30 Argyle Place – Millers Point – NSW
Part of Cole’s Buildings (22–32 Argyle Place) · Old Colonial Georgian · c.1830 / mid-1840s chapter · Standing (SHR #00905)
Facing the grass of Argyle Place — Macquarie’s unfinished London-square idea above the Rocks quarries — number 30 is one bay of Cole’s Buildings, the early Georgian terrace row at 22–32 Argyle Place. Built for publican-developer William Cole, listed on the State Heritage Register, it is modest colonial housing that survived when so much of The Rocks and Millers Point was remade.
At a glance
- Address / site: 30 Argyle Place, Millers Point NSW 2000 — within the row 22, 24, 26, 30, 32 Argyle Place (Heritage NSW primary address string; note odd-number gap in the official list)
- Built: Heritage NSW / Wikipedia consensus c.1830 (construction may predate 1832); significance statement also places Cole’s Millers Point / Rocks work in the mid-1840s building-regulation generation
- Built for: William Cole (publican / developer)
- Architect: not attributed
- Style: two-storey Old Colonial Georgian terrace; stone / rendered façade; simple stone parapet; fanlight over doorway (twelve small panes in the statutory description); corrugated galvanised iron roof over earlier shingle tradition
- Group name: Cole’s Buildings (terrace) — rare combination with adjacent townhouse Osborne House (No. 34) from the same owner
- Heritage status: NSW SHR #00905 (gazetted 2 Apr 1999; database 5045568); Millers Point Conservation Area; Housing NSW tenancy chapter from 1982 in the inventory history
- Fate: standing; live scrapbook reflects a restoration / DA chapter for the individual bay (marketed as c.1834)
Site & setting
Argyle Place sits above the cut of Argyle Street / the cutting, looking across the green to the sandstone face of Observatory Hill country. Cole’s row is an important streetscape element on that square — highly visible from the Place and, from the rear, toward harbour and North Shore views. It is part of the earliest continuous residential precinct in Australia still in residential use.
Timeline
- c.1830 / mid-1840s – Terrace constructed for William Cole (SHR construction years c.1830; significance text stresses mid-1840s regulatory generation and Cole’s wider Rocks/Millers Point building program).
- Mid-19th century onward – Row appears much as today in the inventory description; Argyle Place itself not fully formed until quarrying ceased c.1865.
- 1958 context – Broader Millers Point / Rocks awakening (Taubmans paint-out at 50 Argyle Place; Fisher / Flower campaign) draws attention to the precinct that includes Cole’s row.
- 1982 – First tenanted by NSW Department of Housing (inventory history).
- 2 Apr 1999 – SHR listing #00905 (Terrace; Cole’s Buildings).
- 2010s–2020s – Individual bays return to private sale / restoration markets; No. 30 marketed as a tri-level c.1834 Georgian terrace with DA for reconfiguration (live scrapbook).
- Today – Standing within the Cole’s Buildings row on Argyle Place.
Architecture & interiors
Statutory description (Heritage NSW via Wikipedia / inventory): mostly intact two-storey Georgian terraces of stone construction; simple stone parapet; shingle roof tradition under later corrugated iron; rendered stone façade with face-stone banding and parapet string course; simple stone window sills; fanlight of twelve small panes over the doorway; painted timber joinery. Orientation overlooks Argyle Place. External condition good at last inventory inspection cited; some internal original fabric may survive.
People & anecdotes
William Cole is the developer spine — publican-builder whose Millers Point / Rocks terraces are now rare survivors of modest housing built as Sydney’s early fire and street regulations tightened. The pairing of this terrace with Osborne House (No. 34) for the same owner is called out as rare in the significance statement.
What stands today
Number 30 stands as part of Cole’s Buildings. Walk Argyle Place and read the Georgian terrace line facing the green. Private residence / restoration chapters vary by bay — no assumption of public access.
- Map pin: 30 Argyle Place, Millers Point.
- Group listing: 22–32 Argyle Place (SHR #00905).
- Do not confuse with Undercliffe Terrace at 52–60 Argyle Place.
Sources & further reading
- Heritage NSW — Terrace / Cole’s Buildings (SHR #00905 / database 5045568): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5045568
- Wikipedia (SHR-derived): 22–32 Argyle Place, Millers Point
Related on this blog
- Darling House – Trinity Avenue – Millers Point
- Spencer Lodge – Millers Point
- History of Darlinghurst (precinct context only)
Historic live gallery
Images retained from the live Blogger post:
Transcription:
[Sotheby’s International Realty advertisement, partly visible; Chinese-language agency name at top right]
[…]esidence / [?le]vel c1834 / [?oppo]rtunity for / [?co]nfiguration.
Auction Tuesday, 15th December if not sold prior / View Thur & Sat 10:15am - 11:00am / Harriet France / [agent’s phone number] / sydneysothebysrealty.com
Transcription:
Sydney | Sotheby’s INTERNATIONAL REALTY
MILLERS POINT 30 Argyle Place
An iconic offering unmatched in historical value, setting or possibility, th[…] exudes a grandeur that has been hard won over almost two centuries. […] terrace built in the Colonial Georgian style, the dilapidated interiors pr[…] complete restoration with current DA plans for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathro[…]
All information contained herein is gathered from sources we deem to be reliable. However we cannot guarantee its accura[…]
WENTWORTH COURIER, Wednesday, December 9, 2015
