River House (aka Federal Hilton)

About Louise Bickle

We live in the inner city suburb of Redfern and this is our much loved holiday escape. We like to share this beautiful hideaway with other like minded guests (although not at the same time of course). We try to get up to the hills as often as possible so our house has that homey feeling rather than your usual holiday let + we are always updating something or making things more comfortable.

Louise Bickle purchased this Cottage in 1978

Why Louise Bickle chose Federal

Before the original European settlers arrived, the Federal Valley was a rain forest & bush area called the ‘Big Scrub’. The settlers were afraid of the ‘big scrub’ so they cleared all areas of the land. The land was then used mostly for the running of livestock. We bought the property in 1978 & at that time there was only one tree on the entire 10 acre block, (it’s the one to the left of the deck, the Red Apple Tree). All the other trees & shrubs have been planted by us or spread by birds or the elements. The rain forest at the creek edge has slowly regenerated by it self. From 1979 to 1986, the top paddock was planted as an orchard of avocados. These unfortunately were slowly killed off by phitopherous (a root disease). The Federal Valley was also a proposed dam site, a 10 year battle was fought & won by the community in 1995. The dam would have flooded the valley entirely, our property would have had water to the top gate. All the wild life & trees would have been lost. Our 10 acres now hosts many interesting trees & shrubs, among them we have grapefruit, limes, oranges, tung oil, pecans, black bean, mango, custard apple, macadamia & coffee as well as a huge range of gums, cedars and pine trees to name a few. We are slowly creating a beautiful garden, there are both fragrant & colourful species that do their thing at different times of the year. At the creek we have turtles, a platypus family, a kingfisher family & hundreds of other birds, butterflies & reptiles. We hope you relax & enjoy your stay!

What makes this Cottage unique

Our back grounds are in textiles, theatre and interior styling - so you'll find an eclectic mix of furniture and furnishing. We like cooking and eating at home so the kitchen is very well equipped for the holiday chef. We have a teenage son who has spent his growing up years, holidaying on the property, so we have a very child friendly environment and lots of books, CDs and DVDs to keep all ages entertained + a trampoline! AND we have no wifi. Internet and mobile coverage is a very recent addition to the area - but try to stay off grid for 100% relaxation. Read a book on the deck, relax in the butterfly chairs, swim in the swimming hole, spot wildlife and enjoy the sunshine.