What got me interested in going through abandoned buildings, houses, pubs and what not? When I was in my early 20s I camped at an old youth hostel south of Perth, next day I took a drive and came across an old farmhouse that looked abandoned so I stopped for a look. Inside the house was intact, including doors, windows and roof. The only things inside were a few newspapers and what I thought was a piano. When I got back home I did a little research and discovered it wasn't a piano at all but a harpsichord. The newspapers were from the 30s/40s, but there was nothing else left. I often think about that find and wonder why a harpsichord would have been there, and more importantly, why was it left behind. Harpsichords were the forerunner of the piano and very popular from the 14 century through to the 19th when they lost favour and the piano took over. They came back in vogue in the 20th century but probably exclusively as an orchestra instrument. So, what on earth was a harpsichord doing in a remote farmhouse abandoned sometime in the 40s. Fascinating stuff, and what's more the harpsichord still worked, well mostly. I remember thinking at the time what a strange noise it made, not like a modern piano, rather like a piano made or tin.
This is great, memories! I can remember motoring up the Blackwood in the South West of WA in my canoe with the wife. I saw what appeared to be a dilapidated house roof so pulled over to the bank, scrambled up the bank and found an old farmhouse, long since abandoned. No doors or windows left, but there was an outhouse, water tank and a work shed with a few tools left behind. The only thing of interest was a large collection of jars filled with a iiquid and a collection of snakes, must have been a couple of dozen. A few years later I was in the same area, motored up the river in our canoe and stopped for a look. Sadly the house had been razed and nothing was left. I came across a few old abandoned farmhouses like this in our travels, some were nothing but wrecks, but a very few were still intact with cutlery and crockery, old jars of spread, cleaning agents, newspapers, chairs, tables, wardrobes and so on, one had an old Meters wood stove, green with white sliding doors on the front, same as the one my mother used to cook on, behind those doors was a neatly set fire, never ignited. The stories behind these old houses and why they were abandoned I don't know, but certainly fascinating.
-- Edited by toglhot on Friday 12th of May 2017 05:35:33 PM
Interesting view of the way some people lived at the time, and never mentioned while my parents were alive.
Always interesting to see what life was about in those days. People made do with what they had and got on with their lives. What I fondly call men and women of character.
This might be of interest to those of you who love exploring old places. After reading this on ABC news I went to the Face Book page and have really enjoyed the photo's and bits of history.