Famous Old Homes That Are Still Remembered.
Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954), Saturday 30 December 1939, page 6
KING'S CROSS IN EARLY DAYS
MOVE FOR ''WEST END' AT POTTS POINT Famous Old Homes That Are Still Remembered
By WALTER E. BETHEL
Old-time speculators in real estate must have had much food for thought when contemplating probable extensions of settlement in & around Sydney as a city. Which way would development manifest itself?
Shops & residences for a long time continued to jostle each other & the demarcation of the two was a long drawn-out process. A move to create a 'West End' in the vicinities of Potts Point & Darling Point was noticeable as earlv as 1830.
Darlinghurst, which was once known as Henrietta Town— rolled so as one of Mrs. Macquarie's Christian names —was also included as part of this delectable area. Ail extremely well-to-do class was fast making its appearance in Sydney & the 1850's saw a highly prosperous population that had built themselves commodious homes mostly in the areas referred to. Henrietta Town may be described as comprising the whole of Woolloomooloo Bay & what ls known as Darlinghurst, & the story of how this locality became an exclusive residential area made all the more Interesting now that the' towering flats & restaurants & picture shows, boarding-houses & shops galore, known as King's Cross, represent the obliterating factors of a new age.
To those of us whose memories carry back to 70 years ago, the metamorphosis is striking evidence of a progress somewhat bewildering. My own recollection may be said to date from observations commencing from 1870. as X was born in Darlinghurst in 1863. Woolloomooloo was then well on its way to become the closely packed area that its nearness to the city made inevitable. There was a time when it was very sordid growth, with aumerous little public-houses in Woolloomooloo-street & the adjacent corners. Sir Thomas Livingston Mitchell was responsible for constructing Willlam St, as a more direct way Into town, than that which was represented by the Old South Head-road. Many will remember his fine house, 'Craigend' built in 1830, Upper William St Sth (late woolcott-street). A large stone windmill shared this hill with 'Craigend.' The mill remained a landmark long after it had ceased to function as a mill. 'Craigend' had many tenants, the remotest of which after Sir Thomas Mitchell, being W. G. J. Rogers, solicitor & Mr. Henry Prince, warehouseman (Prince, Ogg & Co.). As settlement crowded around, it became a hospital & then a boarding-house, before it made its exit to make room for the terraces that shot up everywhere. 'Elizabeth Bay House' was another striking landmark, & still exists to gaze contemptuously down at the latter-day tenements that arc crowded round It. Sir Ralph Darling, in 1828 granted Alexander Macleay 54 acres. This took In all Elizabeth Bay & the western frontage of Rushcutters Bay. About 11 acres near the Point itself was granted to Judge Advocate John Wylde on November 1, 1822, & six acres & a half of this was conveyed to Mr. J. H. Potts, an officer of the Bank of New South Wales. From this ownership the famous Point got the name it bears to-day
Boomerah, the palatial home of the McQuades in early ? - (lays.
Dangar's Castle — as it originally was — when it was flippantly called the 'Pepper Box.' ?
Wylde-street, of course, being colled after the Judge Advocate. This area was sold in varying portions, & many fine houses were erected. Most of these were in keeping with the exclusive character of the Point. 'Bomerah,' the home of the McQuades, graced the extreme point & stands to-day shorn of much of its original splendor. An old resident named Caleb Wilson built a house on the Wylde estate, which was irreverently styled the Pepper Pot. Passing to Mr. P. Parbury, it was called 'Granthamville.' Mr. Henry Dangar then bought the property, & his son. Mr. H. C. Dangar, almost entirely rebuilt it, still preserving its castellated aspect. Dangar's Castle it was always called, & to-day it Is still so referred to by older folk. 'Clarens' was one of the homes of Sir James Martin. As far back as 1847 it was owned bv Georce Richard Griffiths, the father of P. C. Griffiths. general manager of the Bank of Australasia. Close to Dangar's Castle was the Douglas grant of 1831. On this Colonel Shadforth built 'Adelaide Cottage' Its grounds reached from Maclcay-st. to the waters of Woolloomooloo Bay. j. H. Challls, who so richly endowed the Sydney University, bought the property. & this, with other property valued at £250,000, was made made over to the University by Mr. Challis. 'Tarmons,' the home of Sir Maurice O'Connell, Commandant of the New South Wales forces, stood on the site of St. Vincent's College. It. still stands there, being incorporated in the general buildings.
