A Viennese waltz at 'Ettalong Hall'
Imagine you were back in the early 1900s and you were doing a spot of fishing one balmy summer's evening at The Rip.
If you listened carefully, you could hear the lovely sound of a Viennese waltz being played by a string quartet, mixed with occasional laughter and polite conversation wafting across the restless current.
Curiosity aroused, you would row to the western shore, secure the anchor behind the nearest rock and stealthily climb the embankment towards the music and voices emanating from an imposing residence located on top of the rise and surrounded by beautifully manicured lawns and hedges.
Several horse drawn carriages could be discerned in the courtyard.
You would undoubtedly also notice the Model T Ford, newly arrived from the States.
Making sure that your presence remained undiscovered by the servants, you would peer through a gap in the heavy drapes covering the cedar framed windows and observe finely dressed ladies, some fanning themselves in the warm summer air, and others discussing the latest play seen at Her Majesty's Theatre.
Another room would reveal several waistcoated gentlemen playing billiards and others smoking their pipes and taking occasional sips from their brandy or port lately arrived from the Continent.
This splendid building named Ettalong Hall was the residence of Henry Robert Cox and his wife Ethel Cox who were well known in the district.
Both were very much involved in amateur theatre and frequently entertained their many friends and fellow actors at lavish balls and soirees.
They were also privileged by the occasional visit of world famous actress Sarah Bernhardt to their former home in Brickwharf Rd.
Ms Bernhardt used to regale her adoring audience with tales of the latest plays and tantalizing scandals involving her leading men and potential suitors around the globe.
Ettalong Hall took almost two years to build, with most of the stonemasons and other artisans and tradesmen camped nearby.
Constructed mainly of local sandstone, it featured numerous fireplaces, high ornate ceilings, servant quarters, stables and a huge sideboard in the billiard room.
Stone moon arches surrounded wide verandas, thus giving the home a stately and grandiose appearance and a visible manifestation of wealth and status.
To visit Ettalong Hall, even in its autumn days, was to step back in time when elegance, refinement and good manners were patronised by those who were blessed by good fortune and hard work.
Many locals were aware of the building and it was often the subject of discussion and speculation.
I was told by one retired businessman that back in the 50s, he and a few of his mates decided one evening to explore the house which was unoccupied at the time and reputed to be haunted.
They also wanted to search for a tunnel rumoured to be underneath the main dwelling.
Full of courage and with beating hearts, they prised open one of the windows and one by one they climbed in only to be greeted by total darkness and deathly silence.
Whether it was the sound of their whispered voices or the scurrying of a fleeing rat, their courage failed them miserably and fear and panic took the place of their adventurous spirit.
They all made a dash for the open window and fled from the scene never to return.
Sadly, the home and outbuildings were demolished in 1970 after Gosford Council, in consultation with the RTA, decided in their collective wisdom that Ettalong Hall was in the way of the approach road to the proposed Rip Bridge.
It is evident today that a slight re-alignment of the road, together with a modicum of intellectual input from visionaries and heritage minded people, could have saved this valuable historic building from its final and fatal act of vandalism.
Where was Jack Munday when we needed him?
Some of the sandstone was acquired by the last occupants of Ettalong Hall and subsequently transported to Woy Woy Bay where the stonework was used in the construction of a fine dwelling.
This was perhaps a fitting and proper finale for what was once a stunning well-proportioned country dwelling.
Letter, 13 Dec 2009
Fred Landman, Daleys Point