Earlswood – 54 Dutruc Street – Randwick – NSW

https://www.apartments.com.au/news/randwicks-boomtime-earlswood-for-august-auction

Pillinger — 54 Dutruc Street / Earlswood dual-residence marketing (fabric & precinct notes)

Randwick City Council — St Marks Estate / Our Story: https://ourstory.randwick.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/9750

Dictionary of Sydney — St Mark’s Heritage Conservation Precinct, Randwick

Randwick LEP heritage schedules — confirm current item number for 54 Dutruc Street at publish

Trove — search: Earlswood Randwick; Dutruc Street Johnston; Lorenzini Randwick

Related on this blog

• Other Randwick / Coogee villa posts (Ascot, Archina, St Mark’s precinct neighbours) as published
• Victorian Italianate eastern-suburbs comparisons (Gladswood, etc.)

Add historic and restoration photographs with captions and credits from Image gallery guidance.

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Earlswood -  Randwick - NSW 

Newmarket House – 7 Young Street – Randwick – NSW

Newmarket House – 7 Young Street – Randwick – NSW

Victorian Italianate · Built from c.1861 (wing 188083) · Standing — adaptively reused · Heart of the Newmarket racing precinct

Randwick’s racing world needed more than a course: it needed stables, yards and a house that ran the show. On Young Street, what began as John Dillon’s unsuccessful Newmarket Hotel (c.1861) became the managerial residence of a thoroughbred complex modelled on Newmarket in Suffolk — later tied to James White, Michael Fennelly, trainer Thomas Payten and, from 1917–18, William Inglis & Son. The Big Stable nearby played Phar Lap’s film set; the house itself still stands, conserved and reused as a childcare centre inside the modern Newmarket redevelopment.

At a glance

• Address: 7 Young Street, Randwick NSW 2031 (precinct bound by Barker, Jane and Young Streets)
• Built: Victorian Italianate house from c.1861 on the Newmarket Hotel site; single-storey wing added 188083 for the White / Fennelly training era
• Early names / use: Newmarket Hotel (commercial failure) → training / managerial residence for the Newmarket stables precinct
• Key figures: Joseph Fowles (early training stables, 186162); Sydney United Omnibus Co. (187678); Michael Fennelly & pastoralist James White (from 1878); trainer Thomas Payten; William Inglis & Son (purchase c.1917 for £50,000)
• Style: Victorian Italianate residence at the centre of stables, training grounds and sale rings linked to Randwick Racecourse
• Heritage / precinct: Part of Randwick’s historic Newmarket Precinct (Council heritage plaque, Young Street); house conserved through precinct redevelopment
• Fate / use today: Standing — adaptively reused as a preschool / childcare centre (Montessori Academy; SUPERCONTEXT architect; Weir Phillips heritage advice); principal elevation, verandah and slate roof restored

Site & setting

On Bidjigal / Gadigal Country beside Randwick Racecourse (racing from 1833). The ten-acre Newmarket holding grew into one of Sydney’s best-known training and bloodstock addresses. Barker Street stables once served the Sydney Omnibus Company’s horse-drawn buses. Today apartment buildings and public domain surround the conserved house and remnant precinct fabric.

Timeline

• Jul 1861 — John Joseph Watts leases ~10 acres to artist–author Joseph Fowles; training stables begun on the Newmarket (Suffolk) model.
• 1862 — Fowles insolvent; property advertised as Newmarket Hotel; successive lessees to 1876.
• c.1861 onward — Hotel fabric becomes the core of what Randwick documents as Newmarket House.
• 1876–78 — Sydney United Omnibus Company ownership.
• 1878 — Purchased by horse auctioneer Michael Fennelly and pastoralist / AJC figure James White; thoroughbred training expands.
• c.1880 — “Big Stable built; 1880–83 single-storey wing added to the house.
• After White — Trainer Thomas Payten owns and trains here until sale to William Inglis & Son (c.1917–18).
• WWII — Big Stable used as detention barracks; postwar industrial use; mid-1980s stable restoration (RAIA Greenway Award).
• Film — Big Stable used as a set in Phar Lap.
• Into early 2000s — House remains residence / racing-management centre; Inglis sales culture on and around the site.
• 2010s–2020s — Precinct redevelopment; Newmarket House conserved and adaptively reused as childcare with rear contemporary wing.

