Tresco – 97 Elizabeth Bay Road – Elizabeth Bay (often filed under Potts Point) – NSW
Victorian Italianate sandstone villa · Thomas Rowe 1867–68 + Westgarth east wing/garden 1883 · Standing — private · SHR #00780
One of the few MacLeay Point allotments still on its original harbour parcel. Rowe built it for himself, named it after the Scilly isle, lost it financially; Westgarth made the garden and east wing; for a century the Flag Officer slept here opposite Garden Island; then private money again.
At a glance
- Address: 97 Elizabeth Bay Road, Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011 (City of Sydney). Often listed as Potts Point; the official suburb is Elizabeth Bay.
- Land: Part of Alexander Macleay’s 1831 Elizabeth Bay grant → 1865/67 MacLeay Point leasehold subdivision; Rowe secured lot (SHR).
- Built: 1867–68 Thomas Rowe — two-storey pick-axed sandstone Italianate, slate roof, ~13 rooms, coach house/stables (SHR). Name Tresco from Scilly Isles / family association (agent / Rowe biography).
- Major additions: 1883 George Charles Westgarth — east wing (incl. billiard room), kitchen upper floor, garden layout, summerhouse, fernery, boat pound / boathouse (SHR).
- Navy: Leasehold to Crown 1902; Captain-in-Charge residence from 1903; Commonwealth freehold 1922; Flag Officer-in-Charge RAN residence through WWI/II until Defence Housing era; conserved 1991–97 (Otto Cserhalmi & Partners); sold Commonwealth 1997 (~$9m Anstee) then 2004 Waterhouse (Wikipedia / SHR / Naval Historical Society).
- Site: c.3,300 m² wedge to Elizabeth Bay; terraced garden; Moreton Bay figs (incl. outstanding upper-terrace specimen), carob, evergreen magnolia scheduled on City Significant Trees / SHR; tidal pool, jetty, boat pound (SHR).
- Heritage: NSW SHR #00780 “Tresco, grounds and trees” (2 Apr 1999); National Trust; RNE; Sydney LEP.
- Fate / current use: Standing private. Feb 2025 City of Sydney LPP refused DA D/2024/471 (two new dwellings + subdivision) after Heritage Council refused general terms of approval.
Site & setting
Cadigal harbour Country; fishing village era under Bungaree noted on SHR before Macleay’s estate. Tresco sits high on MacLeay Point with harbour outlook toward Clark Island / Garden Island — the reason the Navy wanted it. High stone wall to Elizabeth Bay Road; terraced lawns to the water. Rare intact original subdivision parcel among 20th-century apartment walls (SHR rarity).
Timeline
- 1831 – Alexander Macleay grant; Elizabeth Bay House 1839; foreclosure path to George Macleay (SHR).
- 1865–67 – MacLeay Point subdivided leasehold with build covenant; Thomas Rowe takes lot; builds Tresco 1867–68; resides to 1876 (SHR).
- 1876 / 1880 – Lease to Gilchrist then George Westgarth; major works 1883; Westgarth family to 1891 then tenancies (SHR).
- 1902–03 – Crown acquires lease; NSW hands house to Navy as Captain-in-Charge residence (Naval Historical Society / SHR).
- 1913 / 1922 – Commonwealth leasehold then freehold; Flag Officer-in-Charge residence (SHR).
- 1991–97 – Defence Housing conservation/restoration (SHR).
- 1997 / 2004 – Private sales (Anstee; Waterhouse) (Wikipedia citing public reporting).
- 2024–25 – DA for two additional houses refused (City of Sydney LPP / Heritage Council).
Architecture & interiors
Victorian Italianate sandstone: hipped slate roof, Italianate entrance portico, north verandah to the bay (later enclosed in naval period), cedar joinery, fireplaces to main rooms (SHR). Westgarth east wing and service south wing create the compound plan. Naval-era bedroom reconfigurations and plasterboard ceilings; 1990s conservation reinstated finishes; later private works converted stables to office/cellar and added garage apartment (Wikipedia).
People & anecdotes
Thomas Rowe (1829–1899) — Penzance-born architect-builder, City alderman, first mayor of Manly, founder Institute of Architects NSW; overreach on a natatorium nearly ruined him (agent biography). Named sons after Wren, Leonardo, Ruskin — and Tresco. George Westgarth — Australasian Steam Navigation manager; the garden-and-east-wing man. Naval Flag Officers made it Sydney’s “first naval residence” opposite Garden Island (Naval Historical Society).
What stands today
Tresco stands as a private State Heritage waterfront villa. No public access. Views from the water and distant street wall only. Feb 2025 refusal reaffirmed that new houses on the curtilage would permanently harm historic, aesthetic and rarity values.
More on Tresco
From a 2018 real-estate listing for the house (previously posted separately on this blog as “Trisco”):
- Described as one of Sydney’s most beautifully preserved waterfront estates, on a site of 3,326 m².
- A magnificent example of early Victorian Italianate architecture, privately positioned in the exclusive Elizabeth Bay loop.
- Designed and built in 1868 by [?] Thomas Rowe, with [?] Italian stonemasons.
- The grand sandstone manor was used as the residence of the naval officer in command of the [?] Royal Australian Navy.
- Its architectural integrity remains; the residence has stately rooms including seven bedrooms, two studies and two kitchens.
Sources & further reading
- NSW SHR — Tresco, grounds and trees (#00780, DB 5045193): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5045193
- Naval Historical Society — “Tresco – History of the First Sydney Naval Residence of the RAN”
- City of Sydney Local Planning Panel — D/2024/471 refusal (5 Feb 2025)
- Wikipedia — Tresco, Elizabeth Bay
Related on this blog
- Elizabeth Bay House / Macleay Point estate posts
- Potts Point / Elizabeth Bay villa scrapbook
- Other naval / harbour official residences only when separately sourced
Historic live gallery
Images retained from the live Blogger post:
Transcription:
[Handwritten:] W/Worth Courier / Wednesday 20th February 2019
[Print, partly legible:] 97 ELIZABETH BAY ROAD / ELIZABETH BAY · [illegible] · [agent banner, reversed:] Hooker
Transcription:
[Handwritten:] [W/]Worth Courier / Wednesday February 20th 2019
