Bishops Court At Darling Point Was The Original Site Where ThoMas Mort Had His Cottage.
The Original Mansion Was Built In The 1860's And Was Designed By Edmund Blackett.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
"Craigend" - Darlinghurst
Craigend
Pechey family, photographer unknown. Sydney Architecture Images- Demolished. Craigend, Darlinghurst. Built 1829 by Thomas Mitchell, Surveyor-General of NSW. Demolished 1922 for a residential subdivision. Darlinghurst ( in the area of present day Surrey and Caldwell Street
Detail from elevation and plan of a house proposed to be built on Craigend, 1829, Number 12 of the Wolloomooloo Hill allotments. Artist unknown.
Craigend: allotment of over 9 acres granted to Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell in 1831.
Craigend was the first home to be built at the highest point of the Darlinghurst Ridge as part of the original development of the area in the 1820s and 1830s. The home was built for Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, who arrived in Australia from Scotland in 1827 after being appointed the colony's Assistant Surveyor-General.
Mitchell was born in a house called Craigend in the town of Grangemouth, central Scotland, in 1792 and although poor was well educated. He could read in several languages and was proficient in science.
In his early 20s he was made a lieutenant of the 95th regiment and during the Peninsular war, between France and the allied powers of Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom, he served in the Spanish towns of Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz and Salamanca.
His main role was to obtain topographical intelligence and these skills were noticed by the Quartermaster General, Sir George Murray, who employed him to produce plans of the major Iberian Peninsular battlefields.
After his marriage in June 1818, Sir Murray helped him land the role of Assistant Surveyor General in Sydney and in 1827, Mitchell and wife, Mary, arrived in Australia.
Mitchell actively petitioned for land on Woolloomooloo Hill (Darlinghurst) and in 1831 he was authorised to select an allotment. He chose a grant of just over nine acres positioned on the highest point of the ridge, where Royston Street is today.
Mitchell designed the villa, Craigend, and its Parthenon-style portico and elevated position on the hill led it to be known as the Acropolis of Sydney. But Mitchell's wild spending on such a grand mansion led him into financial trouble and in 1837 he was forced to subdivide his nine acres and sell the Craigend estate.
Until then, Mitchell was quite the adventurer.
The Survey Department was a schmozzle when he arrived. Surveying instruments were few and many of the staff were incompetent, so that title deeds were delayed and doubts and disputes arose about boundary lines. Tent poles were used to measure base lines, and hillsides with lone trees were used as trigonometrical points.
Mitchell inherited the position of Surveyor General in 1828 and the following year became responsible for the survey of roads and bridges. His work included making changes in the roads from Sydney to Parramatta and Liverpool, as well as plotting new courses to Berrima and Goulburn and a trail from the Blue Mountains to Bathurst. Many of the roads he plotted are much the same as the ones used today.
During his career in the 1830s, Mitchell also made expeditions to central, far-west and north-west NSW, to towns such as Orange, Menindee, Namoi, Tamworth and Narrabri.
On one expedition in February 1832, two of his party were killed by indigenous Australians near Moree. In March 1835, botanist Richard Cunningham was also killed by Aborigines at Bogan and on the same expedition the party encountered members of the Darling tribe who they described as ''implacably hostile and shamelessly dishonest''. During an affray with the group, shots were fired and several Aborigines were killed and wounded. Mitchell returned home.
Mitchell made a third expedition to plot out parts of the Darling and Murray rivers, but again his party got into strife with the locals and seven Aborigines were killed near Mount Dispersion.
An inquiry conducted into the deaths by the Executive Council in 1836 found that Mitchell had not made sufficient efforts to be conciliatory to the Aborigines but the council could not blame his ''want of coolness and presence of mind, which it is the lot of few men to possess''.
In 1837, Mitchell returned to the United Kingdom, wrote a book about his expeditions, begged for a knighthood and returned to Australia four years later as a Sir.