Architecture

A Victorian Italianate house of staged construction: mid-Victorian core associated with the 1860s hotel/stables phase, and an 1880–83 wing from the WhiteFennelly racing peak. Conservation for the preschool project retained the principal dwelling, restored the verandah, slate roof and landscape setting under significant figs, removed later accretions, and added an L-shaped contemporary rear wing around a courtyard (basement pick-up to meet council requirements).

People & racing lore

James White — wealthy grazier and racing patron; Newmarket as Randwick base for a famous string.
Michael Fennelly — leading trainer linked to Sydney Cup, Victoria Derby and Melbourne Cup successes in the White era.
Thomas Payten — long resident trainer-owner before the Inglis purchase.
William Inglis & Son — bloodstock auctioneers who made Newmarket a national sales address; house as managerial headquarters for major yearling fixtures.

What stands today

Newmarket House stands at 7 Young Street, adaptively reused and publicly visible as part of the Newmarket residential precinct. The wider historic stables story continues through remnant fabric and Randwick Councils Newmarket Precinct plaque. Respect private childcare operations — view from the public domain.

Sources & further reading

• Randwick City Council — Our Story: Newmarket House (7 Young Street): ourstory.randwick.nsw.gov.au
• Randwick City Council — Newmarket Precinct heritage plaque text (Young Street)
• Dictionary of Sydney — Newmarket Precinct Randwick: dictionaryofsydney.org
• Weir Phillips Heritage — Newmarket House, Randwick (adaptive reuse project note)
• SUPERCONTEXT — Randwick Preschool / Newmarket House project description

Related on this blog

• Other Randwick houses and racing-suburb villas
• Demolished and surviving eastern-suburbs estates

Sherbrooke House – 20 Coogee Bay Road – Randwick – NSW

Sherbrooke House – 20 Coogee Bay Road (live-post address) – Randwick – NSW

Sir David Storey’s Randwick home (from the 1880s) · Fate of fabric not confirmed this pass

Randwick’s political strongman of the free-trade era — softgoods importer, MLA, knight — lived for decades at a house the Australian Dictionary of Biography simply calls Sherbrooke House, Randwick. This blog’s live scrapbook titles it at 20 Coogee Bay Road. The biography of the man is solid; the street-number and later fate of the house still need a Sands / rate-book and LEP check before anyone claims “standing” or “demolished.”

At a glance

• Name: Sherbrooke House (ADB)
• Address (live post / scrapbook): 20 Coogee Bay Road, Randwick — confirm against Sands directories / rate books (ADB gives suburb only)
• Notable residents: Sir David Storey (1856–1924) and Rachel Agnes Storey (née Doig, d.1940) from the 1880s to David’s death 1924
• Build year / architect: not found in ADB / Dictionary of Sydney / Randwick LEP extract this pass — do not invent
• Heritage listing: not confirmed as a named LEP item in the schedule extract checked; neighbours on Coogee Bay Road are listed — do not invent a listing for No. 20
• Fate / current use: Open flag — not verified standing or demolished in this research pass

Site & setting

Coogee Bay Road (earlier Belmore Road in places) climbs from Randwick toward Coogee — a ribbon of Federation and Inter-War houses, flats and the Coogee Bay Hotel precinct further east. If the live-post street number holds, Sherbrooke sat in the Randwick end of that corridor among individually listed neighbours (Gower at 12; Glen Myrn at 24 in the old LEP schedule), which makes the absence of a “Sherbrooke” line-item for No. 20 itself a research flag, not a proof of loss.

