In the beachside suburb of Black Rock Victoria sits one of my favourite hidden gems. Black Rock House. With it's beautiful homestead, obscure castle wall and gates complete with stable, living quarters and underground cellar. Built in 1856 as a holiday house for Charles Ebden, who was Victoria's first Auditor General, it was used to entertain Melbourne's elite. There is a lot of mystery associated with the house. A newspaper article in 1910 details one day how the public knew very little of the strange castle. Some girls came by one day and spoke to one of the caretakers asking if they could see the 'Haunted House'. They heard that the house was haunted by a woman in white who was brutally locked in the cellar by her husband as she was an invalid. This of course was brushed off by the care taker as nonsense and there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest it is true. It is just one of many myths associated with Black Rock House. From the supposed underground tunnels to the tower that was removed from the roof, there are a lot of secrets. What also makes the house unique is that 99% of the items have been either acquired from antique stores or by donation. Some of these items are over 100 years old. The oldest pice of furniture of course would have to be the original chair which belonged to the Ebden family. I have written a series of blogs called Tales of Black Rock House from my many experiences with this house.