He briefly held an elected position on the Legislative Council and made a fourth expedition into the eastern interior of Australia.
During the 1840s he again returned to the United Kingdom but came back to Sydney to write another book, The Australian Geography, which placed Australia in the centre of the world map and became a school text in NSW in the 1850s.
Mitchell, who was a bit of a rogue in the colony and was regularly accused of insubordination, was also involved in one of the last duals in Australia with a chap called Stuart Donaldson who had publicly made some inaccurate, presumably defamatory, remarks about him. On September 27, 1851, each fired three shots and it was reported that one bullet went through Donaldson's hat while another went within an inch of Mitchell's throat.
In 1855, while surveying a line of road between Nelligen and Braidwood, south of Sydney, Mitchell developed pneumonia and died at his home in Sydney on October 5. Mary survived Mitchell but five of their 12 children did not.
Craigend, which Mitchell had sold years earlier, had a succession of owners and was later converted into a hospital, then a boarding house in the early 1900s. The Acropolis of Sydney was demolished in 1822 to make way for a large block of flats (below).
Friday, February 3, 2017
The Hordern Family Home - 14 Ginahgulla Road - Bellevue Hill
This Was The Home To One Of Australia's Mosr Imoortant And Influential Dynasties. This House Is Firmly Entrenched In Rhe Nations History
It Occupies A Magnificent 2,700 sqm Parcel Of Land
More Than Likely The Best Example Left In Sydney Of Professor Leslie Wilkinson's Style.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
"Cairo" - 81 Macleay Street, Potts Point
Ok
This Was Pulled Down To Make Way For The Chevron Hotel.
WHAT A SHAME!!!' THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A BEAUTIFUL MANSION
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Sophienburg estate Liverpool
RUINS of a long lost Georgian estate once owned by prominent figures from Liverpool’s history have been discovered but an archaeologist is now needed to uncover the story behind the enigmatic site.
The remnants of Sophienburg estate were found last year by the City of Liverpool and District Historical Society’s president Glen op den Brouw.
Working on a hunch about where the estate would have lain, the Liverpool resident was walking through dense bushland in Casula when he stumbled upon several stone pieces.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
A Classic Georgian Manor - Mosman
Positioned In The Prestigious Balmoral Dress Circle, This Impeccably Reatored Georgia. colonial Manor Is Neatled On A Bast 2163sqm Landholding. Reminiscent Of The Sttely Rural Retreat, The Reaidence Is Set Amid Magnificent Heritage Hepunds Which Provide A Unique Level Of Peace And Seclusoon.
5 Eastbourne Road, Darling Point.
Wednesday 9th Nobemver 2016
Historic Charm
Beathtaking Views
Built In The 1880's, This Freestanding Villa Presents A unique Opportunity
265 Oxford Street- Town Homes
Without A Doubt One Of Paddingtons Finest Transformations, This Divine Turn Key Projecy Offers An Enviable Lifestyle. Hints Of Character, Intertwined With Contrmporary Chich Finishes Gives Thus Once In A. lifetime Town home A Truly Unique Aesetic.
Reflecting Pure Quality, No Expense Has Been Spared Creating This Exclusive Sanctuary.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
"Rona" - 2 Ginahgulla Road - Bellevue Hill
"Rona" - 2 Ginahgulla Road - Bellevue Hill
"Rona' Is A 2 Storey Ssndstone Mansion Set On A 5,700m Estate With Harbour Views.
It's One Of Sydney's Finest Residential Estates. A Trophy Residence Of Unparalleled Prestige, Size & Significance.
It's In The Best Position In Bellevue Hill.
It's Built In The Victorian Gothic Revival Style - Designed by G. A Morell And Built In Sydney Sandstone in 1883 For Mr William Knox, The Founder Of CSR Limited.
'Rona" Was Severely Damaged By fire in 1905, & Is Restored With Modifications by the Architect William Wardell Jnr.
The House Sold For $58 Million in 2018, Making It One Of Australia's Most Expensive Homes At The Time.