Aboriginal Country: Bidjigal / Gadigal country of the Eora Nation (eastern suburbs coastal plain).

Timeline

• 1879 – David Storey arrives Sydney (International Exhibition); softgoods career begins.
• 1883 – Marries Rachel Agnes Doig; establishes David Storey & Co.
• From the 1880s – Storeys live at Sherbrooke House, Randwick (ADB).
• 1894–1920 – Storey MLA for Randwick (free trade; later Independent then Nationalist path); minister for public health periods; resigns seat Feb 1920; Legislative Council; knighted 1923.
• 27 July 1924 – Sir David dies of pneumonia at his Randwick home; buried South Head Cemetery.
• After 1924 – House fate not traced in this pass (Rachel d.1940; estate to widow, daughter, four sons — ADB). Later subdivision, renaming or demolition: unverified.

Architecture

No verified architect, style label or room schedule was locked for Sherbrooke House this pass. The live post’s single historic photograph should be kept and re-credited; do not extrapolate a style essay from one image. If publishing, add only what a confirmed exterior description or heritage inventory later supplies.

People

Sir David Storey (ADB) — Monaghan-born draper’s apprentice, Sydney softgoods importer (“Duke of York-street”), long Randwick MLA, wartime recruiting and conscription campaigner, National Party organiser (claimed to have named it), public-health minister who refused ministerial salary. Local life: Presbyterian elder; foundation president Bronte Surf Bathing Association (1907); bowls; Society for the Relief of Destitute Children (Randwick asylum interest).

Rachel Agnes Storey — British Red Cross NSW foundation executive (1914); Randwick branch president fifteen years; Forum Club; Royal Empire Society / Victoria League work (ADB).

The house name Sherbrooke is not explained in ADB — do not invent an etymology (and do not merge with Viscount Sherbrooke / Bronte House).

Gallery

What stands today

Unconfirmed. Do not walk readers to a wrong door. Before publish: check current 20 Coogee Bay Road against historic photo, Sands, and Randwick LEP/SHI. If the house is gone, say so with a demolition or redevelopment source; if it stands altered, say so with the listing status.

Sources & further reading

• ADB — Sir David Storey: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/storey-sir-david-8685
• Live scrapbook (ADB text + photo; claims 20 Coogee Bay Road): https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2026/07/sherbrooke-house-20-coogee-bay-road.html
• Randwick LEP heritage schedule extracts (neighbouring Coogee Bay Road items) — confirm current Randwick LEP Schedule 5 before publishing any listing claim
• Disambiguation only: Bronte House / Viscount Sherbrooke (Robert Lowe) is a different house and suburb

Related

• Montepellier – Randwick
• Nugal Hall – Milford Street
• Mundarrah Towers – Clovelly Beach

Montpellier – Randwick – NSW

Montpellier (live title: Montepellier) – Randwick – NSW

Sir Alfred Meeks’s Randwick residence (Beautiful Homes) · Fate of fabric not confirmed this pass

The scrapbook plates credit Montpellier, Randwick, as the residence of the Hon. A. W. Meeks, M.L.C. — softgoods merchant, AMP chairman, Federationist, later Sir Alfred. The live post title spells Montepellier; the Historic Houses Trust / Sydney Living Museums plates spell Montpellier. Either way, this is a vanished (or unlocated) villa story — not the sandstone tower pub on Belmore Road that briefly traded as “Montpellier Public House.”

