Meroogal, House museum in Nowra, Australia

Meroogal is a timber-framed residence with corrugated iron roofing and decorative wooden details including carved bargeboards and cast-iron railings on the balconies. Inside, the building features polished hardwood floors and cedar woodwork that extends throughout the main rooms and hallways.

Meroogal was built in 1886 for the widow Jessie Catherine Thorburn and her four unmarried daughters, on land bought in September 1885 after her eldest son Robert Taylor Thorburn married Jessie Billis. Robert financed the house with funds from his partnership in a goldmine at Yalwal, 26 km south-west of Nowra, and his uncle Kenneth Mackenzie designed it. The family moved from Barr Hill in May 1886; in 1914 part of the land was resumed for a Nowra water reservoir, and subdivision from 1941 to 1959 shrank the original one-hectare allotment.

The house was run by Jessie Catherine Thorburn and her four unmarried daughters, known as Miss Belle, Miss Georgie, Miss Kate and Miss Tottie, who divided household tasks between them. Their diaries, scrap books and work books survive in the rooms, and the German text's claim of a male caretaker is not supported by the sources.

Visiting works best with guided tours that show both the interior rooms and the surrounding grounds of the property. You should expect to walk through multiple rooms and outdoor areas during your visit.

The house preserves a remarkable collection of personal items spanning multiple generations, including diaries, photographs, and everyday objects. These intimate records reveal how family relationships and daily routines evolved across different decades.