Search is on for Castle's contents

Time warp: An original black marble clock from Yugilbar Castle on display at Schaeffer House.

THE search is on to piece together the history of the contents of one of the most historically significant residences in the Clarence Valley – Yugilbar Castle.

Clarence River Historical Society aims to document the location of original furniture, books, photographs and chattels from the magnificent old home.

Society president Frank Mack said the society and owners of Yugilbar had no intention of purchasing the goods, only of documenting their location for historical purposes.

“We are trying to document where some of these artefacts might have gone. We have a list of them all ... so we have got an idea what we are looking for,” he said.

“We found out today that the grand piano is in Sydney and that’s nice to know.”

Mr Mack said the original contents of the station were auctioned on October 19, 1932, over two days at the Fitzroy Theatre.

“They had a big clearance sale so we hope to do up a database of the location of as many of the artefacts as we can,” he said.

“You meet a lot of people (who say they) have something from Yugilbar so it would be nice to track them down.”

Built on the property known as Swanlea, part of the massive Yugilbar Run, between 1860 and 1866, Yugilbar Castle was the home of Edward Ogilvie.

Constructed by German craftsmen brought back by Mr Ogilvie on his return from a trip to England in 1859, Yugilbar Castle featured ornate chandeliers, an Italian fountain and stone lions at its entrance.

If you have any information, photos or items from the original Yugilbar Castle, contact the Clarence River Historical Society on 6642 5212 or email clarencehistory@bigpond.com.