Tusculum the present private hospital, was also a well-known home and is identified with such names as that of A, B. Spark (merchant), G. J. Rogers, Bishop of Broughton, the first Bishop of Sydney, & William Long, the father-in-law of Sir James Martin, who died there. Orwell House was a house of many associations. It was a grant to the father of Sir Alfred Stephen, the third Chief Justice, & was successively occupied by Mrs. Grose, Jas. Ramond, Postmaster-General, Colonel N. C. Wilson, Mr. Justice Milford, G. R. Griffiths, & P. Parbury, who lived there in 1847. It then became owned bv Sir William Manning & was subdivided. A notable house was Brougham Lodge, from which Brougham-street takes its name. The land was a grant to Mr. Justice Dowling in 1831. The grounds extended right down to Forbes-street. One of its frontages, Victoria St, was constituted out of a sub-division in 184G. I remember the house when it was j Hornlman's School. In 1882 £7000 was I accepted for it. Most of the data on which this article is casea was complied by the late J. A. Dowling, to whose indefatigable men we owe so much that is valuable in the shape of interesting reminiscence. Where the picture show now stands at the corner of Darlinghurst Rd & Virtoria St. stood Stirling Cottage. was originally part or tne Dowling grant. When Judge Dowling built 'Broug-ham Lodge,' William St did not exist, & a track for foot passengers acted as a short cut to the city. As before stated. Sir Thomas Mitchell altered all this. Vehicular traffic orieinally came from Sydney along Hyde Park, up the Old Sth Hd Rd to the gaol, & then across by Darlinghurst Rd to the hill at the top nf -Urtlltnm-effoAf
Captain John Piper found his way home to Vaucluse by way of what is now Glenmore Rd. or the track known as the Point Piper-Rd, which turned north from St. Matthew's Church at Paddington. Over 60 years ago I walked to church, on the Point Piper Rd via the Cobblers' Paddocks, adjoining
West's Bush, then on to the Glenmore Rd, over Gurner's Bush & by track to Point Piper's Rd. Gurner's fine old Georgian house stood where now stacks of terrace houses arc crowded into Paddington & Hargraves St's. William St was opened for traffic in 1845, & soon many fine houses adorned its frontages. Rosebank stood in grounds now occupied by the post office. Mr. Commissary General Laidley died there. Mr. Donald Larnoch lived there in 1848. Other tenants were Mr. Arthur Little & his son Archibald, a member of the legal firm of Little & Yeomans. Captain Smith, of Macdonald & Smith, lived there, leaving it to occupy a fine mansion called Goderich in Bayswater Rd. now part of the site of Hampton Court Flats. The grounds of Elierslie on the Darlinghurst Rd adjoined those of Rosebank in William St. J. H. Want, & later on Sir Allen Taylor, subsequently resided there. Rose Hall, in Forbes St, was part of a grant to William Cordeaux, who built the Hall. J. Parbury, John Walker & Henry Bell were subsequent occupants. The Hall's grounds were gradually shorn off, Burdekin's Premier Terrace taking the Willlam St frontage, & houses & St. 'Peter's Church, closing In all round it. Barham, the home of Sir Edward
The effacement of Roslyn Hall before the onslaught of the flats.
Deas Thomson, in Forbes-street, was also similarly crowded out by small tenements. Woolloomooloo Bay was formerly known as Garden Island Cove. Fronting the Cove was the Wallamooloo Farm. This was made up of 100 acres granted to John Palmer, the Commissary General. The original name of Woolloomooloo was originally given as Wallabamullah, meaning a young male kangaroo or a male black Kangaroo. Another version claims that it was Wallamullah. a place of plenty, or where fish were caught. Wallamooloo it was, therefore, called
up to the end of the 1830's. when the present name of Woolloomooloo became generally accented. Kellett St, right in the heart of the King's Cross of to-day, was a famous street. Kellett House, at the back of the old-time Alberto Terrace, was once occupied by Sir Stuart Donaldson, the first Premier of NSW under constitutional Government. The house, formerly owned by Captain S. A. Perry, was at first known as 'Bona Vista' Another occupant, a Mrs. Jones, recalled the house 'Darlinghurst.' as a token of her friendship for Lady Darling. It was Donaldson who called
? ' ? ? if — — . Elizabeth Bay House — the survival of the fittest.
