“Once it’s gone, it can’t be brought back,” the Mt Warrigal resident warned the site’s owner, Shellharbour Council, which purchased the property under compulsory acquisition legislation in 2012.

Little did Mr Wright know at the time that it would ultimately be fire, and not the passing of time, that would claim the heritage-listed homestead.

Emergency services were called to the Croome Road property just after 5.30pm on Friday with reports of smoke seen billowing from the single-storey house.

Firefighters fought the blaze for several hours but were unable to save the structure, which burned to the ground.

Police revealed on Sunday they were treating the fire as suspicious after receiving a tip off that three men had been spotted fleeing the property moments before the blaze was discovered.

Two vehicles were also seen leaving the area after the fire started, police have said.

Fire investigators have launched an appeal for anyone with images or vision of any suspicious activity at the site to come forward.

Meantime, Mr Wright said he saw the smoke from the fire on Friday afternoon but only realised it was the Norris Homestead later that evening.

“I’m devastated,” he told the Mercury when contacted on Sunday.

“I wanted to cry, there were tears welling up in my eyes when I found out. I’m angry and hurt.”

Mr Wright was one of several residents who raised concerns in 2015 about the heritage building falling into disrepair under the management of Shellharbour City Council.

The homestead, built in the late 1800s, had two cottages which housed farming families during Albion Park’s dairy industry boom and had been described by the Office of Environment and Heritage  as “rare examples of 19th century rural dwellings”.

Aboriginal elder Aunty Lindy Lawler also expressed her heartbreak at the loss, describing the area as “spiritual”.

Anyone with information on the fire should contact Lake Illawarra Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Regional Australia doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to preserving its built history, with too many heritage buildings either being left to rot or giving way altogether to shiny new developments.

It was for this reason that community members, led by Mt Warrigal heritage enthusiasts Ben Wright, led a charge in 2015 to have the dilapidated Norris Homestead at Albion Park Rail restored to its former glory.

At the time, Mr Wright accused Shellharbour Council, who purchased the site via compulsory acquisition legislation in 2012, of neglecting the precious site and its buildings, which had been described by the Office of Environment and Heritage as “rare examples of 19th century rural dwellings, increasingly rare with only a few remaining’’.

According to a summary of the home’s heritage value, published by the council in 2014, the site is a “significant Victorian dairy farm homestead located on the Terry’s Meadows subdivision providing evidence of the development history of one of the key 19th century subdivisions in the Shellharbour district”.

Mr Wright and his fellow campaigners saw the value in dedicating ratepayer dollars to restore this piece of history.

However, Shellharbour Council disagreed, and the site continued to sit untouched – that is, until Friday night, when it burned to the ground in what appears to have been a deliberately lit fire.

The old girl, left alone to rot for so many years, didn’t stand a chance.

Within minutes the fire had engulfed the dilapidated dwelling and it was all firefighters could do to stand and watch it burn.

Mr Wright says he is heartbroken, as does Aboriginal elder Lindy Lawler. 

We too feel your pain, but we are also angry: on Sunday we learned police are looking into reports three men were seen running from the homestead moments before the first flames were sighted. They say two cars were also seen leaving the area.

Now, we don’t expect everyone in our community to appreciate or value our built history, but it beggars belief when people commit wanton acts of vandalism, apparently just for kicks.

This is a crime not just against our current generation, but our forefathers who settled this region and future generations who will miss out on experiencing this history.

We join our local police force in calling for anyone who knows the identity of the fire bugs to come forward.

- Editorial