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132-490: Elizabeth Bay House is a heritage-listed Colonial Regency style house and now a museum and grotto , located at 7 Onslow Avenue in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Elizabeth Bay in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales , Australia. The design of the house is attributed to John Verge and John Bibb and was built from 1835 to 1839 by James Hume. The grotto and retaining walls were designed by Verge and

264-941: A Tudor type look, especially on gables , and Edwardian gave a simpler cottage look. Terracotta tiles or galvanised iron are generally used for roofing, which is designed with a steep pitch. The gable ends and roof eaves often feature ornate timber brackets, and timber detailing and fretwork are a common inclusion on verandahs. Some consider that this style was the Federation version of the Queen Anne style. Other styles during this period were Federation Academic Classical, Federation Free Classical, Federation Filligree, Federation Anglo-Dutch, Federation Romanesque, Federation Gothic, Federation Carpenter Gothic, Federation Warehouse, Federation Free Style, Federation Arts and Crafts and Federation Bungalow . The names all indicated very similar styles with features so minute separating them. Out of

396-596: A royal charter to the Virginia Company of London , an English joint-stock company founded to colonize Virginia . Similar schemes were later used when royal charters were granted by the Crown to English proprietary colonies in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Some settlers were given land grants known as headrights , encouraging them to migrate to North America. Similar systems were used during

528-504: A British source prior to 1832. Macleay, in addition to his post, was an entomologist of standing in the world of natural science and had been secretary (1798–1825) of the prestigious Linnean Society in London. He brought with him his huge insect collection, a library of 4000 works and a wide knowledge of horticulture and botany. The internal design of the house was loosely modelled on Henry Hollands Carlton House built c.  1820 for

660-520: A Gothic pointed arch at their height (known as lancet windows ), diamond pane glazing to windows imitating a stained glass affect, and intricate parapets, often of a religious nature, with a cross. In non-terrace houses, the drawing room was often pulled forward, adding a bay window to the front of the dwelling. The Victorian style in Australia can be divided into 3 periods: Early, Mid and Late. The period in its entirety stretches from 1837 to 1901 and

792-625: A bathing house (not built) dated 1834 and initialled "R.R.", may be attributed to the architect and surveyor, Robert Russell (1808–1900) who arrived in Sydney in that year. Macleay's approach to the Australian bush was in contrast with that of the majority of colonists, who customarily cleared it and started afresh. Nurseryman Thomas Shepherd wished others to emulate this: The high lands and slopes of this property are composed of rocks, richly ornamented with beautiful indigenous trees and shrubs. From

924-554: A biennial burning-off which stunted forest growth and encouraged crop germination. The housing of the Eora people first encountered by Europeans in the Sydney region were shelters constructed of a semicircle of stick, covered with large sheets of bark which could be conveniently stripped off Melaleuca trees which grew profusely along waterways. Other types of simple structures were seen including lean-tos and in tropical regions raised sleeping platforms. Grass, leaves and reeds were used as

1056-403: A central hallway. The kitchen was frequently detached and entered from a rear verandah or covered breezeway where pantry or scullery might also be located. Fireplaces projected outwards from the walls of the house. Except in the case of some small inner-city Georgian row houses built of brick, houses generally had a verandah added to them, often on three sides. One class of people who maintained

1188-575: A competent botanical artist, named the plant genus Macleaya in his honour. In enforced retirement from 1817 when his department was abolished at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Macleay's finances were stretched to support a large family (10 of 17 children survived to adulthood), town and country residences, and his obsessive collecting of insects. When assets had to be sold upon the collapse of his brother's private bank in Wick, in which Alexander

1320-451: A composite group of Cadigal people – the indigenous inhabitants of the area surrounding Sydney Harbour – under the leadership of Bungaree (d. 1830). Elizabeth Bay had been named in honour of Mrs Macquarie. Bungaree's group continued their nomadic life around the harbour foreshores. Sir Thomas Brisbane , Governor 1821–25, designated Elizabeth Bay as the site of an asylum for the insane. A pen sketch by Edward Mason from 1822 to 1823 shows

1452-645: A densely populated inner city suburb. Elizabeth Bay House is a superb example of Australian colonial architecture, best known for its central elliptical saloon with domed lantern and geometric staircase, and was listed on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate and was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. Elizabeth Bay had been the site of a fishing village established by Governor Macquarie (1810–21) in c.  1815 for

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1584-468: A few English showers would improve it." Macleay received the Yulan magnolia ( M. denudata ), a small tree from south-eastern China, at Elizabeth Bay, in 1836. Plans for the villa were in hand from 1832 but construction did not commence until 1835. Elizabeth Bay House was built between 1835 and 1839 by the accomplished architect and builder John Verge. It is believed that Verge worked from plans acquired from

1716-409: A good house." This is somewhat less common today, with home renovations, gentrification and the teardown ("knock down, rebuild") method becoming more and more common in affluent suburbs, giving a broader distinction between wealthy and lower class areas. However, the teardown technique has led to home buyers purchasing land or older homes in poorer metropolitan areas and building extravagant homes on

1848-444: A grotto facing onto the footpath on Billyard Avenue below. Some of the rich plant collection in this reserve is appropriate, given its proximity to Elizabeth Bay House and the range and richness of that former estate's shrubberies and gardens. Berzins is also known for designing Hyde Park, Sydney 's Sandringham Gardens near the north-west corner of Park & College Streets in 1951 and Duntryleague Golf Club course, Orange . In 1961

1980-674: A member of numerous public and charitable committees, he exerted considerable influence in the establishment of the Australian Museum , the Australian Subscription Library , and more particularly on policy at the Botanic Gardens. Macleay, who had served diligently as Colonial Secretary, was ousted from office by Governor Bourke in 1837. The loss of salary contributed to his financial problems: British debts were unpaid; mortgages that had funded

2112-421: A minute. For over two weeks either side of the winter solstice the effect may be observed with varying luminance and duration, as the sun's elevation and position on the horizon changes. Though no documents are known to discuss this feature, it is not likely to be an accident. The garden became known internationally through the letters and published accounts of local naturalists and visiting scientific expeditions:

2244-471: A nostalgia for older English concepts, particularly focused on the days of Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VIII. Its role in Australia began when the English architect Edward Blore designed Government House in Sydney in 1834. The style spread all over Australia and also influenced later styles like Federation Queen Anne and Inter-War Old English. The Edwardian style was named after King Edward (1901–1910) at

2376-589: A pragmatist, and subsequently a peripatetic bon vivant; the brothers, individually and jointly, contributed to NSW's scientific and horticultural advancement. Both were involved with the Botanic Gardens, Australian Museum and, beginning with their father, maintained an unbroken connection with the Linnean Society of London (1794-1891). William arrived in 1839 in NSW with important collections of insects from South America (on which he published) and from Cuba where he

2508-514: A reception house. Five years later the house was again altered to accommodate fifteen flats. From 1948 to 1950 Sydney City Council using landscape architect Ilmar Berzins created the Arthur MacElhone Reserve on what had been Elizabeth Bay House's famous lawn (three lots, unsold in the 1927 subdivision). Macleay had created a broadly elliptical levelled lawn at considerable cost. It was noted for containing every Cape bulb known in

2640-513: A series of Indigenous bark huts in the locality. Alexander Macleay (1767–1848), public servant and entomologist, was born at Wick, a fishing village in Ross-shire, Scotland. He moved to London in 1786, marrying Elizabeth Barclay there in 1791. Macleay, who was employed in the civil service (1795–1825) was well known in British and European natural history circles, having amassed by 1805 one of

2772-424: A species). Three of the four surviving sons came later to NSW, of whom two, William and George – shared their father's natural history interests. (From the early 1820s the spelling Macleay was adopted; descendants of Alexander's brothers retained MacLeay or McLeay). Soon after his arrival in 1826 he was granted 22 hectares (54 acres) by Governor Darling at Elizabeth Bay, with commanding views of Sydney Harbour. It

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2904-448: A sylvan coup d'oeil, and sometimes a bold view of the spreading bays and distant headlands – these are living proofs that its honourable proprietor well deserved the boon, and has well repaid it." As with the design of the house, the design of the estate appears to have involved a number of people whose respective contributions are not known. Fanny Macleay regarded her father as the mastermind, referring to Elizabeth Bay as "our Tillbuster

3036-533: A thatch where suitable bark was not available. There are instances of Indigenous peoples constructing partially using dry-stone wall techniques in Western Australia . The Aboriginal people also built dry-stone Fish Traps, of which the most extensive, ranging over 500 metres, is on the Barwon River at Brewarrina . Its age is unknown. It has been maintained and rebuilt after floods many times and

3168-521: A village of stone houses that are large enough to have provided sleeping space for several families. Colonial architecture is the term used for the buildings constructed in Australia between European settlement in January 1788 and about 1840. The first buildings of the British penal settlement in Sydney were a prefabricated house for the Governor and a similarly prefabricated Government Store to house

3300-433: A way of shading the house. From the mid-19th century in particular, as people became more affluent, they built more elaborate homes, and one of the favoured elaborations was the filigree, or screen, of cast iron or wrought iron , or timber fretwork . This developed to the point where it has become one of the major features of Australian architecture. Many homes with this feature are also considered Italianate architecture ,

3432-432: Is all highs and lows. A modernistic folly in multi-coloured brickwork may sit next door to a Georgian mansionette on one side and a sensible work of architectural exploration on the other." Indigenous Australians are traditionally semi-nomadic, rotating between different areas in conjunction with the seasons to harvest and maintain food-producing areas. They managed the land through controlled burning practices involving

3564-416: Is carried on with any spirit. Those of Mr Thomas Mort, of Darling Point , the late Mr William Macleay of Elizabeth Bay and Sir Daniel Cooper of Rose Bay, formerly contained good collections of native and imported plants, but now they are no longer kept up.". After William Sharp's death in 1865 George Macleay inherited the estate (he had moved to England after 1859, when the trustees had been able to settle

3696-463: Is less common in the United States of America and England, because most of the homes had been long established well into the 19th century and reflect a similar style in both regions. Home planners and architects in Australia have suggested adapting similar styles of new homes with the surrounding established homes to create a sense of uniformity. "In Australia, the artificial background of life

3828-670: Is often referred to as Boom Style. Towards the end of the Victorian era, timber fretwork was being used more and more, which led into the Edwardian/Federation Styles. An extension and continuation of the Old Colonial Georgian style into the Victorian era. Georgian style houses built before c.1840 are characterised as Old Colonial Georgian, while buildings between c.1840 and c.1890 are characterised as Victorian Georgian. Both styles are essentially

3960-532: Is said traditionally to have been given to the local clans by the Creator Spirit . It appears that in conjunction with such catchment schemes, there may have also been nearby sedentary settlements of people who maintained them. There is evidence at Lake Condah in Victoria of houses in conjunction with eel traps dating back about 8,000 years. In January 2006 bushfires uncovered another nearby site of

4092-689: Is the use of fencing in front gardens, also common in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Climate has also influenced housing styles, with balconies and veranda spaces being more prevalent in subtropical Queensland due to the mild, generally warm winters experienced in the state. For many years, Australian homes were built with little understanding of the Australian climate and were widely dependent on European styles that were unsympathetic to Australian landscapes. In recent times, modern Australian residential architecture has reflected

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4224-522: The American Civil War . During the 19th century, various states (or even smaller units), as well as the federal government, made extensive land grants to encourage internal improvements , usually to improve transportation, such as construction of bridges and canals. The Land Grant Act of 1850 provided for 3.75 million acres of land to the states to support railroad projects; by 1857 21 million acres of public lands were used for railroads in

4356-598: The Dutch colonization of the Americas . As English colonial law developed, headrights became patents and a patentee had to improve the land. Under this doctrine of planting and seeding , the patentee was required to cultivate one acre (4,000 m ) of land and build a small house on the property, otherwise the patent would revert to the government. Between 1783 and 1821, Spain offered land grants to anyone who settled in their colonies of Florida and Louisiana . When

