Photo 1: Allwood, 1905
Photo of the Hurst/ Gray family in the garden in front of the Victorian style Allwood House with lace iron work on the veranda. L to R, Whittaker, Mrs. Catherine Hurst, Frederick George Hurst (at rear), Hurst Gray, Mrs. Frances Ellen Gray (nee Hurst), William (Bill) George Gray, Sylvia Gray (later Birch)
Photo 2: Allwood cider press circa 1910
Fred Hurst’s daughter Francis married the young orchardist William Gray of Cottles Bridge in 1897, and they moved into the present weatherboard house that Allwood House remains as today. Fred brought the house from a suburb in the city using horse drawn drays, and it was assembled by local builder, Charles Verso. William would expand the orchard business greatly over the years, and together with his father-in-law Fred, they would build the Dorset House which stood opposite Allwood House, taking advantage of the hospitality trade that occurred after the coming of the railway in 1912. World War I, drought and disease saw decline in the orchards of the district and in 1927, Fred died and is buried in the local Hurst family cemetery.
William Gray divided his time between a now much diminished Station and his work with the local council. He and Francis had five children at Allwood, but by the 1940s all of them had moved away and the property was leased for a period after William’s death.