Meet your hosts
Katie O'Connor - Waratah's O'Connor Hall B & B
I had been to Tasmania on two previous occasions, yet had never travelled to the west coast. Then, as we stopped off in Queenstown, I saw an advertisement for a house for sale in Waratah in the general store's window and I mentioned that, although my father was born in Waratah, I myself had never been there.
A new beginning - and a homecoming
We stopped opposite the house and, when I took my motorbike helmet off and cast my eyes on the house, it was love at first sight. At that stage I hadn't even set foot inside the house, but there was just something about the place that drew me in and I knew I had to have it.
That was several years ago now and, since then, after much hard work and renovations, the house I fell in love with became Waratah's O'Connor Hall B & B.
A new life for the house too
One half of the grand ballroom, which had hosted many a night of elegant entertainment for royals, dignitaries, visitors and local Waratahians alike, has now been converted into the Honeymoon Suite.
During the renovations we uncovered, hidden in the ceiling, the servants' bells which were used to summon the servants for different tasks. We also found, when we put a doorway in from the back verandah to make an ensuite for one of the bedrooms, that the wall itself was filled with gravel. Whether this was used for soundproofing or insulation is still a question debated by our guests.
Some unusual features
Along with the other features of this majestic, stately Victorian-style home, we found a bank vault built in the cellar. This came about due to the fact that in 1883, when the house was built, the Mount Bischoff Mine was the richest tin mine in the world. The house was originally the Mount Bischoff Mine Manager's residence and, at that time, the town didn't have a bank and the wages had to be kept safe in a vault. Today it makes a perfect wine cellar.
Only ever having five owners in over a century, a lot of the original beauty of the property remains, including the chandeliers and Axminster carpets, and various relics of a bygone era are found in the grounds and below stairs, where a labyrinth of nooks and crannies are hidden behind enormous pillars and foundations.
The home boasts 365 m2, excluding the wide verandahs wrapping around it on three sides. It has a formal lounge, formal dining room, four deluxe queen ensuite guest rooms and two private bedrooms. It is situated on 5532 m2 of lawns and gardens.
Discovering my past
Since purchasing the property here in Waratah, I have found out that whilst working as matron of the Waratah hospital, along with two of my great aunts Katherine (Kit) and Margaret (Meg), my grandmother, Grace Francis Rochford, met my grandfather, Joseph William O'Connor, who was managing the Mount Jasper Mine close by. He had been sent here to manage the mine by his father Patrick Joseph O'Connor, who was the major shareholder in the 
mine. He courted Grace and they were married here, where my father was born, before moving back to the mainland where they originally came from. My grandfather was the first person to own a motorcar in Waratah.
So you see, when I arrived on the back of a motorbike, it was as ifI had finally come home.
I have lots of other stories to tell about our beautiful town and love sharing them with people over a cuppa or a drink, whilst we sit and admire the view of the lakes from the verandahs or inside by the fireside.
Read more at Katie's Waratah's O'Connor Hall B & B website