What You See From The Street & What Exists Beyond The Iron Gates Are 2 Very Different Things.
12 Ferdinand Street - Hunters Hill
Exuding An Elegance & Granduer Unmatched In Heritage Value Of Period Grace, This Breathtaking 1856 Sandstone Manor Is A Remarkable Rarity. One Of Hunters Hills Oldest Homes, The Residence Is Set On Approx1,037sqm.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Vaucluse - South Head - The Keepers Cottage
Unrivalled In Prestige, Setting Or Historical Significance. Built In 1881 As The Keepers Residence Adjacent To The 1818 Macquarie Lighthouse And Set On Over 2,600 sqm
Thursday, June 2, 2016
"Swifts" - Darling Point - New South Wales
"SWIFTS"
Originally Built For The Tooth's Brewing Family
Swifts Is Cirrently Owned By Shane Moran Of The Moran
Health Care Family. The Gothic
Revival Mansion Was Originally
Built by Beer Baron Sir Robert Lucas tooth In 1882 And At One Stage Was Owned By The Catholic Church.
Goderich Lodge - Darlinghurst - New South Wales
Goderich Lodge - Darlinghurst - NSW - DEMOLISHED
This Darlinghurst villa, was originally designed by John Verge for the High Sheriff of NSW, Thomas Macquoid, & was situated near what is now the corner of Bayswater Road & Penny Lane.
Born in Ireland, Macquoid came to Australia in 1829, following a period in Java, where he produced coffee crops for the East India Company, as well as a tenure as Sheriff of India.
The 1832 the mansion was named Goderich Lodge, after Lord Goderich (Frederick John Robinson), the then Secretary of State for the colonies, who was also the British Prime Minister for a brief period.
Macquoid arrived in Australia full of optimism for his new role in a new colony, but very soon had slunk into depression.
His first major issue was with his new job, which he believed did not have the appropriate status for such an important position. His office was also understaffed and overwhelmed with work. Litigation and bankruptcy proceedings were rife and there were over 700 summonses to be served.
To worsen things, Macquoid was also suffering financially after investing in a large farming property in the Tuggeranong Valley, near Canberra, which he named Waniassa. The country had been hit by drought, while the colony was also in financial collapse.
Unable to cope, Macquoid committed suicide in October, 1841, leaving his son Thomas Hyam to deal with his mounting debts.
(Incidentally, Thomas Hyam was one of 121 people who died aboard the wreck of the clipper, Dunbar, which crashed into rocks at South Head, at the base of suicide-spot, The Gap, in 1857; his body was never recovered. The Dunbar's anchor was retrieved and is mounted at The Gap as a memorial.)
Goderich Lodge was sold at auction 2 months after Macquoid’s death &
in the years that followed was rented by the First Bishop of Australia, Dr William Grant Broughton, whose wife died at the house in 1849.
The next tenant was Surveyor General Samuel Augustus Perry, & then in the 1850s, Goderich Lodge was purchased by Frederick Tooth, of Tooth's Brewery fame, who later sold it to shipping merchant Captain Charles Smith. He died at Lodge from embolism in June 1897 & his wife Marjorie stayed on at the home until at least 1904 when her daughter, Marjorie, married.
By then, the original four-acre land grant had been subdivided & there were a number of properties on Macquoid's original estate.
According to the book, Villas of Darlinghurst, Goderich Lodge, demolished in 1915, was located where the old Hampton Court Hotel sits today
The name of the old British PM still remains however, in the laneway that runs along the back of the old Hampton Court Hotel, Goderich Lane.
The Hampton Court Hotel, which has been pretty much dormant since the late 1990s has finally been refurbished into apartments, know as The Hampton.
And before you start complaining that all the old hotels in the area are being converted into apartments, the hotel actually began life as a 100-flat, apartment block, Hampton Court, after 1915. It was converted into a hotel in the late 1930s, following the death of its owner, motoring industry pioneer Albert Gordon Hampton.
