Progress Of The Suburbs - XVI - Potts Pt & Darlinghurst II - SMH - Sat 1 Nov 1913, page 8

 

PROGRESS OF THE SUBURBS.
XVI. - POTTS POINT AND DARLINGHURST.
II.
Chief amongst the principal properties that were built at Potts Point was "Roslyn Hall," with its extensive and elaborately-finished frontage to Macleay St. The house was a large, well-built mansion, with a spiral staircase, constructed of cast iron, leading to the first floor. The rooms were each spacious, well finished, and elaborately furnished apartments. Each of the principal bedrooms had a bath of its own, built level with the floor, & a person wishing to bathe had to follow the Scriptural injunction & go down into the water instead of climbing up into the bath as is the present day custom. This system of putting in baths to the main bedrooms & building them level with the floor was one adopted in most of the mansions around Sydney erected in the early days. At "The Rangers" at Mosman & other large dwellings the remains of such a system of bath buildlng are still visible. For Roslyn Hall it may be claimed to have been at one time one of the most fashionable houses around Sydney. The land extended on the southeast to the site of what is now St. Canice's Church, with Roslyn Gardens & Roslyn Rd on the east; while on the north the grounds extended to Elizabeth Bay Rd. In area there were 9 acres 1 rood to this property. It was a grant to a Mr. T. Barker, dated November 28, 1833. Mr. Barker built the house, & lived there for a time. Mr. Ambrose Hallen was the architect. Surrounding Roslyn Hall a number of other large & fashionable dwellings were erected. There was "Eaton",
with its old-fashioned wooden pump, which Mr. Dowling, in his description of the district, states was situated at the bottom of the private road, & served two cottages, which were erected by Mr. T. W. Smart next to "Eaton." Then there was "Cheverells," part of the Macleay grant, where Captain Deloitte & Mr. David Jones  respectively lived. Later the house was occupied by the Hon. W. R. Campbell. "Barncleuth," which adjoined Roslyn Hall, was occupied at one time by Mr. Henry Moore, who was the local agent for the P&O. Company. It will he interesting to note that in those days the vessels of the P&O. Company arrived here only once a month, & their arrival was generally noted by the firing of a gun from Fort Denison, and Barncleuth, Mr. Dowling states, was later purchased by Mr. Amos, a well-known railway contractor, & by him was named Kenneil. It Is now a boarding-house. Then there was that well known residence, Greenknowe, which Mr. John Gilchrist, senior partner in the well known firm of Gilchrist, Watt, and Co., erected in 1846, under the super-vision of Mr. James Hume, one of Sydney's leading architects. Mr. Gilchrist occupied the house for a number of years. Finally it was purchased by Mr. F. H. Dangar, who still owns it. Larbert Lodge was built & occupied by Mr. C. D. Riddell, the then Colonial Treasurer. Many other such well known properties of the early days were, to be found at Potts Point, & a large number of them were built on what is known as "The Macleay Grant," which consisted of 51 acres, granted to Mr. Alexander Macleay by Governor Darling in 1828. The formal grant was in 1831. The Governor, in a despatch to the Right Hon. William Huskisson, dated March 28, 1828, wrote thus:
"The land granted to Mr. Macleay at Elizabeth Bay, a mile & a half from Sydney, was for the purpose of erecting a family
house, & cultivating a garden. Mr. Macleay's knowledge as a horticulturist is likely to prove beneficial to the colony. He has always spent a considerable sum in the improvement & cultivation of his grounds, & in erecting a stable & offices, preparatory to building a house, which it is his intention shortly to commence. From the manner in which he has entered into this undertaking, & the scale upon which he has commenced to settle & stock the land he has received for agricultural purposes (the usual grant of 2500 acres), he will no doubt prove an important acquisition to the colony In this respect alone, the capital which he has already vested in stock, & is still continuing to expend, is considerable.'"