At a glance

• Name: Montpellier (Beautiful Homes / MHNSW plate caption); live blog title / filename: Montepellier
• Suburb: Randwick, NSW
• Notable resident (plate): Hon. A. W. Meeks, M.L.C. — Sir Alfred William Meeks (1849–1932) (ADB)
• Build year / architect / street number: not found this pass — do not invent
• Heritage listing: not confirmed for this house
• Fate / current use: Open flag — not verified standing or demolished; Meeks had moved to Darling Point by about 1907 (ADB)

Site & setting

Randwick’s late-Victorian villa belt — Avoca Street, Belmore / Coogee Bay Road, the High Cross precinct — held merchants’ and politicians’ houses with lawns, iron lace, and palm gardens. The Beautiful Homes exterior shows a two-storey verandahed house with arched openings and a lower wing, set above a terraced lawn. Exact street frontage still needs Sands / rate-book confirmation.

Aboriginal Country: Bidjigal / Gadigal country of the Eora Nation (eastern suburbs coastal plain).

Timeline

• 1849 – Alfred William Meeks born Cheltenham; family to Melbourne 1854 (ADB).
• 1878 onward – Merchant career with Bright Bros / Gibbs, Bright & Co.; Adelaide branch; senior Sydney partner from 1888.
• 1900 – Nominated to NSW Legislative Council (life appointment); plate styles him Hon. A. W. Meeks, M.L.C.
• c. Beautiful Homes era – Photographed as resident of Montpellier, Randwick (MHNSW / HHT plate credit on live post).
• About 1907 – Meeks moves to Darling Point; worships at St Mark’s (ADB). Montpellier’s later occupancy / sale: not traced this pass.
• 1920 – K.B.E.
• 6 March 1932 – Dies at Darling Point home; buried South Head Cemetery (ADB).

Architecture & interiors

Plate evidence only this pass: two-storey Victorian villa with deep two-level verandah and decorative ironwork; drawing-room interior crowded with wallpaper, palms, lace curtains, and a sculptural group — typical Beautiful Homes scrapbook density. No verified architect, room schedule, or materials specification locked beyond what the photographs show. Do not invent a style essay beyond the images.

People & anecdotes

Sir Alfred William Meeks (ADB) — Cheltenham-born merchant; Gibbs, Bright & Co.; long AMP director and chairman (1906–32); Chamber of Manufactures founder; Sydney Chamber of Commerce president; ardent Federationist; Legislative Councillor from 1900. Music (Royal Apollo Club), YMCA, Sydney City Mission, wartime patriotic funds. Wife Alice (née Freeman); only son Victor (Light Horse, Gallipoli) died 1926 — parents later gave a small hospital to Boy Scouts in his memory.

The house name Montpellier is not explained in ADB — do not invent an etymology. Keep clear of the 141 Belmore Road commercial “Montpellier” restaurant/pub chapter.

Image gallery guidance

• Keep live Beautiful Homes exterior — caption: Montpellier, Randwick — Residence of Hon. A. W. Meeks, M.L.C. (credit Sydney Living Museums / Historic Houses Trust of NSW).
• Keep live drawing-room plate — same credit.
• Third live exterior/garden plate — re-credit.
• ADB / portrait of Meeks if a clear public-domain or licensed likeness is found.
• Sands Directory / parish map proving street number (once found).

Gallery

What stands today

Unconfirmed. Do not walk readers to a wrong Randwick door, and do not point them at the Belmore Road tower building as “Montpellier the mansion.” Before publish: Sands / rate books for Meeks at Randwick; match historic photo to a surviving or cleared site; then say standing, altered, or gone with a source.

Sources & further reading

• Live scrapbook (image stub): https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2026/07/montepellier-randwick-new-south-wales.html
• Beautiful Homes plates on live post — collections of Sydney Living Museums / Historic Houses Trust of NSW (captions: Montpellier; Hon. A. W. Meeks, M.L.C.; Randwick)
• ADB — Sir Alfred William Meeks: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/meeks-sir-alfred-william-7549
• NSW Parliament former member entry — Sir Alfred William Meeks
• Disambiguation only: former Star & Garter / Cook’s Lodge / Montpellier Public House, 141 Belmore Road, Randwick (commercial building — different place)

Related on this blog

• Sherbrooke House – Randwick
• Nugal Hall – Milford Street
• Our Beautiful Homes – Series 1

Add historic photos with captions and credits from Image gallery guidance.

