Tinonee Cottages, the chance to take time out from this fast-paced, stress-filled life of today and, as the lyrics of a well-known song say, step back in time. Two very unique accommodation options await you in the beautiful Manning Valley of New South Wales, a mere three and a half hours north of the bustling busyness of Sydney.

In May 1988 a group of six consecutive cottages were listed in the (as it was then known) National Trust’s register of items of heritage significance.  This streetscape of cottages included what is now known as Tinonee Cottages – 10 and 12 Manchester St, Tinonee. The following descriptions were used in the listing:

No. 10 The Cottage is a small vertically clad weatherboard house with a galvanized iron pitched roof and skillion roofed front porch over the main front structure, behind which are a whole series of skillions and gabled extensions running back down the site. It is thought to be one of the two oldest houses in Tinonee, which dates from c1860.

No. 12 The Manor is a single storey with a galvanized iron gabled roof with gabled lean-to extensions at the rear. There is a returning verandah on the eastern and northern sides of the house with a roof that is a lower pitch continuation of the main roof. The verandah is supported by chamfered wood posts and there is a plain Masonite balustrade. The house is clad in 8” horizontal weatherboards. Internal wall linings are sometimes horizontal and sometimes vertical T & G boards.

At the backyards of each property there are significant iron and wooden toilets as well as other structures such as sheds and trellis. 

The Manor was originally a workman’s cottage situated at Burrell Creek for the timber cutters. It was moved from this original site to the current site somewhere in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. In 1993 the lean to at the back was demolished and a new, architect designed, period appropriate addition was built. At the time another arrival was brought to The Manor, The Cubby. This playhouse was originally built for the current owner and her sister in 1964. Full of memories, it now heralds playtime for a whole new generation of child guests at The Manor. 

Tinonee Cottages became so named in 2008. They have been owned by the same local family for three generations, though they bypassed the middle one (passed from grandmother to granddaughter). The original purchaser was the youngest of the four daughters of J.E. Chapman of Chapman’s Emporium in Tinonee, and Chapman’s Federal Store in Wingham. J.E. Chapman was the son of Catherine Skerrett, daughter of the infamous Charles Blake Skerrett - nemesis of Isabella Kelly and brought to popular culture via “The Valley” by Di Morrissey. Charles Blake Skerrett was the great-great-great grandfather of the current owner.