This City of Sydney Archives photograph (above) was taken in 1910 from Bayswater Road, looking down Penny Lane before Hampton Court was built.
The Victorian-era terrace house to the left would have been built up alongside Goderich Lodge as the land was subdivided. Shame there are no photographs of the lodge, which was obviously further back somewhere.
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Empire - Syd - Sat 29 Oct 1864 Pg 7
Brougham Lodge - Darlinghurst -
Brougham Lodge was built in 1831 for the second Chief Justice of NSW, Sir James Dowling, who took over the role after Francis Forbes was given long leave in September 1835.
Sir Dowling was born in London in 1787 and studied at St Paul's School and worked as a parliamentary reporter before being called to the bar in 1815, at the age of 28.
Thirteen years later, at 41, he decided that he wanted to make ''myself useful to the public'' and advance his ''private interests and welfare of my numerous family,'' and so applied to the Colonial Office for an appointment abroad.
In February 1828 Sir Dowling arrived in Sydney aboard the Hooghly with his wife, Maria Sheen, and their six children. The couple had ten children but four died in infancy. Maria, his wife, died six years after their arrival in Australia and Sir Dowling then remarried Harriet Ritchie, the widowed daughter of John Blaxland (older brother of Blue Mountains settler Gregory Blaxland). The newlyweds made Kings Cross their home, living at one of the busiest junctions in the area, but I'll get to that later.
Sir Dowling initially came to Australia to act as puisne judge, or regular judge, but in 1835 he won the battle against Sir William Burton for the role of Chief Justice. He was also knighted in 1838.
Sir Dowling was a hard-working jurist, described by one colleague as having a ''painstaking and anxious industry rarely equalled'' who ''never failed to make himself its master in every detail'' of cases brought before him.
In 1829 he delivered the first sitting of the Supreme Court in the Hunter Valley (at the Union Inn) and also travelled to Norfolk Island for the same in 1833.
He worked so hard that in 1840, his daughter, Lady Dowling, despaired: ''Papa has for six days been at court until seven and eight o'clock in the evening. Yesterday he was there from 10am until three this morning.''
It seemed Sir Dowling was driven by a desire to build a good life for his children.
His salary as a puisne judge was 1000 Pounds a year, which doubled when he became chief justice.
Still, in 1828 he wrote to his patron, Lord Henry Brougham, in England, that ''Without parsimonious economy . . . I cannot keep out of debt . . . even with my frugal habits.
''I have been obliged to mortgage the little property I have scraped together to enable me to maintain and educate my children.''
But this dedication to his children and the role of Chief Justice would eventually take its toll.
In 1840 he was advised by his doctor to take medical leave for three months and a year later Sir Dowling applied for 18 months leave in order to regain back his strength lost from ''13 years of incessant judicial labour, never once relaxed''.
But his seniors refused this leave until June 1844 when Sir Dowling collapsed on the bench.
Sir Dowling eventually booked passage on a ship but before he could sail, he died on September 27, 1844, aged just 56.
Sir Dowling's home from 1831 to his death was Brougham Lodge, which was built at what is now the junction between Darlinghurst Road and Victoria Street in Kings Cross. He was granted over eight acres there in 1831. Brougham Lodge was initially designed by an unknown architect, but John Verge completed the designs.
The painting at the top of this post also shows the two windmills, known as the North Darlinghurst Mills, which featured on the Kings Cross landscape in the 1830s. There were also three other windmills on Darlinghurst Road - Clarkson's Mill and two wooden-post mills - as well as the Craigend Mill, all located along the ridge line and in the highest points of the neighbourhood so as to best catch the air currents. The mills were used as a source of renewable energy and to grind grain.
After Sir Dowling's death, the former chief justice's home was tenanted and also used as a boys's school. It was sold to developers in 1882 for 7000 Pounds and demolished soon after.
The Holiday Inn now marks the site of Brougham Lodge.
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