Trains, The Most Up-to-date house in the Grampians, Through Tickets issued by Govt. Tourist Bureau, Telephone : No. 1 Halls Gap Tariff: 12/ per day L 3/3/0 per week. Proprietress Mrs A. F WarrenGuest House and grounds with Tariff information and servicesQuality paper made in Germanyaccommodation, guesthouses, myrtlebank

Early stages of guest houseGuest House and grounds Driveway leading up to house has a wagon in foreground before the bridge was builtAgfa Quality paper made in Germanyaccommodation, guesthouses, myrtlebank

Guest House and driveway leading up to it with a brdigeThe Rose Series P 10082accommodation, guesthouses, myrtlebank

George Warren family on their Fyans Valley property George Warren (father) and son Frank seated left died within a week of each other during war at Gallipolli.Photograph of Warren family on property at Fyans Valley AGFA This paper manufactured by Kodakpeople, warren, myrtlebank

Appears to be earlier photo of Warren family prior to C1910Family of George Warren seatedAGFApeople, warren, myrtlebank

Auntie Cole (Goldie Warren) with Warren, Carol, David (Cavanah) Janice, Winnie, and Chick WarrenFamily of children feeding chooks with AuntieKodak paper people, warren, myrtlebank

unknown women but believe a Warren of MytrlebankLady in formal portrait with 2 people partially cut out of photo AGFA 997M BN12 21 MAR03 Wimmera imagingpeople, warren, myrtlebank

Jack Deller at end of diving board Graeme Chappell diving off of board Darryl Williams left and Doug Bottoms right opposite side of pool Occasion was Graeme's 21st birthdayPeople enjoying pool and diving board at Myrtlebank Guest House overlooked by Mt William Range.AGFApeoplerecreation, sport

Stove Front – Warren’s Guest House Myrtlebank” Halls Gap. In 2015 a copy of a Docket for the purchase of the stove was supplied by member Gary Withers dated 1-2-1922 which had come through from the original Family.stawell

The location of the photo was in the vicinity of Myrtlebank, upper Halls Gap. The pool was called "Mirror Pool"Photo shows large pool of water bordered by the sandy banks of a creek (Fyans Creek).Hand written "A Happy New Year to all PS this is close to where we live Typed Post card, correspondence, Address only Kodak, Australia. 'Mirror Pool" written in ink in top, left border of photo.scenery

Postcard is one of the Valentine series and is of the Epacris Falls, The postcard has been to Ida (who would probably be Ida Warren). Mention was made of Paddy (who was probably Paddy Smith,adopted son of the Warrens at Myrtlebank)Postcard shows 2 men at foot of a waterfall. the waterfall appears in the foreground of the postcard. Colouring of postcard looks artificial as does the flow of the waterfall.V.G.252(on front) Epacris Falls.The Grampians.Victoria.(on front)Post Card.-Printed in Great Britain.This space may be usedfor communication. The address only to be written here.scenery, waterfalls

The woman in the photo is Goldie (Anne) Warren. The children are (from left) Warren Cavanagh, Carol Cavanagh, David Cavanagh, Janice Warren, Val Warren, Hilary Warren. Goldie Warren never married. The fowl yard was a couple of blocks over from Myrtlebank, a guest house run by the Warrens.The photo shows a woman and six children (two boys and four girls) feeding chickens.people, warren

On Dec.25, 1940 Sylvia Vyanna Morgan passed away. Dorothy had married Roy Warren from Myrtlebank Guest House and Thomas had married Edna Kennedy. In 1942 Nina married Arthur Mangle and in 1946 built Mountain Grand Guest House opposite Grampian House. By 1950 Morgan decided to sell Grampian House and moved to Stawell. The new owners of Grampian House were Fredrick Charles Kingston, a successful bus company operator from Stawell and his daughter Ethel May Mathews who together with her husband Des built the adjoining famous Kookaburra Cafe in 1946. Fredrick had also built a bowling green next to the cafe. In the late 1950's Grampian House Guest House was leased to several people including Mr & Mrs. Hudousek, Paul Loren and people with surname Virtue. It was during this time that the front veranda and pergola were demolished and the house modernised. Nina Mangle and her two sons Arthur & Charles purchased the property and operated it as an overflow for Mountain Grand Guest House. Well known artist Neil Douglas operated a studio on the premises and Horsham identities Evan and Barbara Mackley housed a museum of furniture and artefacts on the site. Advertisement and photo of Grampian House. accommodation, guesthouses, accommodation, grampian house