Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Saturday 4 January 1941, page 5
HISTORIC HARBORSIDE HOMESDOOMED 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.