19 Rae Street, Randwick, New South Wales

19 Rae Street, Randwick, New South Wales 

Grand 6.5 Metre Victorian  Italianate Terrace Transformed Into Spectacular Family Home


Combining Period Detail With Contemporary Design On A Grand Scale, This Exceptional Family Residence Is One Of Randwicks Finest Homes.

With Interiors Perfectly Configured  For Family Living And Effortless Large Scale
entertaining, A Series Of Lounge, Dining And Entertaining Spaces Adjoin The Expansive Gas / Electric Kitchen Which Opens To The North Facing Sandstone Courtyard And Solar Heated Pool


Upstairs Accommodation Comprises Of 5 Large Bedrooms.   Including The Master Wing With Walk In Robe, En-suite And Balcony.


Part Of A Much Admired Row Of 6 Victorian Itslianate Terraces Built circa 1887, The Home Stands On A Deep Dual Access Block With  A Seperate Self Conatained Studio And Secure Double
garaging From Wood Lane.





- Classic Victorian Italianate Terrace Facade
- Wide 6.5 Metre Frontage
- 3.4 Metre Ceilings
- Elegant Entrance Hall, Grand Formal Rooms
- 4 Large Bedrooms And Luxurious Master Wing
- Self Contained Studio Above Garage
- Expansive Kitchen, Bar And Wine Storage
- Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning Plus Gas Heating
- Secure Garaging Via Wood Lane



FEATURED IN THE WENTWORTH COURIER

Nugal Hall - 16-18 Milford Street, Randwick, New South Wales

Nugal Hall – 16–18 Milford Street – Randwick – NSW

Gothic Revival sandstone mansion · Completed 1853 (south); extended 1885–87 (north) · Standing — private; SHR #00173

From the Randwick ridge Nugal Hall still looks east to the Coogee basin and Wedding Cake Island. Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis designed the southern Gothic villa for merchant-politician Alexander McArthur while he was finishing his own Richmond Villa. A generation later Oswald Lewis wrapped the cottage and servants’ wing into a grander northern range with a candle-snuff tower. Consuls, a movie entrepreneur, Red Cross convalescents and Randwick mayors passed through. High-rise neighbours crowd the skyline; the sandstone and palms still hold the hill.

At a glance

• Address: 16–18 Milford Street, Randwick NSW (boundary with Coogee); Coach House 14 Milford Street under long lease historically
• Built: 1851–53 south section; 1885–87 north section
• Architects: Mortimer Lewis (south); Oswald H. Lewis (north) — son of Mortimer
• Original grantee / builder-client: Alexander McArthur — land grants 1851–53 under Governor FitzRoy; ~20.7 acres aggregate
• Style: Gothic Revival sandstone mansion; Arts & Crafts / Federation overlays in northern tower and timberwork
• Also known historically as Rockville, Branksea Villa, Nugal Lodge, Germania, Belle Vue
• Heritage: NSW SHR #00173 (2 Apr 1999); Register of the National Estate (Place ID 1756)
• Fate / use: Standing — privately owned; not a public museum

Site & setting

Sandstone quarried on site; foundations on rock. Ridge above the “Vale of Coogee” with views to beach and Wedding Cake Island from east terrace / ballroom and upper rooms. Milford Street straightened c.1887, creating today’s deep front setback and palm garden; original entry faced east toward the sea (stone steps survive).

Aboriginal Country: Bidjigal / Gadigal eastern coastal clans — acknowledge at publish. Surrounding high-rise and Sacred Heart precinct have reduced skyline landmark status; house and palms remain readable from Coogee Street approaches (SHR).

