WHEN Caroline McLeod (Henty) first walked over the threshold of her newly-built home, she could never have envisaged that more than a century later, another young woman would be taking those same steps, with a grand vision for her beloved Talisker.

ON the 120th anniversary of its construction, Merino’s Talisker Homestead has changed hands for the fifth time in its history and rather than continue its life as a private residence, new owners, Kate and Andrew Boal, intend to open it up to be shared with the world.

Kate grew up a Tierney, on the family property at Nareen and after meeting ‘Boaly’ while working in New South Wales, followed by a transfer to Victoria and a wedding, the hunt began for the perfect piece of farmland, with self-employment for him and off-farm income for her the ultimate goal.

“We had just missed out on quite a few properties … my work is based in Ballarat and we were looking for somewhere we could expand a farming business,” Kate said.

“We found this place for private sale and rang (real estate agent) Andrew Dufty and said ‘this is our offer’, fully expecting it to be rejected.

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