Elizabeth Farm, home of wool pioneers John and Elizabeth Macarthur

Elizabeth Farm  was built in 1793 for  John and Elizabeth Macarthur and their family
Elizabeth Farm, home of wool pioneers John and Elizabeth Macarthur, Australia's oldest homestead, is located at 70 Alice Street, Rosehill, Sydney, NSW.
The Governor' s House at Rose Hill, NSW — From an Early Sketch
The Macarthur's arrived at Port Jackson in June 1790, with the Second Fleet.

On arrival, John MacArthur was appointed commandant to Parramatta, and in 1793, he was granted 100 acres at Rose Hill.

The construction of Elizabeth Farm began in 1793. By 1794, the Macarthur's had 20 acres of wheat, 80 acres of corn and potatoes and livestock including horses, cows, goats, and pigs. In 1797, John Macarthur imported merino sheep (3 rams and 5 ewes) for Elizabeth Farm.

Elizabeth Farm  was built in 1793 for  John and Elizabeth Macarthur and their family, Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Wednesday 20 October 1948,
Elizabeth Macarthur was integral to the establishment of the local wool industry, which lay the foundations of Australian prosperity. 

She managed the farm and the family during her husbands long absences oversea, from 1801 to 1805 and from 1809 to 1817 (John Macarthur was in England for his part in the Rum Rebellion)

In 1800, a sample of John Macarthur's wool was sent to England by Governor King.

John Macather wrote In 1810:

I am perfectly aware, my beloved wife, of the difficulties you have to contend with, and fully convinced that not one woman in a thousand, would have resolution and perseverance to contend with them all, much more to surmount them in the manner that you have so happily done. . . . I am grateful and delighted with your conduct.

Elizabeth was concerned with the welfare of women convicts and Aboriginal people but lost some of her sympathy with the growing toll of friends killed by the natives.
John Macarthur (1767?-1834)
Elizabeth Macarthur (1766-1850)
John Macarthur later lived between Elizabeth Farm and at Camden, where he had a residence.

John Macarther who had engaged in many feuds and vendettas, became mentally unwell. Elizabeth wrote that he “labours under a partial derangement of mind” (likely bipolar affective disorder). He died 11 April 1834.

Elizabeth continued to successfully run the enterprises until her death in 1850.

The Elizabeth Farm estate is managed by Sydney Living Museums and is open to the public.

Rose Hill is part of the traditional land of the Darug people.

Around Elizabeth Farm

Elizabeth Farm was built in 1793 for John and Elizabeth Macarthur and their family
Elizabeth Farm was built in 1793 for  John and Elizabeth Macarthur and their family
Elizabeth Farm  was uilt in 1793 for  John and Elizabeth Macarthur and their family
This early Victorian sun bonnet is a replica of a bonnet believed to have belonged to Elizabeth Macarthur. The original was made from unbleached linen, drawn over a series of 25 whalebone hoops 

Things to Do

Elizabeth Farm (70 Alice Street, Rosehill, NSW)

Elizabeth Macarthur journal and correspondence, 1789-1840 

Read:  Elizabeth Macarthur: A Life at the Edge of the World, by Michelle Scott Tucker

Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm. By Alan Atkinson

Nielsen Park, Vaucluse: Greycliffe Estate and Fort

Greycliffe House, in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, NSW, was built in the neo-Gothic style and completed in 1851. 
John Reeve, a wealthy pastoralist from Gippsland, married Fanny Wentworth (1829–1893), the daughter of William Charles Wentworth, owner of nearby Vaucluse House, and had Greycliffe House built.

Reeve commissioned architect John Frederick Hilly to design the Shark Bay villa, with its stunning ocean views.

The property also has, a detached sandstone coach house with staff quarters in the attic and a small building called Gardener's Cottage.

Oddly enough, the Reeve's travelled to England in 1854, never to return, and so never lived in the house. 

Many prominent Sydney families later lived in the house. 
 
In February 1897, Greycliffe House was damaged by fire. 

In 1911, Greycliffe House was transferred to public ownership. In 1913, Greycliffe became the first babies' hospital.
Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 29 October 1913
A HOSPITAL FOR BABIES. Greycliffe, the former home of the Wentworth family, was purchased some years ago by the Government, and is now known as “The Lady Edeline Hospital. The Lone hand. New Series Vol. 7 No. 9 (1 August 1917) 
(Method of nursing an immature baby)At Greycliffe, where sick babies are admitted from .birth up to the age of two yearsSunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930), Sunday 15 July 1917
In the Grounds of Lady Edeline Hospital, Greycliffe, Vaucluse., Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 2 October 1918

The Battery

In 1870 Britain withdrew its garrisons from Sydney, and part of the Greycliffe Estate was allocated for defence.

A battery at Shark Point, now known as Steele Point, began construction in 1871, designed by colonial architect James Barnet.

In 1872, three 80-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns were installed.

