a premier place to introduction live

A Premier Place to Live

A walking tour of the homes and haunts of North Sydney’s politicians

Distance: 4.6 km Approximate time: 3.3 hours Grading: medium to high

Introduction

A guided walking tour of the streets and

laneways of North Sydney focusing on our

State’s political history and political figures

who represented the area including the

former residences of Alexander Berry, Sir

George Dibbs, Bernard Holtermann, Edward

M. Sayers, William Tunks and Colonel

George Barney. On this walk we will also

view changes in the North Sydney

landscape over the past 150 years since the

people of NSW elected their first Parliament.

North Sydney has always been

unashamedly conservative but sometimes

independent in its political leanings

(especially in more recent times with Ted

Mack and Robyn Read). Labor members at

state and federal level have been rare,

unless they had a maverick past. William

Morris Hughes, for example, was a right

wing politician who represented North

Sydney but had started his political life on

the left.

By the 1880s the North Shore of the harbour

had become a desirable living area,

attracting professionals and businessmen

who worked in the city and commuted by

the steamers. A cluster of early political

representatives lived in the central portion of

North Sydney, yet others lived in Kirribilli

and Neutral Bay. Unfortunately some of the

homes of our politicians have been

demolished to make way for development in

the Central Business District and

construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

and Warringah Expressway.

North Sydney History Walk : A Premier Place to Live

Our walk begins at North Sydney Railway Station

Take stairs near entrance to Centra Hotel and cross over to Walker St. Turn right into Mackenzie St

WANGAN, Mackenzie St

Wangan (originally with a slate roof) was erected

in 1870 by Mrs Catherine Dangar as the family

home. Her husband Thomas Dangar (1807–

1878) was a member of the Legislative

Assembly 1861-1864, a member for the Upper

Hunter 1861-1864, and was involved in many

government committees.

Apart from his political duties, he was a

storekeeper and postmaster. He first worked in

Sydney, then moved to West Maitland and

began business in 1834, becoming the first

postmaster in Scone, 1836-1840. He also

established the first Inn and store in Scone and

carried mail and stores beyond the Liverpool

Range before 1840. He also opened a store at

Muswellbrook. In 1860 he returned to Sydney,

and by 1864 listed as a squatter.

Thomas and Catherine Dangar sold the house to

Mrs Catherine Mackenzie (hence the name of

this street) in 1875, and the latter sold it to Mrs

Charlotte Smith about 1903. It was then

acquired by the Trustees of St. Francis Xavier’s

Church for a presbytery.

Walk along to end of Mackenzie St. Turn

left into Miller St then right again into

Lavender St. Cross over traffic lights and

walk along Union St to entrance of

Graythwaite (past entrance to SCEGS)

GRAYTHWAITE, Union St

Graythwaite is a fine house surviving as an

example of the 19th Century residential

architecture of this area. The site is unusual in

that it retains its original large tract of land with

garden layout and historic plantings. Graythwaite

is a former c1823 residence which has been

altered and has grown during the 19th century to

a grand villa c. 1874/75, and then undergone

adaptation to a convalescent hospital and

nursing home after 1916.

In September 1832, Thomas Walker, public

official, paid 60 pounds 9 shillings for a 39-acre

land grant. On the 25 October 1833, Thomas

Walker conveyed 13 acres of his grant, to the

north and east of where Graythwaite was later

built, to William Miller, for 20 pounds thirteen

shillings. By 1837, Walker had built himself a

residence on his grant almost adjacent to Miller's

newly built house. An 1837 plan of the

Government Reserve on North Shore shows the

Walker and Miller houses. In January 1845

Walker drew up his Will bequeathing his house

Euroka and 16 acres to his wife. He died in

1850.

Three years after Walker’s death, the house and

remaining land was sold to George Tuting, a

mercer of Pitt St, Sydney for 1500 pounds, at

which time the grounds were described as

comprising 113 acres. Tuting held the land only

briefly, possibly for the purposes of speculation

at a time when land and house prices boomed in

the early 1850s after the discovery of gold. He

sold the house and land in 1853, for more than

double what he had bought it for. On the 23 July

1855, Tuting conveyed the house and land to

Edwin Sayers, Sydney for £3900 pounds.


The new owner, Edwin

Mawney Sayers (1818-

1909), was a shipowner

who had arrived in Sydney

from Melbourne about

1850. He was mainly

interested in the coastal

shipping trade. Sayers

occupied Euroka and

remained there until 1868. As a merchant

seeking to utilise all of his available capital and

with the problems of unexpected calls being

made upon his resources, from unexpected

financial crises or due to the vagaries of bad

shipping weather, Sayers needed to use his

substantial house as security for loans at times.

Sayers was also a Member of the NSW

Legislative Assembly 17 Jun 1859 -17 Jun 1859;

and Member for St Leonards 17 Jun 1859 -

17 Jun 1859. He was a founder of North Sydney

School of Arts, Warden of St Thomas' Church of

England. He died in Mosman in 1909.

On 16 April 1860 Sayers conveyed the title to

Clark Irving and others as trustees for the benefit

of Sayers' creditors. On 20 April 1860 further

conveyance of all of Sayers property to trustees

was signed. Sayers’ financial difficulties

continued until 8 July 1867 when the property

was offered at auction by Richardson & Wrench,

on behalf of the mortgagee. There were no

buyers.