Mr. James Arthur Dowling, in his paper before the Historical Society, describes this property thus: "It took in all Elizabeth Bay & the western frontage of Rushcutter Bay as far as the eastern boundary of Roslyn Hall, & was approached by the Elizabeth Bay Rd as at present." The residence which Mr. Macleay built is the present Elizabeth Bay House. It is a splendid example of the old style of erecting a family mansion. At a later date much of this grant of 54 acres was subdivided by Sir George Macleay, son of the original grantee, & by him was let out on long building leases. Upon this land, which today constitutes Elizabeth Bay, quite a number of beautiful homes have been
erected.
Quoting from Mr. Dowilng's paper: "Elizabeth Point was so named by Governor Macquarie, after his wife's second name. The native name was 'Yarrandabby.' That of Mac-
leay Point was "Jerrowan."
Another interesting portion of this aristocratic suburb was some 11 acres of land near the extreme Potts Point. This was a grant to Mr. Judge Advocate John Wyld, on Nov 1, 1822. Mr. Wyld was the last Judge Advocate, & for a short time a Judge of the Supreme Court under the charter of 1824. It is evident that at the outset Mr. Wyld made no attempt to improve his property, & he nearly lost it for falling to comply with the conditions of the grant, & Governor Darling in his despatch of 1828, already men-tioned in connection with the Macleay grant, dealt also with the Wyld grant in these words: "The allotment bearing Judge Wyld's name was granted to that gentleman by Governor Macquarie several years since, & still remains unimproved. I purpose writing to inform the Judge that it will be resumed by the Government unless the conditions of the grant are speedlly fulfilled. It is quite evident, however, that Mr. Wyld complied with the conditions at a later date, for Mr. Dowling in his article points out that the Judge Advocate conveyed 61 acres of the land to Mr. J. H. Potts, who was one of the early officers of the Bank of NSW, which was first established in 1817. Hence, the name Potts Point, the native name of which is Carrageen. But it was also called Point Campbell, in a survey by Governor Phillip in 1792. The street from the end of Macleay St, opposite Grantham, is called Wyld St, and Mr. Dowling adds "evidently after the judge." On the north side of this street & built in the land once owned by the Judge Advocate, were the fine residences, Bellevue, Clarens, Creelwood, Clifford, & Tarana. Some of these have been rebuilt or added to, & renamed, including the site of Mr. W. R. Hall's modern Wildfell, & opposite them Bomerah, belonging to the well known McQuade family, who occupied the extreme Potts Point. Bomerah 20 years ago was the home of the Admiral in charge of the station, & Mr. Dowling says, "near by was Grantham Villa, built on the remain-ing 4½ acres of John Wyld's grant. This land, on which the house was erected, be-came by purchase from the Judge, the property of Mr. Caleb Wilson, the father of Felix Wilson, who was the defendant in the celebrated Newtown ejectment suit, "Devine v Wilson." He built the first house in the property which he called Caleb Castle, and by reason of its turret it was, Mr. Dowling says, also known as the Pepper-pot. Later the name was changed to Grantham. It was done in this way: The property was pur-chased by Mr. P. Parbury. It then passed Into the hands of Mr. Henry Dangar, and Is now owned by his son, the Hon. H. C. Dangar, who almost wholly rebuilt it in 1870, & called the house Grantham. Immediately opposite Grantham Ville, states Mr. Dowling, was Clarens, which was in 1847 purchased by Mr, George Richard Griffiths, father of Mr. F. G, Griffiths, who came out to Sydney as the general manager of the Bank of Australasia, & after resigning this appointment he conducted a merchant's business in Sydney under the style of Griffiths, Graham & Co, & afterwards Griffiths, Fanning & Co. He sold out, & went to England in 1833. Later this property was occupied by Sir James Martin, the Chief Justice. It is now under the name of "Wilga," & is owned by Dr. Faithfull.
Another important property In this district is one on the west side of Macleay St, next to "Grantham,". It was a grant to Dr. Douglas in Oct, 1831. He sold It the following year to Colonel Shadforth, who built a residence known as "Adelaide Cottage" upon the ground. The land, Mr. Dowling states, extended from Macleay St down to the waters of Woolloomooloo Bay. The whole property came later into the possession of Mr. J. H. Challis, manager for Messrs. Flower, Salting & Co., and later a partner in the business. Mr. Challis gave this property, along with others, as a magnificent be-quest, valued at £250,000, to the Sydney University. Hence we have Challis House in
Martin place. Next to Challis' properly was the grant in 1831 to Mr. John Busby, of early Sydney water supply fame, "the Busby bore."