4488-544: The Legislative Council (1843–46). Injured in a carriage accident in 1846, and still suffering the effects, he died at Tivoli, Rose Bay , the home of one of his daughters. George Macleay (1809-1891) pastoralist and explorer and third surviving son, inherited his father's debts. Two contrasting personalities, William, a Cambridge classical scholar, controversial pre-Darwinian theorist, author and contributor to leading scientific journals, and recluse: and George,

4620-479: The Mississippi River valley, and the stage was set for more substantial Congressional subsidies to future railroads. Universities were also beneficiaries of land grants. All five of the transcontinental railroads in the United States were built using land grants. The Morrill Land-Grant Acts of 1862 and 1890 provided for the establishment of land-grant colleges . There is general agreement that

4752-589: The National Trust of Australia (NSW) started to list and publicise important historic places. Elizabeth Bay House was one of the first sixty places named. Architect John Fisher (early member of the Institute of Architects, Cumberland County Council Historic Buildings Committee and on the first Council of the National Trust of Australia (NSW) Board after its reformation in 1960) was commissioned by

4884-809: The Old Colonial Regency style into the Victorian era (c.1840 – c.1890). The Regency style was a refinement of the Georgian style, with elaborations like a portico with columns at the front of the house. In the Old Colonial era, buildings of the Old Colonial Grecian style attempted to emulate the refined elegance of ancient Greece. However, in the Victorian era, Australia's booming migrant society sought an architectural language to flaunt its newfound prosperity, and found it in an exaggerated Classical style that took inspiration from

5016-742: The Ordinance of 1784 , which carved out ten prospective states west of the Appalachian Mountains and established the basis for the Public Land Survey System . The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided a method for settling that land and establishing government institutions, which became federal land policy until 1862. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the Northwest Territory , pursuant to which homesteading settlers could buy land, and certain land

5148-694: The Rum Rebellion of 1808–09, although some were later restored. Land grants started to be phased out when private tendering was introduced, and stricter limits were placed on grants without purchase. The instructions to Governor Brisbane were issued on 17 July 1825. From 9 January 1831, all land was to be sold at public auction . There were also significant land grants in the Swan River Colony (Western Australia), and in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) from 1803. The Hudson's Bay Company

5280-643: The State Planning Authority to restore Elizabeth Bay House, which led to the formation of the Historic Houses Trust of NSW in 1980. A Friends of Elizabeth Bay House group formed well before the formation of the Historic Houses Trust of NSW. In 1963 the Cumberland County Council purchased Elizabeth Bay House and essential repairs were carried out. The State Planning Authority assumed control in 1972 and it

5412-472: The " extroverted pomp of imperial Rome and the grandeur of the fully developed European Renaissance ." The Classical style embodied solidity, permanency, reason and rationality. There were two main sub-divisions of this style. The Victorian Academic Classical style involved strict and faithful interpretation of historical examples, and most examples of this style are non-residential, being often used for town halls, banks, and other public buildings. Buildings

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5544-588: The 16th and 17th centuries involved the confiscation of some or all the land of Irish lords and its grant to settlers ("planters") from England or Scotland. The English Parliament's Adventurers' Act 1640 and Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652 specifically entitled "Adventurers" who funded the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland to lands seized from the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and

5676-635: The 1830s the 'Greek Revival' was reaching the heights of its popularity, and had major influences on the development of the Regency style. Old Colonial Grecian buildings used Greek features such as the pedimented temple, porticoes, and Greek order columns such as the Doric and the Ionian. During the Victorian era, the British Empire , including Australia, was yet heavily Anglican , and thus subject to

5808-534: The Academic style were symmetrical in plan and massing, and involved correct application of one of the five architectural orders to determine proportions. However the restrictions of this style did not suit the ebullient attitudes of the era, and many buildings were built in the Victorian Free Classical style; which employed classical elements with little care shown towards the proper rules of

5940-561: The Academic style. Buildings in the Free style were often asymmetrical and combined elements of the classical language idiosyncratically, sometimes in combination with other styles. In Australia, the Victorian Mannerist style takes is place between Victorian Academic Classical and Victorian Free Classical style, combining the scholarly rigour of the former with the permissiveness of the latter. A classical style that referenced

6072-627: The Cook's river for thatching. There was also bark which could be peeled off a number of the indigenous trees in large sheets. Methods of heating and flattening the bark were used by the Aboriginal people and these were quickly assimilated by the convict builders. The two most significant trees, both of which grew in the Sydney area, were the Melaleuca and the Iron Bark. The Melaleuca bark, having

6204-539: The Italian Mannerist movement. Buildings in this style used classical elements in inventive and imaginative ways. Columns, pilasters, arches, and pediments were crammed into deep and richly modelled stucco facades. The Italianate style developed as a result of French painters who idealised the Italian landscape and turned it into their version of Arcadia. Their influence was long-lasting and eventually led to

6336-485: The Italianate architectural style of the 19th century. The style featured asymmetry and often, on grander residences, a tower of varying size. In Australia, the addition of a verandah, sometimes arcaded but later decorated with filigree cast iron , gave a regional flavour to the style. Second Empire was preferred for grander mansions. For the rich, particularly in the wealthier parts of the larger metropolitan areas,

6468-480: The Macleay family occupied Elizabeth Bay House until 1903. In 1927 the remainder of the land around the house was sold. In this final division the kitchen wing at the rear of the house was demolished to allow an access road for allotments behind the house. By 1934 the house and eleven lots remained unsold due to the depression. Artists squatted in the house until 1935 when it was purchased, renovated and refurbished as

6600-485: The Mid Victorian Style, decoration began to gain popularity. The bullnosed veranda roof was introduced, sidelights were added either side of the front door, and terraced houses were springing up everywhere, containing parapets and detailed dividing walls between the property boundaries. Late Victorian Style homes had perhaps the most decorative features in all of the known architectural styles to date, which

6732-806: The Northwest Territory (and later smaller areas, such as the Indiana Territory , the Illinois Territory and the Wisconsin Territory ) and as well as the Platte Purchase in Missouri. Eligibility for the warrants expanded over the years through new Congressional acts of 1842, 1850, 1852 and 1855 to the point where they could be sold or given to descendants. The warrant program was discontinued before

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6864-467: The Prince Regent in London. Macleay could not afford the intended encircling colonnade. The house's architectural significance rests largely with its interior, owing to its state of incompletion. A planned encircling colonnade was not built. It is possible that Macleay's son William Sharp , after his examination of his father's finances upon joining the family in Sydney in 1839, called for a halt to

6996-721: The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1865–85) described the garden in 1841 as "a botanist's paradise My surprise was unbounded at the natural beauties of the spot, the inimitable taste with which the grounds were laid out and the number and rarity of the plants which were collected together." Macleay corresponded with and sent indigenous plant specimens to Kew, donated exotic plants to the Sydney Botanic Gardens, supplied trees to nurseryman Thomas Shepherd, exchanged plants with William Macarthur at Camden Park, encouraged local naturalists, and promoted exploration. As

7128-728: The Texas border. During the Mexican period of California (and other portions of Mexican territories inherited from New Spain ), the Mexican government granted individuals hundreds of ranchos or large tracts of land. The ranchos established land-use patterns that remain recognizable in the California of today. Controversy over community land grant claims in New Mexico persist to this day. Future President Thomas Jefferson crafted

7260-665: The United States acquired that land by treaties, it agreed to honor all valid land grants. As a result, years of litigation ensued over the validity of many of the Spanish land grants. Spain and Mexico used the same system of offering land grants along the Rio Grande River near the Texas/Mexico border. These grants were given to help colonization of the area, initially by the Spanish crown, and later by Mexican authorities nationals, and strengthen frontier towns along

7392-550: The University of Sydney and the Linnean Society of NSW. His wife stayed there until her death in 1903. The couple had no children. After the death of George Macleay in 1891, under the terms of William Sharp Macleay's will, the house was passed from their nephew Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow who had died, to his eldest son James Macarthur Onslow of Camden Park. By this time the 22-hectare (54-acre) estate had shrunk to 7.5 hectares (19 acres) through successive subdivisions. Members of

7524-407: The building of the house. When the house was finished in 1839 it was occupied by Alexander, his wife Eliza, their unmarried daughter Kennethina, unmarried son William Sharp, the Macleay's nephews William and John and two Onslow grandchildren. Their five other daughters had married. At the same time wool prices dropped and transportation ended in 1840 and the colony was plunged into depression. Macleay

7656-466: The bush. Mr (Edward) Deas-Thompson who is possessed of an infinity of good taste is the Engineer and takes an astonishing degree of interest in the improvement of the place." John Verge 's office ledger contains many references to the design of garden structures, including gates and piers and copings and "scroll ends" for garden walls. The entries are dated between April and November 1833. A design for

7788-470: The carriage drive on Onslow Avenue was designed by Edward Deas Thomson and built from 1832 to 1835 by convict and free artisans under the direction of Verge. The property is owned by Sydney Living Museums , an agency of the Government of New South Wales . Known as "the finest house in the colony", Elizabeth Bay House was originally surrounded by a 22-hectare (54-acre) garden, and is now situated within

7920-506: The climatic conditions of the country, with adaptations such as double and triple glazing on windows, coordination considerations, use of east and west shade, sufficient insulation , strongly considered to provide comfort to the dweller. Another aspect of Australian suburbia is that the suburbs tend to have a combination of both upper middle class and middle class housing in the same neighbourhood. In Melbourne, for instance, one early observer noted that "a poor house stands side by side with

8052-583: The collection. In 1889 the collections were presented to the Macleay Museum at the University of Sydney, where the government built a museum (1886–88) to which the collections were transferred, together with some original collector's cabinets, library, Macleay papers, and an endowment for a curator (this remains as the Macleay Museum). W. J. Macleay was knighted in 1889 and died in 1891, leaving substantial bequests to various institutions including

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8184-543: The colony in the 1840s. With the 1927 subdivision creating a new road of Onslow Avenue this lawn and the house's front address to it were bisected and a new sandstone retaining wall was made edging Onslow Avenue in front of the house and on its east and west. To the north-east a new road of Billyard Avenue also dating from 1927 edged the reserve. The Arthur MacElhone Reserve commemorates a City Councillor for this Fitzroy Ward. Berzins' design incorporated Macleay's curving retaining wall and protruding sandstone ledges or benches and

8316-455: The colony's supplies. Sydney was a tent settlement. Building anything more substantial was made unnecessarily difficult by the poor quality of spades and axes that had been provided and the shortage of nails. The convicts adapted simple country techniques commonly used for animal shelters and the locally available materials to create huts with wattle-and-daub walls. So useful were the local acacia trees for weaving shelters that they were given

8448-684: The construction of a wall was to chisel out a deep groove in a straight log, preferably of the local termite-resistant Cyprus pine which became the foundation. Split logs that had been adzed flat at the ends were then stood in the groove and another groove log was placed on top and slotted into place in a circular corner post. The gaps between the split logs were either packed with clay and animal hair or had narrow strips of metal cut from kerosene tins tacked over them. The interior could be plastered with clay, lined with paperbark or papered with newspaper, wrapping paper or calico. Cards, photographs, news clippings and commemorative items were often stuck directly onto

8580-473: The drive to the house is cut through rocks covered with splendid wild shrubs and flowers of this country, and here and there an immense primeval tree In this garden are the plants of every climate – flowers and trees from Rio, the West Indies, and even England. The bulbs from the Cape (of Good Hope) are splendid – you would not believe how beautiful the roses are here – Mr Macleay has also an immense collection from New Zealand. Botanist Joseph Hooker (Director of

8712-409: The early days of structures made from relatively cheap and imported corrugated iron (which can still be seen in the roofing of historic homes) to more sophisticated styles borrowed from other countries, such as the California bungalow from the United States, the Georgian style from Europe and Northern America, and the Victorian style from the United Kingdom. A common feature of the Australian home

8844-857: The end of their service including cash or land. Augustus fixed the amount in 5 AD at 3,000 denarii and by the time of Caracalla it had risen to 5,000 denarii. One denarius was roughly equivalent to a day's wages for an unskilled laborer. In 1788 the British claimed all of eastern Australia as its own, and formed the colony of New South Wales in Australia. The land was claimed as crown land . Over time, it granted land to officers and released convicts. Males were allowed 30 acres (12 ha), plus 20 acres (8.1 ha) if they were married, and 10 acres (4 ha) additional per child. Instructions were issued on 20 August 1789 that non-commissioned marine officers were to be entitled to 100 acres (40 ha) additional and privates to 50 acres (20 ha) additional. Governor Macquarie canceled land grants issued during

8976-452: The ensuing Confederacy . In New Zealand two private railway companies were offered land grants to build a railway, though both were eventually taken over by the government and incorporated into the government-owned New Zealand Railways Department . During England's colonization of the Americas , the English Crown gave land grants to encourage the foundation of overseas possessions in North America . King James I of England granted

9108-471: The estate of Elizabeth Bay, no one can form an adequate judgement of the taste, labour and capital that have been bestowed upon it. A spacious garden, filled with almost every variety of vegetable; a trellised vinery; a flower garden, rich in botanical curiosities, refreshed with ponds of pure water and overlooked by fanciful grottoes; a maze of gravel walks winding around the rugged hills in every direction, and affording sometimes an umbrageous solitude, sometimes

9240-543: The estate. A keen zoologist, George had donated specimens to his brother and to the Australian Museum; he presented the papers of his father and his brother William Sharp to the Linnean Society of London and through Charles Nicholson , Greek statuary to the University of Sydney . George progressively subdivided the estate and sold leaseholds of a substantial portion and leased the house to his cousin William John Macleay and his wife Susan. William John (1820–1891) pastoralist, politician, patron of science, and nephew of Alexander,

9372-465: The family from 1839 and alone from 1845 – the house continued as a favoured location for local and visiting scientists and Sydney's intellectual circle. William Sharp Macleay died unmarried, leaving the estate to George and the insect collection to his cousin William John Macleay . Visiting esteemed English nurseryman John Gould Veitch describes in an 1864 journal entry, Elizabeth Bay House's garden as one of "few private gardens in Sydney where gardening

9504-724: The federal income tax was not established until the 20th century. Starting with the American Revolutionary War , veterans often received land grants instead of backpay or other remuneration. Bounty-land warrants, often for 160 acres, were issued to veterans from 1775 to 1855, thus including veterans of the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War , as well as various Indian wars . The land grants helped settle

9636-400: The filigree element being the cast iron balcony. The Queenslander style house is characterized by an all timber painted exterior, a timber stud frame. They are raised high on piles for flood protection, stylistic reasons and to create a multipurpose sheltered area under the house. The elevation can sometimes provide a cooling effect in hot climates. They have wide verandahs (often the length of

9768-514: The first 50 years of Australian settlement were simple and plain. Convict huts, marine barracks, government stores and houses for officials were simple rectangular prisms covered with hipped or gabled roofs often with verandahs supported on wooden columns in the Classical manner. They were influenced in particular by the regulation British military buildings in India and other tropical locations. At

9900-412: The first commencement he (Macleay) never suffered a tree of any kind to be destroyed, until he saw distinctly the necessity for doing so. He thus retained the advantage of embellishment from his native trees, and harmonised them with foreign trees now growing. He has also obtained the benefit of a standing plantation which it might otherwise have taken twenty or thirty years to bring to maturity. The bush

10032-472: The front door. The house's facade is severe, owing to its incomplete nature: like many colonial houses begun in the late 1830s, the house is unfinished, the victim of Macleay's growing financial distress and the severe economic depression of the 1840s. It was originally intended to have an encircling single-storey Doric colonnade (included in several views by Conrad Martens, and akin to the colonnade at Vineyard, designed by Verge for Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur);

10164-584: The further improvement of the Elizabeth Bay estate, he does not claim credit for involvement, however informal, in its design. It may be that Macleay considered his views old-fashioned. In 1825 Robert Henderson had been recruited at the Cape of Good Hope by Alexander Macleay. Henderson's obituary records that he superintended the laying out of the gardens of Elizabeth Bay and Brownlow Hill . In February 1829 Fanny wrote "we have now some beautiful walks thro'

10296-431: The house above ground level (particularly in older houses), metal roofs typically of corrugated design and the houses are always constructed of mostly wood. The Gothic style gained favour from the early days of Queen Victoria's reign. Free Gothic became a popular choice for architects and their clients because it was not concerned with historical correctness and therefore gave them greater freedom in their designs. The style

10428-439: The house and attic rooms under the roof. It is built of soft Sydney sandstone with a protective coat of sand paint. There is a square entrance vestibule leading into an oval, domed saloon around which a cantilevered stair rises to an arcaded gallery. The Australian Cedar joinery is finely moulded and finished simply with wax polish. The timber floors throughout are Australian Blackbutt. There is an original, large brass door lock on

10560-689: The house and enclosed by shutters), and roofs are gabled and corrugated iron. The street facing view is often symmetrical. The NSW Queenslander is often smaller than the original classic Queenslander and is less decorative probably due to limited supply of delicate timber detail and trades-people to build them. It is sometimes combined with the Ranch style house. From the 1840s, a specific style of building emerged in Queensland . The Queenslander style of houses are identifiable by large verandahs and large double doors which open onto these verandahs, stilts rising

10692-413: The house and then took it over the payment of the debts himself. Macleay's library and the drawing room furniture were sold to pay creditors. William Sharp Macleay (1792-1865), public servant, scholar and naturalist, and eldest son, inherited his father's insect collection, and stayed alone at the house until his death in 1865. Alexander and Eliza moved, bitterly, to Brownlow Hill. He was elected Speaker of

10824-631: The house that is now located at Camden Park or Brownlow Hill (originally the Macleays' country property near Camden, NSW). The large library contains several insect cases and a desk originally owned by Macleay, on loan from the Macleay Museum at Sydney University . Wall colours have been determined from paint scrapes that revealed the original colour schemes. The house also contains a collection of significant early Australian furniture from Sydney and Tasmania. A nearby grotto, with accompanying stone walls and steps, plus several trees, are all that remain of

10956-548: The influence of Neoclassicism. As the Australian economy developed and settlements became more established, more sophisticated buildings emerged. The vernacular style of the Old Colonial period. Buildings of this period were often rudimentary compared with British architecture at the time, but Georgian ideas of orderliness still influenced their shape and scale. Buildings built in this style often featured symmetrical facades, rectangular and prismatic shapes, and were well-proportioned. Similar to other British colonies in hot climates,

11088-514: The influence of the Oxford and Cambridge Movements , which favored the use of Gothic Revival architecture . Thus, while a local magnate may have built his home in a classical style, he would potentially fund a church in the Gothic style. Thus, during the 19th century, when Australia was expanding rapidly, two forms of architecture were very evident: Gothic and the Classical styles. Originally Gothic

11220-401: The insect collections of Alexander and W. S. Macleay and leased Elizabeth Bay House, living there with his wife Susan. William John, like the Macleays who had lived in the house before him, was an ardent collector, sponsoring collecting expeditions including that of the "Chevert" to New Guinea in 1875, and broadening the collection from insects and marine invertebrates to encompass all branches of

11352-544: The inspiration for this particular architectural style; not only in residential buildings, but in many commercial structures, churches and cathedrals built during this time. St. Paul's and St. Patrick's Cathedrals in Melbourne are excellent examples of the Gothic Revival period, often referred to as Victorian Gothic. Characteristics were: steeply pitched roofs often made of slate, narrow doors and windows resolving in

11484-407: The land, which look out of place and excessive, failing to match with the remaining houses in the street. Because architectural styles have varied in Australia over the years (from villas to bungalows and brick renders), there is a slight inconsistency in the architectural flow of the suburban streets, with one writer noting that Australian housing styles tend to comingle and coexist awkwardly. This

11616-510: The large collection of plants which William Sharp Macleay brought with him to Australia in 1839. 88 varieties of bulbs were forwarded to him in 1839-40 by his scientific correspondent, Dr Nathaniel Wallich, Superintendent of the botanical garden in Calcutta. Macleay's garden was also noted for its fruit trees. In 1835, Charles Von Hugel noted "pawpaw, guava and many plants from India were flourishing". Georgianna Lowe (of Bronte House ) described

11748-439: The late 1820s by gardener Robert Henderson, to establish a private botanic garden with picturesque features of dwarf stone walls, rustic bridges, and winding gravel walks. This was amid the existing native vegetation. In May 1831 The Sydney Gazette enthusiastically reported improvements at Woolloomooloo Hill ( Potts Point ) and Macleay's neighbouring estate at Elizabeth Bay "5 years ago the coast immediately eastward of Sydney

11880-447: The lavish expenditure on both Elizabeth Bay House and Brownlow Hill, his country house near Camden , were due: pastoral ventures failed in the 1840s depression. An attempt was made to subdivide the land in 1841 but the blocks did not sell. While others were forced to declare bankruptcy, Macleay was saved by his eldest son William Sharp Macleay, also Alexander Macleay's largest creditor. In 1845 W. S. Macleay insisted his family move out of

12012-402: The main axis of the house is perfectly oriented and aligned to the position of the sunrise at the winter solstice or shortest day of the year – so that the rising sun bisects the house, running through the front door, out the rear door and hitting the sandstone cliff face at the rear of the house. The architraves and stone flooring along the central corridor are evenly illuminated, lasting only for

12144-428: The midst of a colonial financial crisis, he sold them to the newly completed Government House, Sydney , where three of the original rosewood veneer tables still have pride of place. The furnishings included pelmets with gilt "cornices" (curtain pelmets in this case, with Louis XIV- revival scrolls and a Greek-Revival egg and dart cresting) which were transferred to Government House also. Recent research demonstrates that

12276-672: The most significant insect collections in Britain. He was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1794 commemorating the great Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus , whose Species Plantarum (1753) became the internationally accepted starting point for all botanical nomenclature and served as its secretary from 1798 to 1825. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1809. Botanist Robert Brown , Macleay's close friend and suitor of his eldest daughter Fanny ,

12408-473: The name Wattle . Some pipe clay was obtained from the coves around Port Jackson . Bricks were fired in wood fires and were therefore soft. Lime for cement was obtained by burning oyster shells. The first imported roofing material was corrugated iron sheeting. Roofs of this type were to become part of the Australian vernacular. For many years imported roofing was in very short supply. Two local roofing materials were available- there were extensive reed beds near

12540-483: The natural sciences (such as birds and reptiles). Encouraging the study of botany, he was the first president of the Linnean Society of NSW (1874). The Linnean Society of NSW presented the Macleay's early plant and seed books to the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW. By 1875 the Macleay family collections at the house were now so large that William John had a curator George Masters appointed to look after

12672-505: The original extensive garden, which contained Macleay's considerable native and exotic plant collection, an orchard and kitchen garden. A hand-written notebook of "Plants received at Elizabeth Bay" in the collection of the Mitchell Library , is indicative of the original collection. In 2010–11, the house was used as the set for the music video of Jessica Mauboy 's single " What Happened to Us " featuring Jay Sean . The song

12804-606: The plants contributed by visitors to the estate and by William Sharp Macleay 's natural history collectors in India. Alexander Macleay had a great passion for bulbous plants, particularly those from the Cape of Good Hope. The explorer Charles Sturt, contributed many bulbs collected on his journey to South Australia in 1838, having been presented with four bulbs of Calostemma album from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew during his visit to Elizabeth Bay in February 1831. Bulbs featured in

12936-557: The rising sun (of Federation), and emus , Australian flora and geometric designs. Some of the most recognisable Federation/Edwardian features include red brick exteriors with embellished wood detail known as fretwork . Cream painted decorative timber features, tall chimneys were all common. Stained glass windows towards the front of the home became increasingly popular during this period. Internally, Victorian-era features were still evident, including plaster ceiling roses and cornices and timber skirting and architraves. Federation style depicted

13068-414: The roses are here. The orange trees, lemons, citrons, guavas are immense, and the pomegranate is now in full flower. Mr Macleay also has an immense collection from New Zealand." Many visitors commented on Macleay's achievement in creating a garden in Sydney conditions. Georgianna Lowe described "some drawbacks to this lovely garden: it is too dry, and the plants grow out of a white, sandy soil. I must admit

13200-679: The same, being characterised by symmetrical facades, simple rectangular and prismatic shapes, and orderliness. Six and eight paned windows were common. In the Inter-War period, architects such as William Hardy Wilson revived the Old Colonial Georgian style, leading to the Inter-War Georgian Revival . As with Victorian Georgian architecture, the Victorian Regency style was a continuation of

13332-591: The screen was made of wrought iron, but in the Federation period it was made of wooden fretwork, which could be quite elaborate. It was widely used in Queensland as a way of providing shade and circulation of air for a home. Styles which existed during the 1915–40 period include Edwardian, Georgian Revival, Academic Classical, Free Classical, Bungalow, Mediterranean, Spanish Mission, Art-Deco, Skyscraper Gothic, Romanesque, Gothic and Old English. Land grant Roman soldiers were given pensions ( praemia ) at

13464-610: The second", a reference to the Macleay family's country estate in Godstone, Surrey, which Alexander had improved in 1817. In September 1826 she promised her brother a plan of the recently acquired grant "when Papa has decided where our house is to be and the garden etc". Although Nurseryman Thomas Shepherd had practised as a landscape gardener many years previously in England and his 1835 (public) lecture (in Sydney) included suggestions for

13596-539: The shrubbery and adjacent garden, in 1842–43 commenting on the wealth of fruit trees and other plants assimilated into a Sydney garden: "Mr Macleay took us through the grounds; they were along the side of the water. In this garden are the plants of every climate – flowers and trees from Rio, the West Indies, the East Indies, China and even England. And unless you could see them, you would not believe how beautiful

13728-401: The small portico was only added in the early 20th century. The square entrance hall preludes the soaring space of the oval domed saloon. The entablatures and fluted pilasters of the doorways, the tapering Grecian architraves and panelled reveal shutters of the windows and the plaster cornice and frieze decorated with laurel wreaths . The stairway is of Marulan sandstone and built into

13860-441: The style evoked images of French aristocracy. Although rare, examples can be found in the bigger cities. Distinctive features include towers, quoining, mansard and slate roofs, square domes dormer windows, iron cresting and rich classical details. In the Australian setting, domestic interpretations of the style often combined filigree elements such as cast iron verandahs. As housing developed in Australia, verandas became important as

13992-449: The texture of paper, could be peeled off the tree in layers up to 2 centimetres (0.79 in) thick, a metre long and perhaps half a metre wide without serious damage to the tree. Although not particularly durable as exterior roofing, the material provided excellent insulation and was used for ceilings and lining the walls. The resilient bark from the iron-bark tree was adapted as a major building material everywhere that such trees grew. It

14124-718: The time of the first settlement, Georgian architecture was the architectural vernacular in Britain. Craftsmen, including carpenters and plasterers were trained in the classic proportions associated with the Palladian style fashionable across Europe. Palladian ideals reveal themselves in some of the few larger homes of the Regency period such as Elizabeth Bay House . Neoclassism incorporating not only Greek but also sometimes Ancient Egyptian motifs , beginning in Europe about 1760, also influenced Australian architectural style. "Fernhill" at Mulgoa with its wide colonnaded verandah shows

14256-545: The time, and was the predominant style in the United Kingdom and its colonies. The style draws on elements of the Victorian era and the earlier Queen Anne style of the early 18th century. The Edwardian style coincided with the Federation of Australia . Thus, the Federation style was, broadly speaking, the Australian version of the Edwardian, but differed from the Edwardian in the use of Australian motifs, like kangaroos ,

14388-443: The tradition of wattle and daub, with a bark roof was the squatters who did not have title to their land, and potentially had to move on every two years. Very few 19th-century houses of wattle and daub or split timber have survived. A small number of split-timber cottages which later became kitchens may be seen adjacent to more substantial homes, generally painted to match the house and barely recognizable. Most buildings erected in

14520-412: The twelve Federation styles, however, only the following four were normally used in residential architecture: The Arts and Crafts style came out of a movement to get away from mass-production and rediscover the human touch and the hand-made. The architectural style was characterised by rough-cast walls, shingles, faceted bay windows, stone bases, tall chimneys, high-pitched roofs and overhanging eaves. It

14652-406: The verandah became a common way to protect a house from the sun, and on single storey houses the Georgian verandah is usually a lower pitched extension of the main roof. In Georgian era Britain, Neoclassical architecture mainly drew its inspiration from Roman architecture until the rediscovery of Ancient Greek architecture beginning with James "Athenian" Stuart 's 1758 trip to Greece. By

14784-523: The wall, resting on the tread underneath. The cast iron banisters are painted in imitation bronze. Eleven carved stone brackets support the first floor balcony . The portico is a light, single storeyed structure of iron and wood. Verge's attention to symmetry can be seen in the blind windows constructed on the walls of both sides of the house. Australian residential architectural styles#Old Colonial Regency style Australian residential architectural styles have evolved significantly over time, from

14916-454: The walls. The technique of making durable hardwood roofing shingles was also developed. Where these shingles have been applied to brick houses, they have sometimes survived to the 21st century, covered by subsequent corrugated iron roofs. In the earliest houses windows were usually small, and multi-paned with cylinder glass. When the cost of glass put it beyond reach of the home-owner, blinds of oiled calico were tacked across window openings in

15048-434: The winter months. The simplest houses were of a single room, which, if the bread-winner prospered, became the kitchen to a more substantial residence, or conversely, became the living room with a lean-to kitchen added. Houses that grew piecemeal were generally asymmetrical, with the door leading into the original room. Houses that were planned were generally symmetrical, and very simple, usually containing 2 to 4 rooms around

15180-436: Was a mass of cold and hopeless sterility, which its stunted and unsightly bushes seemed only to render the more palpable; it is now traversed by an elegant carriage road and picturesque walks. That these rapid improvements were originated by the proprietor of Elizabeth Bay cannot be doubted. He was the first to show how these hillocks of rock and sand might be rendered tributary to the taste and advantage of civilized man. As to

15312-503: Was a partner, he began in 1824 to borrow heavily from his eldest son, William. Macleay accepted the position of NSW Colonial Secretary , arriving in 1826 and moving into the Colonial Secretary's house (fronting Macquarie Place) with his wife Eliza, their six surviving daughters, an extensive library, and an insect collection then "unparalleled in England" for its size, range and number of type specimens (first to be named of

15444-430: Was already in debt. The depression, these debts, the capital he had outlaid on the house and garden, the expenses of his various country properties and the loss of his large official salary brought about by early retirement meant that by the early 1840s he was in financial difficulties. William Sharp Macleay in 1839 was in London and ordered furnishings for the drawing room of Elizabeth Bay House. Six years later in 1845 in

15576-708: Was born in Wick, came to NSW with his cousin William Sharp Macleay in 1839, and became a squatter with extensive pastoral runs in the Murrumbidgee whose profits would ultimately fund the scientific interests engendered by his uncle and cousins. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly (1856–74), a trustee of the Australian Museum (1861–77), and in 1862 helped found the Entomological Society of NSW. In 1865 he inherited

15708-458: Was decided to restore the house as an official residence for the Lord Mayor of Sydney . A change of government signalled a change in policy and a decision that the house become a public museum. Architects Fisher Lucas supervised the restoration of the house which began in 1977. In 1980 it was put in the care of a Trust before coming under ownership of the Historic Houses Trust of NSW in 1981. It

15840-521: Was for God, and the Classical for the man. Later a new "self-made" Australian began to emerge, unhindered by a classical British education dictating classical gentlemanly interests. This new self-made man (like his contemporaries in Britain) would often choose Gothic as the design for his home. The great cathedrals of the Middle Ages during the Gothic period of ecclesiastical architecture formed

15972-650: Was incorporated in 1670 with the grant of Rupert's Land by King Charles II of England ; this vast territory was greater than one third the area of Canada today. Following the Rupert's Land Act in the British Parliament, Rupert's Land was sold in 1869 to the newly formed Canadian Government for the nominal sum of £300,000. Land grants were an incentive for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway . The Plantations of Ireland in

16104-449: Was much in vogue for religious buildings but was sometimes used in residential architecture as well. The Rustic Gothic style developed out of a "cult of the picturesque" which largely focused on rural images and especially the picturesque rustic house, which became known as the cottage orne. In Australia, this style had a great appeal to British settlers who still carried with them a hankering for things English. The Tudor style grew out of

16236-570: Was named after the then Queen, Queen Victoria . Early styles featured symmetrical layouts and façades, a centrally located front door and a hipped roof of corrugated iron, leading to a veranda on the façade. During the 1850s cast-iron lacework came to Australia, where it made its way on to Mid and Late Victorian Homes with much the same floor plan as the Colonial Style, a central hallway with a standard 4 rooms. Weatherboards were often used, although larger homes used red brick and blue stone. In

16368-461: Was one of Mauboy's biggest hits at the time. In November 2020, Hayley Mary from The Jezabels released the video to her single The Chain , which was directed by Tyson Perkins and filmed at Elizabeth Bay House. Elizabeth Bay House is available for hire as a reception venue and is often used for wedding receptions. Elizabeth Bay House is a Greek Revival villa with a centralised Palladian layout with two levels, two unconnected cellar wings beneath

16500-465: Was one of the first properties acquired by the Historic Houses Trust of NSW. Since then the Friends of Elizabeth Bay House and subsequent Friends of the Historic Houses Trust have raised funds and held events in support of the house's interpretation and enjoyement. These funds included new curtains and pelmets being installed in the drawing room ($ 25,000) and furnishing a maid's room ($ 10,000). The house

16632-483: Was planted with specimen orchids and ferns to enhance its botanical interest, which could be enjoyed in the course of a "wood walk". Two surviving notebooks list the sources of plants for the garden and illustrate a comprehensive approach to plant collecting, similar in their approach to entomology. The plant and seed books contain entries for purchases from nurserymen Messr.s Loddiges of Hackney, London, and exchanges with William Macarthur of Camden Park . They also record

16764-598: Was posted by the British Government (1825–36), as well as a large collection of plants. At Elizabeth Bay, two notebooks of plants and seeds exchanged, imported or desired for its garden, which he compiled with his father, reflect the extent of their horticultural pursuits and provide vital records of this outstanding colonial garden. William was a corresponding member of the Royal Botanic Society of London. During his residency at Elizabeth Bay – with

16896-581: Was refurnished in the style of 1839–45, the interiors reflecting the lifestyle of the Macleays and presenting an evocative picture of early 19th century Sydney life. Largely in the Greek Revival style with elements of the Louis revival, the house's interiors have been recreated based on several inventories, notably an 1845 record of the house's contents and a list of furniture sold to the newly completed Government House, plus pieces known to have originated at

17028-420: Was set aside for public schools and other purposes. The federal government acquired additional lands by treaties with various Native American tribes, such as the 1833 Treaty of Chicago , by which many eastern tribes agreed to settle across the Mississippi River . Revenues from public land purchases were a major source of funding for the federal government through the 19th century, along with tariff revenues, since

17160-413: Was usual practice for grants to be made to eminent citizens in the colony but Macleay's grant generated some heated editorials in Sydney's newspapers. It involved the alienation of public land, the former Aboriginal settlement of Elizabeth Town, later earmarked for an asylum. In 1826 Macleay set about improving the site, using assigned convict labour. He employed his horticultural expertise, assisted from

17292-508: Was widely used as a roofing material, was weatherproof, insulating and could last for thirty years. Houses of axe-hewn slabs with Iron-bark roofs continued to be built in rural Australia until WWII. As better tools became available the Colonial builders became adept at working the extremely hard and durable timber of the native hardwood forests. The majority of houses were built of split logs rather than sawn timber. The technique employed for

17424-477: Was widely used in Australia during the Federation period. The bungalow style was usually a single-storey house with a prominent veranda, especially with the roof covering the veranda. It is seen as a transition phase between the Federation period and the California bungalow. The filigree style was characterised by the creation of a screen as a prominent style at the front of the house. In the Victorian period,

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