Iandra Castle. George and Elizabeth Greene were settlers with a difference when they purchased their 32,000 acre property in 1878. They built their first homestead named Mount Oriel House in 1880. Greene was a NSW politician and a man with ideas. By the time he died in 1911 his Mount Oriel estate had over 20,000 acres sown in crop. His obituary said he came to a landscape of bush and transformed it into a granary. His estate used 700 horses and employed over 600 people plus various chaffcutters, thrashers etc and the woolshed sheared 30,000 sheep. He came to NSW in 1847 with his parents and spent most of his life on pastoral properties before he purchased Iandra. He dreamed of a medieval feudal system to grow vast areas of crop with little labour. He was regarded as the most important wheat farmer in Australia along with William Farrer who developed his rust resistant wheat type. Greene claims to have introduced the concept of share farming to Australia. He provided the land and took half of the value of the crop but the share farmer bought the seed, fertiliser and provided the labour to sow and reap the crop. But did he? Share cropping was common in the American south after the Civil War and Elizabeth Onlsow (nee MacArthur of Camden Park NSW) introduced share farming on their dairy property in 1887. Greene established his village with houses for the fifty sharefarmers contracted to work his lands. He started with one share farmer in 1891 and gradually expanded the system. His estate manager, named Leonard l’Anson came from Waterloo in South Australia and members of the Freebairn family from Alma in SA also moved to Iandra to be share farmers. George Greene wanted a medieval castle like a medieval lord. Iandra castle was built in 1908 with 57 rooms, castellations and towers but the construction was decidedly modern with reinforced concrete walls. The style was slightly Gothic but the interior was very Edwardian with wood panelling and Art Nouveau stained glass panels etc. The external concrete was rendered to appear like stone. It cost around £63,000 to build. The property included stables, a manager’s residence, outbuildings, blacksmith shop, sheds etc. Near the house was a chapel built in 1886 and a cemetery. When George Greene died in 1911 he was buried there. The estate was partially broken up in 1914 and most share farmers were able to buy their 640 acre blocks. I’Anson continued as manager for Elizabeth Greene until her death in 1927. He was then able to buy 2,500 acres and the castle. Later Iandra castle was used as the Methodist Boys Home from 1954 to 1974. The Methodist Boys Farm School was for 15 to 18 year old first time offenders. They were taught farming skills. The Methodist Church sold the centre in 1974.
