Student Resources

Life at Bankfoot House was never boring - there was always something to do. William Grigor built his family’s home on a very large piece of land, meaning there was always work to be done. From the location of Bankfoot House the family ran a dairy, butchery, accommodation house, Cobb & Co stables, water and food stop and change-over, Mary Grigor was the unofficial mid-wife of the region, they were the local grocers, there was a post office and on top of all of the commitments to the broader community there was a family to be cared for. Bankfoot House would have been anything but boring.

Every day of the week except Monday a Cobb & Co coach would pull up for lunch and the horses would need to be changed over. Cobb & Co would notify the family when they were coming in by blowing a bugle about one kilometer from Bankfoot House. William Grigor provided stabling and fodder for the horses and accomodation for the groom. The groom would only take five minutes to get the old horses off the coach and have the fresh ones harnessed onto it. This would happen while Mary would be feeding the travellers. The driver of the coach would have to deliver and collect the mail before heading off again.

Once the children were old enough they would have to stop playing and learn to work as their parents do. The girls would have to assist their mother in the kitchen to help to feed the hungry travellers while also keeping the house in order. The boys would have learnt how to cut timber and drive the carts pulled by a team of bullocks, change the horses over for the coaches, milk the cows and slaughter the animals for meat.

Living before technology would have been a lot harder than life is today. The Grigors would have been very self sufficient. They were affected by the Great Depression in the 1920s and 30s, this meant that money was very tight and food was scarce. Bankfoot House has a lot of history and memories between its walls, the children were quick to learn how to be responsible and the adults worked until they died. Life would have been tough compared to the life we lead today, the luxuries we take for granted would have not even existed when Bankfoot House was built.