A historic Wagga site is up for sale but the 19th century farmhouse isn't one for the faint-hearted, as it was the scene of one of the town's most notorious murders.
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The home at Mount Austin is described as one of the "original Wagga homesteads" by LJ Hooker estate agent Richard Rossiter who is supervising the sale by tender, with local historian Geoff Burch estimating the home was constructed back in 1890.
Now located at 22 Waranga Avenue, Mount Austin, two 1970s flats hide from street view the original farmhouse, where in 1936 a gruesome murder that shook Wagga and reverberated across NSW took place.
It was chronicled in The Daily Advertiser at the time as "one of the most brutal and callous murders in the annals of crime in the State".
The victim was 25-year-old Christopher James Bolger, the son of James Bolger who owned the homestead, a golden boy who ran the farm and managed his father's property.
Christopher Bolger was a popular man about town, a member of the lifesaving club and various sports teams then, in December of 1936 a few days after returning from Christmas spent in Sydney, the young man went missing.
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Days later, the farm manager was found in a well underneath the property's verandah with a bullet through his head, having been shot and killed by his farm assistant, 19-year-old Roy Souter.
In an incredible police statement from the time, Souter admitted he flew into a rage and reached for a rifle after Mr Bolger made a disparaging remark about a woman the teenager was interested in.
Souter said he chose to dump Mr Bolger's body in the well with a bag over his head "because of the way he spoke about my girl".
Newspaper reports form the time paint a dark picture of the days surrounding the murder.
Before Mr Bolger's return, Souter reportedly masqueraded as the younger brother of his soon-to-be murder victim and was spotted driving around town in his flashy car.
In the days following the "callous" crime the farmhand even entertained friends and the sweetheart in question at the homestead, the dead body of Christopher Bolger floating in water just metres away all the while.
The sinister tale came to an end when a worried friend of Mr Bolger's found blood spots by his bed, and alerted the police who discovered the victim's body, and subsequently arrested and charged Souter.
Horror history notwithstanding, Mr Rossiter predicts the historic property will make for a popular buy.
"It's been beautifully maintained and it's in really good condition even though it has not been thoroughly renovated," Mr Rossiter said, adding he predicts the property to fetch over $700,000.
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