Historic Harbourside Homes Doomed Mansions Of Potts Point - Syd Sun - Sat Jan 4 1941 pg 5

 

HISTORIC HARBORSIDE HOMES
DOOMED MANSIONS OF POTTS POINT
Memory Of Fireworks On Queen's Birthday
By WALTER E. BETHEL
With the demolition of the fine old mansions of Potts Point to make room for the new naval dockyard will disappear memorials to some of Sydney's happiest & most prosperous years.
The Harbor view from Potts Point was marred many years ago when the Stuart Government handed over Garden Island to the Navy, & now Potts Point itself is doomed.
The area to be resumed, we are told, is part of 11 acres originally granted to Judge-Advocate John Wylde in November, 1822. Six acres were conveyed by Wylde to J. H. Potts, one of the early officers of the Bank of NSW, established in 1817. Governor Phillip called the point Point Campbell — the native name being Carrageen — but the common place name of Potts prevailed. This, however, did not prevent the locality for years being regarded as Sydney's most aristocratic area. Darlinghurst was originally a wide locality, & was shown in J. S. Roe's map of Sydney as Henrietta Town — so called after the first Christian name of Governor Macquarie's wife. This part of old Sydney was in the first instance set apart as a reserve for blacks, but as the town grew the aborigines had to move on. The first house of note in this locality was "Craigend," a palatial home built by the late Sir Thomas Mitchell in the 1830's. Many of us remember this fine home, facing as it did Upper William St Sth (now Woolcott St) . Became Boarding House The home was built on a Crown grant dated October 19, 1831, comprising over nine acres. Sir Thomas lived there for a time; then tenants followed. The first was G. J. Rogers, solicitor, & then came Henry Prince, of the great dry goods firm of Prince, Ogg & Company, whose city warehouse stretched from George St to Pitt St. "Craigend" served later as a private hospital, and then as the in-evitable boarding-house. Just behind it, on Mill Hill, was a fine specimen of a typical mill of the period. Hynde's Mill, it was called. Between "Craigend" and the Potts Point waterfront many fine homes were built. "Craigend" has long been demolished, & terraces and flats now occupy the site. Some short distance further north stood the famous "Roslyn Hall," fronting Macleay St. It was a large, well-built mansion, with a spiral iron staircase to the upper story. "Roslyn Hall" was regarded as one of the gayest houses in old Sydney. Its spacious grounds extended on the south-east to St. Canice's Church, & to Roslyn Rd on the east, & on the north to "Barncleuth," now "Kinneil." & part of the Elizabeth Bay Rd. Its area consisted of 9 acres & one rod, & was granted to Mr. T. Barker on November 28. 1833. Notable Tenants To the north on the Elizabeth Bay Rd was "Cheverells," part of the original Macleay grant. It had many notable tenants in-cluding Captain Deloitte, David Jones (the founder of the great firm), & the Hon. W. R. Campbell. On the corner of Macleay St & the Elizabeth Bay Rd, stood a spacious cottage called "Myrtle" cottage. Tenants were Mr. Arthur Hodgson, Mr. Hugh Gordon, grazier, the Hon. J. B. Watt & the Hon. S. A. Joseph & Mr. J. H. Challis. The cottage was then bought by Mr. Sparke, wine & spirit merchant. It was greatly enlarged by him & renamed "Maranamah." Mr. Hollander followed Mr.Sparke as tenant. "Barncleuth," a bit farther down the Elizabeth Bay Rd, was occupied in turn by Mr. John Brown, wine & spirit merchant, then by Mr. Henry Moore, agent for the P. & O. S.S. Company. It was later purchased by Mr. Amos, railway contractor & called "Kinneil." "Greenknowe" was built on part of the Macleay grant, & John Gilchrist, senior, partner of the shipping firm of Gilchrist, Watt & Co., lived there. He built the house in 1846. The property was ultimately bought by Mr. F. H. Dangar. Still further north came Larbert Lodge, the home of Mr. C, D. Riddell Colonial Treasurer in his day. Captain Lamb followed as tenant.
On the most beautiful site of all stood Elizabeth Bay House, with Its 52 acres of grounds & beach facing the bay. The Macleays were a great horticultural family & their spacious grounds were the finest in Australia. The grant took in all Elizabeth Bay & the western frontage of Rushcutters Bay. The property descended from Alexander Macleay to William Sharp Macleay, & then to Sir George Macleay, who started to cut it up Into building leases when serious land taxation was threatened. Today all that Is left of this grand manor is a solitary old house, shorn of all its gardens & lawns & waiting the last chapter in its history— transformation Into flats. "The Pepper Pot" On the north side of Wylde St stand some of the now doomed buildings. Originally, these comprised, with others, "Bellevue," "Clarens," "Creelwood," "Tarana," Walter Hall's "Wildfell" & "Bomerah" (the house right on the point, the home of the McQuades, at one time also leased as a home for the admiral of the naval station). "Cintra" & "Campbell Lodge" were adjacent homes, & opposite was a most notable building, "Grantham," or "Grantham Ville." Before the house occupied its site, Caleb Wilson, a defendant in the great Newtown ejectment suit of Devine versus Wilson, built a quaint structure, which he called "Caleb Castle." It was surmounted by turrets & soon got the name of "the Pepper Pot." The property passed to the Parbury family & then to the Dangars. It was Mr. H. C. Dangar who ultimately built the castle known as "Grantham" on the site. For some years past Potts Point had begun to shed its charms as an exclusive & picturesque locality. Effacement of old homes & the instrusions of others belonging to a different order was noticeable. To follow the old-time paths today one passes under the shadow of a large number of lofty flats that somewhat arrogantly occupy or jostle the sites of old-time homes once the pride of vanished days. Whaling Fleets The solid homes of our merchant princes, pastoralists, & other wealthy types, formerly stood in spacious. well kept gardens, & gave out a dignity & sense of repose lamentably absent in the Point of today. My memories of "Bomerah," the home of the McQuades, go back 60 years or more. Every May 24, the birthday of Queen Victoria, the McQuades gave a display of fireworks from their grounds, & great crowds from all parts of old Sydney used to throng the eastern side of Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, from which they got a fine view of the spectacle. It is about 100 years ago since the first attempt to desecrate the lower Harbor was contemplated, & failed. Mosman & Neutral Bay, in those days, suffered a temporary inroad through the whaling fleets of Archibald Mosman & Ben Boyd, & it was proposed to create a dock in the lovely landlocked Mosman Bay. But this project failed, as also did the sinking of a coal shaft at Bradley's Head. What did not fail, was the thin edge of the wedge, the handing over of Garden Island to the Navy for a depot.
"Bomerah," the old home of the McQuade family. The grounds of this fine mansion originally took up most of the actual point.