This land was divided into two parts . On one was erected Rockwall, the residence of Mr H. C. Sempill, & afterwards of Mr Arthur Little, a wealthy resident, who died there in 1852. The house afterwards became a "college for young ladles". On the other block was elected Tarmons, the residence of Sir Maurice O'Connell, the commandant of the forces, who died there in 1848. Afterwards Tarmons was occupied by Dr Nicholson (late Sir Charles) who in 1852 was a member of the Legislative Council & a Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney. The house has now become absorbed in St Vincent's Convent
Not far away was the grant to Mr. Justice John Stephen of 11 acres 17 perches. Mr Stephen was the first Puisne Judge of the colony after the Charter of Justice & was the father of the
late Sir Alfred Stephen & upon this property Orwell was erected. It was occupied at various times by such personages as Mr
James Raymond (Postmaster-General), Co-lonel H. C. Wilson (police magistrate), & Mr Justice Milford. In 1846 Mr G R Griffiths lived there before he purchased Clarens, & Mr F Parbury lived there in 1847. The property was subsequently owned by Sir William Manning. The original house still stands. The adjoining property, Mr Dowling states was a grant, dated Oct 19th 1831, to Mr Alexander Baxter, the second Attorn-General under the Charter, who later went to Van Diemen's Land. Upon this land Springfield was erected, & occupied by Mr Robert Campbell of Campbells Wharf & later by Mr Robert Fitzgerald, of Windsor. It's now a boarding-house. A grant, dated Oct 11 1841, to Mr Edward Hallen, would appear to have been originally granted to Mr Balcombe, the Colonial Treasuer, but it must've been revoked. Mr Hallen built a house upon it, which he called Telford Place his widow was a daughter of Lieutenant Lawson, & she died there only a few years ago.
Mention could be made of many other grants in this aristociatic part of old Sydney, including one to Mr Edward Deas Thomson (afterwards Sir Edward) in 1835, on which he erected Barham, & resided there until his death; but there is one grant to the west of
the Deas Thomson grant which should be mentioned. It was 100 acres of land, which Mr Dowling desrcibes as lying at the head of Garden island Cove, known as Garden Cove, but marked in Roe's map of 1822 as Palmer's Cove. The land was on the east side of the line laid down as a boundary for the common ground, appropriated for the town of Sydney, which was to be known as
'Wallamooloo Farm'. This 100 acres was granted to John Palmer, the Commissary General, hy his Honor Mr. Francís Grose,
Lieutenent-Goveneor of the colony, on Feb 25, 1793. But Palmer sold the propcrty to the Riley family on May 3, 1882, for the sum of £2290 & since then it has been known as the Riley estate, heing all the land bounded on the eastby the whole of the grants already mentioned & on the south by as near as possible Albion St, Surry Hills, & on the west by Hyde Park, & on the north by the waters of Woolloomooloo Bay. Hence Palmer & Riley streets. This proved to be one of the most valuable grants in the city.
It will thus be seen that Potts Point, Elizabeth Bay, & Darlinghurst formed at one time the principal residential areas for the well-to-do people of Sydney .They still do, so, but look at the remarkable change which has taken place in any portion of this district. Instead of spacious mansions, surrounded by large & picturesque grounds, that were once to be seen & thoroughly enjoyed at Potts Point & the adjacent district, we now have terrace after terrace of large & fashionable boarding-houses, private hospitals, & such like semi-public residences. The commercial element has got a hold of the district, & is entirely transforming it. Values have, in consequence, risen enormously, & they are likely to continue to do so. In fact, it is most difficult to secure a property at the present time in this district, & if one does appear in the market it is quickly snapped up. Its close proximity to the city gives to it a somewhat abnormal commercial value, & it is likely to continue to increase in value,, until some day it will be swallowed up in the commercial advancement of the city proper. Residences will then disappear, & commercial houses will occupy the once famous aristocratic Potts Point