it Kellett House. The Hotel Mansions now occupies a large part of this historic area. Down the slope, a bit to the east, was a nice stone house called 'Eaton,' in which in my time lived Mr. E. Fosbery, Inspector-General of Police. Cheverells was a fine home on the Elizabeth Bay Rd, built by the original David Jones. Other occupants of Cheverells were Captain Deloltle, J. Gosling. Henry Beit, James Ewcn & Hamilton Osborne; all were wellknown personages in their day. Greenknowe was a fine home in Macleay St that had many notable tenants, including Walter Lamb, F. H. Dangar. F. c. Griffiths, H. E. H. Allen & Bishop Saumarez Smith. This brief sketch of past days will enable readers to visualise what prevailed before the Invasion of King's Cross so completely changed the character of one of Sydney's most exclusive living areas.
Historic Harborside Homes – Doomed Mansions of Potts Point – The Sun, 4 January 1941
Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Saturday 4 January 1941, page 5
HISTORIC HARBORSIDE HOMES
DOOMED MANSIONS OF POTTS POINT
Memory Of Fireworks On Queen's Birthday
By WALTER E. BETHEL
With the demolition of the fine old mansions of Potts Point to make room for the new naval dockyard will disappear memorials to some of Sydney's happiest and most prosperous years.
The Harbor view from Potts Point was marred many years ago when the Stuart Government handed over Garden Island to the Navy, and now Potts Point itself is doomed.
The area to be resumed, we are told, is part of 11 acres originally granted to Judge-Advocate John Wylde in November, 1822. Six acres were conveyed by Wylde to J. H. Potts, one of the early officers of the Bank of New South Wales, estab-lished in 1817. Governor Phillip called the point Point Campbell — the native name being Carrageen — but the common place name of Potts prevailed. This, however, did not prevent the locality for years being regarded as Sydney's most aristocratic area. Darlinghurst was originally a wide locality, and was shown in J. S. Roe's map of Sydney as Henrietta Town — so called after the first Christian name of Governor Macquarie's wife. This part of old Sydney was in the first instance set apart as a reserve for blacks, but as the town grew the aborigines had to move on. The first house of note in this lo-cality was "Craigend," a palatial home built by the late Sir Thomas Mitchell in the thirties. Many of us remember this fine home, facing as it did Upper William-street South (now Woolcott-street) . Became Boarding-House The home was built on a Crown grant dated October 19, 1831, com-prising over nine acres. Sir Thomas lived there for a time; then tenants followed. The first was G. J. Rogers, solicitor, and then came Henry Prince, of the great dry goods firm of Prince, Ogg and Company, whose city warehouse stretched from George-street to Pitt-street. "Craigend" served later as a pri-vate hospital, and then as the in-evitable boarding-house. Just behind it, on Mill Hill, was a fine specimen of a typical mill of the period. Hynde's Mill, it was called. Between "Craigend" and the Potts Point waterfront many fine homes were built. "Craigend" has long been demolished, and terraces and flats now occupy the site. Some short distance further north stood the famous "Roslyn Hall," fronting Macleay-street. It was a large, well-built mansion, with a spiral iron staircase to the upper story. "Roslyn Hall" was regarded as one of the gayest houses in old Sydney. Its spacious grounds ex-tended on the south-east to St. Canice's Church, and to Roslyn-road on the east, and on the north to "Barncleuth," now "Kinneil." and part of the Elizabeth Bay-road. Its area consisted of nine acres and one rood, and was granted to Mr. T. Barker on November 28. 