The battery was completed in 1874, and additional barracks were added in 1880.
Steel Point, Vaucluse, NSW, Illustrated Sydney News (NSW : 1881 - 1894), Thursday 4 April 1889
Steel Point Cottage, built in the 1880s as a gunner's barracks to protect Sydney Harbour, was linked by a tunnel to the adjacent 1871 battery. This building is now rented as accommodation.

The last version of the the battery had three sandstone gun emplacements or pits with embrasures for the guns to fire through. The pits were connected by open passages and covered passages that led into underground chambers that consisted of a gunpowder magazine, a shell and artillery store and two shell and lamp recesses built of stone. The site also had its own living quarters for staff.

In 1889, it was reported that the guns at Steel Point were "were quite useless, being choked with rust". (1.)

The remains of the battery are now located within Neilsen Park, at Greycliffe Avenue, Vaucluse, NSW.

Today, you can visit Greycliffe House and Garden or even get married there.

At Vaucluse Point on Bottle & Glass Rock there are the remnants of Aboriginal rock art on the traditional lands of the Birrabirragal people.

Around Greycliffe Estate and Fort

Greycliffe House: 6 Steele Point Rd, Vaucluse NSW 2030
Greycliffe House: 6 Steele Point Rd, Vaucluse NSW 2030
Greycliffe House: 6 Steele Point Rd, Vaucluse NSW 2030

Shark point batter,  Vaucluse NSW 2030.Adam.J.W.C..

Places To Go

Neilsen Park, Greycliffe Avenue, Vaucluse, NSW.

Sydney Botanic Gardens: Sydney's Oasis


The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, NSW
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, is a 30-hectare (74-acre) botanical garden, located on Sydney Harbour near the Sydney Opera House.

The land on which the botanic gardens sits operated as a Government farm in 1788, with "six acres of wheat, eight of barley, and six acres of other grain".

The soil of farm cove was sandy and poor, and agriculture was moved out to Parramatta.

In 1816, Governor Lachlan Macquarie created the Royal Botanic Garden as part of the Governor's Domain. Ongoing efforts were made to improve the soil.

The Colonial Botanist, Charles Fraser, was instructed to collect “rare and new plants and seeds” for Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and it is believed that these established the Gardens.
Sydney Farm Cove and Gardens, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912)
Between 1829 and 1838, the wine industry began with grape vines grown in the Gardens. The first vines came with the First Fleet (1788).

Richard Cunningham, the next Colonial Botanist, made a report in 1833 detailing the layout, proposal for pathways and improvements for the Gardens.

An old stone windmill used for grinding grain, once stood in the grounds of the Royal Botanical Garden. The mill was removed in 1835.
 
Charles Moore took on the job in 1848 with instructions for the Gardens to become a place of study, research and a “pleasant place of resort to the inhabitants of Sydney”. Much improvement happened under Moore's management, with soil improvements and securing water supply.

For the International Exhibition of 1879, the Garden Exhibition Palace was built near the Government House stables.

The magnificent Palace attracted over one million visitors, with display products from the arts and industry, museum collections from the library of the Linnean Society (botany and natural sciences), and more.
The International Exhibition of 1879 at the Garden Palace, (one of the towers, Botanic Gardens, Sydney, NSW
GARDEN PALACE, Royal Botanic Gardens was built for the Sydney International Exhibition which opened on 17 September 1879, State Records
Sadly, a fire destroyed the Palace and its contents on the morning of 22 September 1882.

The Gardens centennial celebrations took place on 13 June 1916 under the director, Joseph Maiden, who instituted the colony's first herbarium, a museum, library and Sydney's first playground.
The Museum and National Herbarium in Sydney Botanic Gardens. NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 16 March 1901
Sydney Botanic Gardens, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 29 January 1908
In the Sydney Botanic Gardens, NSW, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 20 November 1929
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the Gardens on 13 February 1954.

And between 1970 and 1980, a new succulent and cacti garden was added to the gardens.

During the 1990s, Asian themed plants garden were added to the Lower Garden.
Shakespeare Place and Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, NSW, 1956, Sydney of Sydney
Every year, about 3 million people stroll through the Gardens. Some take the free guided tours, available daily at 10.30am. Others may attend corporate events, get married at the Gardens, or sit under a tree and gaze around in wonder.

Around The Botanic Gardens

The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney , NSW
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney , NSW
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney , NSW
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney , NSW
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney , NSW
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney , NSW
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney , NSW


Location. Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney NSW.

The Australiana Pioneer Village at Wilberforce, NSW

The Australiana Pioneer Village, built from 1969 to 1970, is located on the bank of the Hawkesbury River at Wilberforce, NSW, on 27 acres

The Australiana Pioneer Village, built from 1969 to 1970, is located on the bank of the Hawkesbury River at Wilberforce, NSW, on 27 acres.

The setting of the pioneer village was formerly farmland, worked by the Rose family, and integral to the survival of the early colony.

Thomas and Jane Rose, from Dorset, England, were the first family of free settlers in NSW, arriving on the Bellona in 1793.

The Rose's home, located on their former farm, built from 1810 to 1820 by Thomas Rose, is Australia’s oldest known timber slab house.

