Historic Sydney - Sydney Morning Herald - Sarurday 26th December 1925 - PAGE 5

 

Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 26 December 1925, page 5

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HISTORIC SYDNEY.
(BY B. R. WILSON.)
Perhaps the most interesting spot about Sydney, from an historical view, is Potts Point. Almost from the top of Macleay-street to Wylde-street, one can see the old residences of those who ranked the foremost In Sydney society, three-quarters of a century
ago.
Potts Point (formerly named Point Campbell by Governor Phillip, in a survey of 1772) was originally reserved for the aborigines, who occupied the foreshores, without molestation, for a number of years. However, Governor Darling, during his term of administration in the colony, caused the land to be taken from the natives, & made over as grants to the leading Government officials. It thus transpired that on November 1, 1822 11 acres of the land nearest the point was granted to Mr. John Wylde who was the last Judge Advocate, & who was also, for a short period, a Judge of the Supreme Court, under the Charter of 1824. Mr. Wylde, however, made no efforts to improve his property, for Governor Darling, when recording his despatch home in 1828, wrote to the effect, that unless some improvement was made very soon he proposed informing the owner that the property would be resumed. It is, however, in evidence in the early State records that the Judge later on complied with the conditions of the grant, for he sold six and a half acres at the extreme point to Mr. J. H. Potts, who was one of the early officials of the Bank of New South Wales, which was established in the year 1817; hence the name Potts Point. It is interesting to note that its native name was Carragheen, a certainly more euphonious designation than the present. At about this time Macleay st was apparently extended from near Dangar Castle to the point, but the extension was then, and still is, known as Wylde-street, after the first owner. It is really a cul-de-sac of Macleay St. In 1858, the large, solid, stone residence, known as Bomera, was erected on the harbour frontage on the point, and occupied by Mr. William McCade. The grounds of the house then extended to the waters of Woolloomooloo Bay, derived from the aboriginal name, "Walla-mulla," indicating a place of plenty (where fish are caught). Since those days, the Sydney Harbour Trust has resumed the beautiful green slopes, and not a vestige of the tennis court, the swimming-bath, or the terraces, fronting the bay, remain.
The McQuade family occupied Bomera from 1858 to 1883, and the records show that the residence became the home of Commodore James E. Erskine In the latter year. About 1911, the old house became the property of the Harbour Trust, & although the hand of commerce has swept relentlessly about, destroying a great deal of its natural loveliness, there still remains the house, with its atmosphere of the past, & its memorable associations. The entrance to Bomera is from Wylde-street, & the drive extends from the large old iron double gates, flagged between two huge stone pillars, through a number of ancient Moreton Bay fig trees to the front of the house, overlooking Woolloomooloo Bay. Walking round the house, & standing upon the lawn facing the harbour, one's eye is arrested by two large plaster images of dogs, sitting upon the slopes, gazing complacently into space. On the stone coping of the verandah at this angle are two conspicuous heads of Neptune, & flanking the steps from the verandah to the lawn are two castings of sphinx-like beings. Strange, how, in the days of this vogue of architectural decoration, it was considered absolutely essential to have complete uniformity.
As one wanders about the remaining grounds, & through the old halls, there appear features of bygone luxury, & the remnants of past convenience on every side. Behind the old brick wall at the side of the drive, & adjoining the servants' quarters, are the last vestiges of the stables & the carriage-house. The concrete trough for the watering of the horse is now completely filled with earth, & the arms of the embracing ficus have almost hidden it from view. On the corner wall of the back portion of the house is a long rusted projecting frame, evidently the support of the lamp that was used to light the stables. The upper storey of the house upon the street line, at its remotest end, contains the loft for the storage of the grain and fodder. It is of the conventional design, roughboarded floor, immense rafters, and large spaciousness, having the usual protruding beam & pulley over the hoistway. The cellar is of the same roomy construction, & extends far beneath the front rooms of the residence. Inside, there is also that characteristic width of construction distinguishing the bygone methods of house-building. The immense interior of the organ-room, which in height is the equal of two lofty floors, opens out into the hall by French doors, & in the upper corridor there is the entrance to a long length of gallery, commanding the spacious apartment. Each individual room of the house is relatively built on the same scale; high ceilings, wide doors & windows, & walls of an amazing thickness. An old-world atmosphere still lingers about the house, & one cannot help wishing it might always be left undisturbed, among the ghosts of yesterday.