1833. Notable Tenants To the north on the Elizabeth Bay-road was "Cheverells," part of the original Macleay grant. It had many notable tenants in-cluding Captain Deloitte, David Jones (the founder of the great firm), and the Hon. W. R. Campbell. On the corner of Macleay-street and the Elizabeth Bay-road, stood a spacious cottage called "Myrtle" cottage. Tenants were Mr. Arthur Hodgson, Mr. Hugh Gordon, grazier, the Hon. J. B. Watt and the Hon. S. A. Joseph and Mr. J. H. Challis. The cottage was then bought by Mr. Sparke, wine and spirit mer-chant. It was greatly enlarged by him and re-named "Maranamah." Mr. Hollander followed Mr.Sparke as tenant. "Barncleuth," a bit farther down the Elizabeth Bay-road, was occu-pied in turn by Mr. John Brown, wine and spirit merchant, then by Mr. Henry Moore, agent for the P. & O. S.S. Company. It was later purchased by Mr. Amos, railway con-tractor. and called "Kinneil." "Greenknowe" was built on part of the Macleay grant, and John Gilchrist, senior, partner of the ship-ping firm of Gilchrist, Watt '& Co., lived there. He built the house in 1846. The property was ultimately bought by Mr. F. H. Dangar. Still further north came Larbert Lodge, the home of Mr. C, D. Rid-dell Colonial Treasurer in his day. Captain Lamb followed as tenant.
On the most beautiful site of all stood Elizabeth Bay House, with Its 52 acres of grounds and beach fac-ing the bay. The Macleays were a great horti-cultural family and their spacious grounds were the finest in Aus-tralia. The grant took in all Eliza-beth Bay and the western frontage of Rushcutters Bay. The property descended from Alex-ander Macleay to William Sharp Macleay, and then to Sir George Macleay, who started to cut it up Into building leases when serious land taxation was threatened. To-day all that Is left of this grand manor is a solitary old house, shorn of all its gardens and lawns and waiting the last chapter in its history— transformation Into flats. "The Pepper Pot" On the north side of Wylde-street stand some of the now doomed build-ings.. Originally, these comprised, with others, "Bellevue," "Clarens," "Creelwood," "Tarana," Walter Hall's "Wildfell" and "Bomerah" (the house right on the point, the home of the McQuades, at one time also leased as a home for the admiral of the naval station). "Cintra" and "Campbell Lodge" were adjacent homes, and opposite was a most notable building, "Gran-tham," or "Grantham Ville." Before the house occupied its site, Caleb Wilson, a defendant in the great Newtown ejectment suit of Devine versus Wilson, built a quaint struc-ture, which he called "Caleb Castle." It was surmounted by turrets and soon got the name of "the Pepper Pot." The property passed to the Parbury family and then to the Dangars. It was Mr. H. C. Dangar who ultimately built the castle known as "Grantham" on the site. For some years past Potts Point had begun to shed its charms as an exclusive and picturesque locality. Effacement of old homes and the instrusions of others belonging to a different order was noticeable. To follow the old-time paths to-day one passes under the shadow of a large number of lofty flats that somewhat arrogantly occupy or jostle the sites of old-time homes once the pride of vanished days. Whaling Fleets The solid homes of our merchant princes, pastoralists, and other wealthy types, formerly stood in spa-cious. well-kept gardens, and gave out a dignity and sense of repose lamentably absent in the Point of to-day. My memories of "Bomerah," the home of the McQuades, go back 60 years or more. Every May 24, the
birthday of Queen Victoria, the Mc-Quades gave a display of fireworks from their grounds, and great crowds from all parts of old Sydney used to throng the eastern side of Mrs. Mac-quarie's Chair., from which they got a fine view of the spectacle. It is about 100 years ago since the first attempt to desecrate the lower Harbor was contemplated, and failed. Mosman and Neutral Bay, in those days, suffered a temporary inroad through the whaling fleets of Archi-bald Mosman and Ben Boyd, and it was proposed to create a dock in the lovely land-locked Mosman Bay. But this project failed, as also did the sinking of a coal shaft at Brad-ley's Head. What did not fail, was the thin edge of the wedge, the handing over of Garden Island to the Navy for a depot.
"Bomerah," the old home of the McQuade family. The grounds of this fine mansion originally took up most of the actual point.
