Margaret Townsend’s Memories of Port Macquarie’s Guest House in the 1940s

MARGARET Townsend was reminded of her childhood holidays after reading recent articles in News Of The Area about the Manor House 

Manor House is a former guest house on William Street in the 1930s and 1940s, now located at Hamilton Green on Hastings River Drive.

Originally from Tamworth, Margaret holidayed in the area with her parents during the 1940s.

A heritage study commissioned by Hastings Municipal Council in 1991 indicates the timber and weatherboard house was designed and built in 1926 by Mr W. Rosenbaum.

The property served as a family home until 1945, when it was converted into holiday flats.

Known as Carrick Guest House, it was formerly the Chapman family home of Hazel Chapman, née Finn.

“Town Beach was a haven for Tamworth people – coming down over that dreadful mountain,” Margaret said.

“We had been staying down at Camden Haven and came to Port Macquarie to have a look in the late 1940s.

“We got a booking with Hazel and Clive Chapman at Carrick Guest House.

“Hazel’s mother, who we called Nan, and her son Terry, who was a bit younger than me, also lived there.

“We rented the big flat which went right across the house at the back.

“Looking at the front of the house the lounge room was on the right-hand side, which went into the kitchen.

“There was a hall down the middle and on the other side were the family bedrooms.

“Hazel played cards with Mum, and she made us cups of tea and Mock Chicken sandwiches.”

In the early 1950s, Margaret’s father, who worked for the Commonwealth Bank, bought a house on Pacific Drive and the family moved permanently to Port Macquarie.

Margaret attended Port Macquarie High School, and she and five girls from her class of 1958 still meet once a month.

As a young woman, Margaret worked at Arthur Yabsley’s grocery shop, then at the Panorama Guest House, and later at Sea Acres.

When she married in 1964, she and her husband Bob built a home in Swift Street, where they lived for nearly fifty years.

Margaret has many stories from her 75 years in Port Macquarie, as do many of her generation, reflecting the town’s changing pace of life and steady development.

By Pauline CAIN