When I stepped through the front door of Oceanview Guest House, I was taken back to a more beautiful time in the history of Batemans Bay.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
If this proud old beauty had walls that could talk, I'm sure it would whisper!
Oceanview is the home of Robin Innes, having bought the house with husband Merv after falling in love with its heritage appeal.
A mother of five, grandmother to 15 grandchildren and with 15 great-grandchildren to her name, Robin is the matriarch of her family.
But she could also be considered a matriarch to the town of Batemans Bay, given the contribution she has made since arriving in 1958, when there was a beautiful new iron bridge across the Clyde River
But how did she get to be here?
Robin Grant was born in Goulburn NSW in 1938 to fitter and turner Norm Grant and his beautiful wife Jean Grant (nee Haddon).
During the war, Norm Grant worked on the manufacture of the Owen gun. The Owen gun, known officially as the Owen machine carbine, was an Australian sub-machine gun designed by Evelyn Owen in 1938.
During World War II, Robin was evacuated from Regents Park, and sent with her two brothers to live with relatives for the duration of the war, due to the dangers associated with living in Sydney.
Robin was just four years old at the time.
When Robin turned seven, the family moved to Bundanoon where she attended primary school. High school was completed in Bowral where she was the first girl to receive the citizenship prize.
At 17, Robin commenced training as a nurse at the Camperdown Children's Hospital in Sydney. One year before completing her training she met a handsome young man called Merv Innes, from Moruya.
Merv was the love of her life and they married in Bundanoon.
In 1958 a decision was made to move to Batemans Bay. With three young boys, it was 'a no brainer'.
Merv, Robin, Steven, Ben and Grant, moved into the 'Boatshed' where they lived on the top floor. The home consisted of a main living area, a small kitchen and bathroom and two bedrooms.
Neil and Elizabeth were both born after the move to the Bay.
The family outgrew the 'Boatshed' and Robin began looking for a more suitable home for her family.
Albert Ryan had been trying to sell his guest house in High Street for 12 years when Robin found it. She fell in love with the building and set about restoring it to its original grandeur.
Robin describes the Oceanview Guest House at that time as being "pretty shabby with only an outside toilet and no running water".
The Oceanview Guest House is just one of the four heritage listed homes Robin has rescued and restored, along with 'Runnyford', built by convicts in 1843, The Boatshed and 'Mays' at Poverty Farm.
Always thinking of ways to improve their boat hire business, Merv came up with the idea of selling prawns to the tourists who hired the 20 hire boats. He acquired another boat to catch larger fish.
The fleet of boats continued to grow as did their quota until in April 2006 Batemans Bay was declared a marine park sanctuary. This had a dramatic effect on the business and two of the boats were sold.
However, there was one boat, the 45' fishing trawler, 'Robin Elizabeth' which remained in the fleet.
Robin has certainly found her 'niche' in Batemans Bay, as the matriarch of a well known and loved local family with a business that is family run.
She had eight years on our local council, was involved in acquiring our library, pre-school, sewerage system and Murra Murra trail.
Also chair of the Bi-Centenary committee along with Ruth Odges, Robin worked with the P&C, Chamber of Commerce, George Bass Marathon, as well as establishing the Quota club in Batemans Bay - the list goes on.
Her passion is preservation of our precious heritage, much of which is quickly disappearing along Beach Road, including the view from Oceanview Guest House.
A resident of Batemans Bay for 66 years, Robin's advice to us all is "no matter how bad life gets, or how down you get, never give up".
