Day 12: The power of music

This is the much loved Tenterfield Saddlery. The building, was built about 1860 and has had many lives, from a bank in 1874 to a private home from 1895 to 1897, and now as a museum. It was purchased in 1908 by George Woolnough who ran it as a saddlery until his retirement in 1960. This quaint blue-granite saddlery on High Street was a key meeting place in town. Saddler, George Woolnough plied his trade, listening, undisturbed by the chatter and opinions of those who wandered in.
 
George’s grandson, Peter Woolnough, grew up in Armidale, only 179kms down the road from Tenterfield and was very close to his grandfather. Peter later changed his name to Peter Allen and became the hugely successful singer/songwriter. In 1970 Peter wrote "Tenterfield Saddler" and it was released in 1972. It went on to become one of his most successful and loved songs.
 
The song tells the moving story of Peter’s life, from his much-loved grandfather, George Woolnough, his troubled relationship with his father to moving to New York to marry Liza Minnelli, "a girl with an interesting face".
 
Peter married Liza Minnelli on 3 March 1967, formally separated on 8 April 1970, and divorced on 24 July 1974. Peter had a long-term partner, model Gregory Connell. They met in 1973 and were together until Connell's death in 1984. Peter and Gregory sadly died from AIDS-related cancer eight years apart, with Peter Allen becoming one of the first well-known Australians to die from AIDS. Peter remained ambiguous about his sexuality. He didn't pretend to be straight after divorcing Liza Minnelli, but never publicly came out as gay either.
 
The saddlery has been classified by the National Trust and is still in its original saddlery condition - the old ceilings show 130 years of tobacco stains, wooden floors are patched in places with scraps of leather, and visitors can see the working conditions of 100 years ago first hand. 
 
The extra shows the unusual parking sign outside the saddlery.