Emerald's hidden gem: Inside the Harrold family's Leigh-Home homestead

The picturesque Central Highlands property, located just five minutes south of Emerald, was the ideal home, both Jodi and Kerry Harrold and their family had been searching for.

After driving past for many years with wonder at what was inside, they found the homestead with four bedrooms and bathrooms, two kitchens, and large living spaces.

But it was a stove in the kitchen that proved the biggest draw card and sealed the deal on buying.

Kerry said the family had just sold their neighbouring property and were searching for a "unique homestead", which would fit their large family and suit their campdrafting and passions.

"This homestead was just one of a kind," he said.

"We had a 1000 hectare property around 20 kilometres down the road near Gindie and we had just sold that and we're renting and looking around for the ideal family home.

"We fell in love with the rosewood timber and the outback backdrop fit well with our love of country.

"We'd been driving past it for probably 10 years and we knew there was a home in there but we had no idea it was this beautiful."

The two-story extension part was built in 2005 and the original base was built by its first owners.

"We knew we would be able to entertain our friends and family out here. The uniqueness, the one of a kind and no one had anything similar," he said.

New Guinea Rosewood is the man timber featured in the kitchen, bedrooms, and the walls. Most of the tiles inside are all porcelain.

The upstairs bedroom features Westminister carpet and the living room features Persian carpet, which is said to be extremely hard to burn.

The Harrold family have had their fair share of success in the campdrafting arena which is why it was also important to install horse infrastructure.

"I was born and bred on the land, growing up on my family's cattle property in Rolleston," Kerry said.

"Since purchasing Leigh-Home Homestead, we've constructed an American barnstyle, which features nine stables."

The Harrold's campdrafting success features on the walls of the Leigh-Home Homestead too.

Kerry said there were many features of the homestead which drew their attention at first, but it was when they had a glimpse of the Furphy Kangaroo Homestead Cooker inside, that ultimately led to the decision of purchasing the home.

"There was a few things features that drew our attention but the stove was a big draw card for our family," he said.

"We had a wood stove when I was a kid at home, before Mum converted to electric, but for many years we had wood stove which heated our water as well.

"I've always been a lover of antique and old school, and if I could go back and live in horse and cart days I would.

"We usually run the stove in the winter months for about two months otherwise it gets to hot inside.

"My mum has never been able to cook scones as good as she could in a wood stove."

Manufactured in Beveridge Victoria by Barry Burrowes and Rod Toy in 1980, the stove was originally inspired by the C Andrews cast iron wood cooker of Geelong.

Weighing 420 kilograms, the double sided Homestead Cooker greets visitors as soon as they walk through door.

"The stove is the biggest draw card of this house, and as you walk through those front doors, you know it's a family home," Kerry said.

"We've spent many winter nights, enjoying the warmth and beautifully cooked roasts and fruit cakes.

"Heat from the stove also goes up the stairway and warms the entire top half.

"For a few years, the original owners used to take it to the local Ag-Grow field days and put it on display every year."

Besides the botanical gardens and the mosaic pavements, which intertwine through the backyard, a 20 metre windmill stands tall on the banks of the pond.

The windmill originally came from Fernlea, between Emerald and Springsure, with the previous owners transporting it all in one piece.

It is placed directly in sight of Kerry and Jodi's master bedroom window, which they both say is mesmerising each time they wake in the morning and see it.

"The Allens tried to set up the windmill to pump water out of their dams they had built, but as they were putting it in place, the wind came and bent the rods - and eventually wearing the bucket out on one side," Kerry said.

"Waking in the morning, to see it spinning around and all you can hear are the birds - it really brightens your day.

"We'd go away on holidays and we'd just want to be home."

The previous owners featured in several garden magazines and claimed an award for their iconic garden.

"When the agent first took us on a tour of this property, we walked through the rainforest area and we were amazed at how beautiful and natural it was," Kerry said.

"The garden is a mixture of native and non native plant trees.

"They are self-maintained."

The elegance and charm of the Leigh-Homestead make it one of the most idyllic wedding/fundraising event venue in the Central Highlands.

The Harrolds have hosted several wedding events - offering their estate for couples to use as their exclusive home for their special day.

Kerry said both he and Jodi had always loved to entertain and the local communities knew they had a beautiful venue to do it.

"We started hosting weddings, engagements, birthday parties, and fundraisers for the community - which we thought our homestead provided an amazing backdrop for," he said.

"We were heavily involved with the Emerald Show Society for a good few years and my wife was secretary.

"In the past, we've hosted the showgirl fundraisers here and plenty of Gindie fundraisers and even the odd baby showers."

Kerry said after a while, the family decided to put the venue on hold - due to family commitments.

"It just got too tied down and we were starting to miss our own family weddings," he said.

The Harrolds have taken a step back from campdrafting and hosting weddings, and are now fully committed to their love for camp oven cooking.

Kerry said the family's collection has grown to more than 60.

"We do all our cooking in our camp ovens now," he said.

"I started around two years ago and camp oven cooking through COVID has just gone off and orders for new products have double."

In October, Jodi and Kerry competed at the Australian Camp Oven Festival at Millmerran, and the pair were fortunate to pull off reserve champions for the top championship category.

In 2015, the Harrold family were in Emerald for their daughters grade six graduation, unaware their property would be in the line of destruction.

A severe storm with 180 kilometre an hour winds lashed bushland and residential areas, just south of Emerald, unroofing homes and bringing down trees and powerlines.

Despite significant damage to their gardens, Kerry said the homestead was structurally untouched.

"We've had little tornado come through in late 2015 and we were on the front page of the local paper when it happened, it look like a war zone," he said.

"There were trees down everywhere.

"We could only get in that backyard with a four wheeler and a little trailer and there was a massive pile of trees and all that had come out of these gardens.

"We were fortunate enough to be in town when it happened, and we were grateful that the storm didn't do any damage to the house."

Despite all their love for it, the Harrold family have made the difficult decision to put Leigh-Home Homestead up for sale in early 2022.

"Our grandkids are down on the coast and after being down there and seeing the hinterland region, we felt the time was right to sell," Kerry told Queensland Country Life.

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