For over 150 years, the land was occupied by the Rose family. 

Many of the buildings at the pioneer village were endangered heritage buildings from the district, moved to the site.

Buildings on the site include: Stable from the Black Horse Inn, Richmond (about 1860s), Samuel Paul's house and shop at Richmond. (1850s), Cartwright Cottage, East Kurrajong (1870s), The Bee House, McGrath's Hill (1879), and Rose Cottage, built from 1810 to 1820.

Visit this heritage-listed open-air museum at Rose Street, Wilberforce, City of Hawkesbury, NSW.

Around The Australiana Pioneer Village 


The Australiana Pioneer Village, built from 1969 to 1970, is located on the bank of the Hawkesbury River at Wilberforce, NSW, on 27 acres
The Australiana Pioneer Village, built from 1969 to 1970, is located on the bank of the Hawkesbury River at Wilberforce, NSW, on 27 acres
The Australiana Pioneer Village, built from 1969 to 1970, is located on the bank of the Hawkesbury River at Wilberforce, NSW, on 27 acres
The Australiana Pioneer Village, built from 1969 to 1970, is located on the bank of the Hawkesbury River at Wilberforce, NSW, on 27 acres
The Australiana Pioneer Village, built from 1969 to 1970, is located on the bank of the Hawkesbury River at Wilberforce, NSW, on 27 acres
The Australiana Pioneer Village, built from 1969 to 1970, is located on the bank of the Hawkesbury River at Wilberforce, NSW, on 27 acres

Things To Do

The Australiana Pioneer Village

10 Rose Street, Wilberforce, NSW, Australia, 2756

(02) 4575 1777

The lower Hawkesbury River is home to the Dharug people.

Gothic-Style Vaucluse House, Museum and Public Park

Vaucluse House. 69 Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, NSW
Vaucluse House, formerly the home of William Charles Wentworth (1762-1827) and his family, is now a tourist attraction, house museum and public park.

The original Vaucluse House was a cottage built by Sir Henry Brown Hayes, who was transported to New South Wales in 1802 for kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy Irish banker.

Brown Hayes had his cottage surrounded by Irish peat, with the idea that this would protect it from snakes. He believed that Saint Patrick had "so managed matters that no snake could not live on or near Irish soil".

Snakes, however, never lived in Ireland.

Brown Hayes named the property Vaucluse after the village where his favourite Italian poet Petrarch lived in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse near Avignon in southern France,

In in 1822, the property was acquired by Captain John Piper.

Vauclsue House in teh early days, NSW. Reproduced Conrad Martens's painting of Wentworth House, as it was then known, from the Willi Dixson collection. Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 18 September 1937
William Charles Wentworth, who first succesfully crossed the Blue Mountains along with Gregory Blaxland and Lt.William Lawson, bought the property from Captain Piper. .

W. C. Wentworth was the son of surgeon D'Arcy Wentworth and former Irish convict Catherine Crowley.
William Charles Wentworth (1790-1872), explorer, author, barrister, landowner, and statesman
Wentworth was a trailblazer in other ways too. He advocated for freedom of the press, self-government for NSW, trial by jury, and he founded Sydney University, the colony's first place of tertiary education.

After Wentworth entered the Parliament of New South Wales in 1843, he suggested the creation of hereditary peerage for Australia, an idea mocked as a "bunyip aristocracy".

Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 19 September 1933. The interior of a stately Colonial home. The furniture originally belonged to Mr. W. C Wentworth, the statesman, and was bought in London more than a century ago

Wentworth's wife, Sarah Cox, was born in 1805 to convict parents Frances Morton and Francis Cox. In 1825, she brought a breach of promise lawsuit against Captain John Payne who withdrew his offer of marriage. In court, Cox was represented by barrister W. C. Wentworth. Eventually, the couple had 10 children together.

By 1830, Wentworth had added turrets to the house, a sandstone stable, a large kitchen wing and convict barracks, and coach house. The 10 Wentworth children, however, occupied only three bedrooms.

 remains of convict barracks at Vacluse House, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 8 September 1909
Wentworth received the first state funeral in Australia after his death in 1872.

The Wentworth Mausoleum was commissioned by Sarah Wentworth to house the remains of William Charles Wentworth and family. The small sandstone chapel retains much of its original detail
The family mausoleum at Vaucluse House, NSW, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 19 January 1938 

Vaucluse House was acquired by the NSW State Government in 1910.

At Vaucluse House on Sunday, when a garden party of the Wentworth period was presented there as part of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations. Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 9 March 1938

Around Vaucluse House

Vaucluse House. 69 Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, NSW
Vaucluse House. 69 Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, NSW
Vaucluse House. 69 Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, NSW
Vaucluse House. 69 Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, NSW
Vaucluse House. 69 Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, NSW


Things To Do

Vaucluse House

Visit Vaucluse House

The house is open Friday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., but the gardens are generally open (free of charge).

Vaucluse House. 69 Wentworth Road, Vaucluse, NSW 2030 Australia · (02) 9388 7922.

Cafe, conference facilities, picnic area and public toilet.

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