Timeline

• 1851–53 – McArthur grants; Mortimer Lewis villa + cottage + servants’ wing completed 1853.
• 1854–65 – Callaghan acquires estate pieces; McArthur to Strathmore / England.
• 1865–73 – Magnus Jackson Peden (Mayor of Randwick); house as Rockville; son John Beverley Peden born here 1871.
• 1878+ – Joseph Barling (Branksea Villa); Frederick Ricketson introduces Nugal name (Nugal Lodge).
• 1884–98 – Fred Tidswell (Coogee Bay Hotel); Oswald Lewis northern rebuild 1885–87; Milford Street straightened.
• 1898–1908 – Leased as consular residences (US Consul-General Bell; German Consul-General von Buri as Germania; French commercial/diplomatic use as Belle Vue).
• 1911–19 – Cosens Spencer (film entrepreneur); guest-house then private Nugal Hall; plaster “CS” monogram in stair.
• 1919–20 – Fairfax & Ashton gift to Red Cross — convalescent home for WWI personnel.
• 1920s–70s – Ellis / Hackett / Tancred / Hodgson / Pillars private chapters; Randwick Historical Society founded by Nell Pillars while in residence (1957).
• 1978–2020 – Campion medical family restore from flats to single residence; PCO advocacy; slate roof after 1999 hail.
• 2 Apr 1999 – SHR #00173.
• Dec 2020 – Reported private sale (press “Downton Abbey” coverage) — current private owners.

Architecture & interiors

Two-storey sandstone Gothic Revival; twelve principal rooms retaining original forms despite 1920s–30s decoration (SHR). Grand stair with stained-glass skylight; ballroom and dining room flanking original east entry; French doors to east terrace; northern curved bay and conical turret from 1880s campaign. Copper turrets/domes, joinery, fireplaces noted in good repair in heritage assessments. Western skillion additions of 1930s partly replaced by later conservatory works (Campion era — cite as later layer).

SHR: “Although not of the very high quality of a few Sydney Gothic Revival houses, Nugal Hall is nevertheless impressive… significant in Coogee and Randwick where increasing high rise development has deprived the area of much of its architectural history.”

People & anecdotes

Alexander McArthur — gold-era merchant; MLA; later British MP. Mortimer Lewis — Colonial Architect; Bronte House, museums, customs, treasury; Richmond Villa contemporary. Sir John Peden — born in the house; law dean; MLC. Cosens Spencer — early Australian cinema; Event Cinemas lineage often claimed in secondary accounts — keep modest. Red Cross 1919 — Nugal Lodge Red Cross Home, ~30 beds. Avoid live-post speculation about foreign ownership and demolition conspiracies — out of scope and unsourced.

Image gallery guidance

Live post already image-rich — keep credits; prefer:

1. East elevation / tower and palms from Milford Street.

2. Ballroom / stair / stained glass (if rights clear).

3. Historic consular / Spencer era photos — Trove / Randwick Historical Society.

4. Coogee basin view context (public lookouts — not private trespass).

5. Compare Bronte House / Richmond Villa (Lewis cousins).

What stands today

Nugal Hall stands, State-heritage listed, privately occupied. No casual public access. Respect privacy from Milford Street footpath. Coach House at No. 14 has a separate lease history (99-year lease from 1969 noted in secondary title histories).

Sources & further reading

• Heritage NSW — Nugal Hall (SHR 00173): search HMS item / Wikipedia SHR attribution
• Wikipedia — Nugal Hall (long; partly SHR + Daniell HIS 2013)
• Ruth Daniell, Heritage Impact Statement – Nugal Hall (2013)
• ADB — Alexander McArthur; Sir John Beverley Peden; Joseph Barling
• Live blog post: https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2018/06/nugal-hall-16-18-milford-street.html

Related on this blog

• Bronte House; other Mortimer Lewis residential work
• Randwick / Coogee surviving vs demolished Gothic
• Sherbrooke House (different Randwick story — fate open)

Historic live gallery

Images retained from the live Blogger post: