Strickland House, Vaucluse

Strickland House is a historic house in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse. It is listed on the Australian Register of the National Estate,[1]and the New South Wales State Heritage Register.[2]

History and description

Strickland House was the home of John Hosking, Sydney's second mayor. The house was designed by John Hilly and built in the 1850s, when it was known as "Carrara". It is a Victorian Italianate mansion virtually intact and consists of three storeys of sandstone, which was unusually painted, and features verandahs with Doric columns. Set close to the harbour foreshore, it has extensive views across the water. In 1914 the house with 12 acres (4.9ha) was acquired from the then owner, Arthur Wigram Allen, with funds from the Foreshores Resumption Scheme, introduced by the NSW Government in 1911 to buy back privately owned land for harbourside parkland. In 1915, the house was officially opened as Strickland Women's Convalescent House. In 1989 the State Government closed down the hospital and proposed to sell off some three-quarters of the land for private development. In the face of strong public opposition, this plan was abandoned, as were other proposals such as to use the property as a boutique hotel. In 1994 Premier John Fahey declared all the grounds an Urban Park. In January 2012 the NSW Government gazetted that the NSW State Heritage Register listing for Strickland House had been extended to cover the entire property. Currently (2012) the grounds are open to the public during daylight hours 7 days a week. The house is used for films, advertising etc., but is open to the public one day a year during the National Trust's Heritage Festival. It can be seen from the track along Hermitage Reserve, which is part of the Sydney Harbour National Park.[3][4] Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales No 11 Monday, 30 January,2012

References

  1. ↑ "Place ID 2501". Australian Heritage Database. Department of the Environment.
  2. ↑ State Heritage Website
  3. ↑ Walks in the Sydney Harbour National Park, Neil Paton, p.56; Heritage of Australia, p.2/135
  4. ↑ 'Carrara/Strickland House, the finest site on Sydney Harbour', June Poland (Woollahra History and Heritage Society Inc) 1990
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Coordinates: 33°51′23″S 151°16′05″E / 33.8564°S 151.2681°E / -33.8564; 151.2681

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