The property was later acquired by Thomas

Allwright Dibbs, manager of the Commercial

Banking Company of Sydney. He leased the

house from 1872-1880 to his brother Sir George

Richard Dibbs (1834-1904), who was Premier

of NSW and Colonial Secretary 1891-1894. He

was Premier in 1893 during the emergence of

the financial crisis which resulted in panic

concerning the colonial banks. 'When panic

threatened the Savings Bank of New South

Wales he appeared at its doors and wrote in his

own hand a proclamation guaranteeing its

deposits' (Australian Dictionary of Biography).

Merchant and ship

owner, Dibbs was

educated at St

Philip's Church of

England School and

then the Australian

College under the

Reverend J. D.

Lang. He became

junior clerk with

William Brown &

Co., wine merchants

in 1848. He joined

his brother in Dibbs & Co., commission agents,

in c.1854; associated with father-in-law in

business ventures 1857-1859; then returned to

J.C. Dibbs & Company, as manager of

Newcastle branch and later the Sydney office.

He travelled to Valparaiso, Chile, as corn factor,

opening a branch of J.C. Dibbs & Company in

1865; he was bankrupted by the failure of the

Agra Bank 1866; he returned to Sydney in 1867

and by 1875 he had paid his creditors in full.

He appears to have left Euroka by 1880 when

he was gaoled for a year 1880 - 1881 for

refusing on principle to pay £2000 damages for

slander. He was a Member of Legislative

Assembly representing West Sydney 1874-

1877, St Leonards 1882-1885, The

Murrumbidgee 1885-1894 and Tamworth 1894-

1895.He was made Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in

1892. Dibbs also moved into importing and ship

owning from 1869, becoming the Chairman of

the Australia Steam Navigation Co. and taking a

leading role during the 1878 seamen's strike

over use of Chinese labour. He announced


conversion from free trade to protection in July

1887, represented New South Wales at the 1891

Federal Convention and represented New South

Wales, Victoria, South Australia and New

Zealand on a financial mission in London in

1892. He was also managing trustee, Savings

Bank of New South Wales, 1896 - 1904.

1897 view of the Graythwaite with widows walk

intact. (North Sydney Heritage Centre, PF 1773 )

His brother Thomas Allwright Dibbs had been

buying up many parcels of land on the North

Shore and by 1882 Euroka became the family

home of Thomas Dibbs who renamed it

Graythwaite. Dibbs' had a fine reputation as

an astute and skilful manager of the Commercial

Banking Company of Sydney. His management

of the Bank was generally credited with saving it

from the fate of other less fortunate banks in the

1890s Depression. Dibbs was apparently

shocked at the carnage taking place overseas

during the Great War and donated his home,

Graythwaite, to the state as a convalescent

home for soldiers returning from the front.

On 1 October 1915 the property was formally

transferred by Dibbs to the Crown, in

consideration of 'my admiration of and sincere

sympathy for those brave men who have so

unselfishly given their services and their lives

fighting for the Empire in the cause of Justice

and liberty as a Convalescent Home for our Sick

and Wounded Soldiers and Sailors and when

not required for that purpose as a Convalescent

Home in perpetuity for distressed subjects of the

British Empire regardless of Sect or Creed.' An

official opening of Graythwaite was held on 1

March 1916. Dibbs presented the deeds of

Graythwaite to the Premier who handed the

property on to the NSW branch of the Red

Cross.

Alterations were made to Graythwaite to fit it out

as a convalescent home. The house was at first

used for less severely ill convalescents. In 1918,

the Red Cross decided that Graythwaite should

be converted into a Hostel for long-term cases of

disablement. A change in emphasis required

substantial changes to the building.

Graythwaite was later used as a convalescent

home to 1977, when non-military cases were

referred by the Health Commission. The Red

Cross then decided to relinquish the Hospital to

enable it to be used as geriatric hospital by the

Home of Peace Hospitals, under the supervision

of the Health Commission. The buildings were

officially handed over in December 1980.

Graythwaite's grounds contain one of the largest

and most significant collections of late 19th

century and early 20th century cultural plantings

in North Sydney. Moreton Bay and Port Jackson

figs dominate an eclectic mix of exotic and

Australian rainforest plantings including rare

historic and botanic examples.

Return back along Union St and turn left into William St. Walk uphill and turn left into grounds of SCEGS at top of Blue St


Sydney Church of England Grammar School, Blue St

In 1833 William Miller, Assistant Commissary-

General of Government Provisions in the

Colony, purchased some of the North Shore

land originally granted to Deputy Assistant

Commissary-General Thomas Walker. When

Miller was transferred to Hong Kong in 1844 his

home and land was passed on to his son (who

built Upton in Edward Street).

Bernard Holtermann eventually purchased the

property in 1873 whereupon he proceeded to

erect a grand Italianate mansion from which a

magnificent panorama of Sydney Harbour was

photographed from the tower in about 1878.

The Towers as seen from Union Street.

(Courtesy State Library of NSW )

The Towers was purchased by the Church of

England in 1888 after Holtermann’s death and

converted to the Sydney Church of England

Grammar School. The house was substantially

rebuilt in the 1930s

The School stands on a site of five and a half

hectares on a hilltop only two hundred metres

from North Sydney railway and bus station. It

has magnificent views of the Harbour and the

City of Sydney. In spite of this central position,

the School itself is quite secluded and

undisturbed by major roads or expressways.

The Government passed the St. James' School

Compensation Trust Act of 1886. This provided

the funds for the foundation of a church school,

in order to perpetuate the original Crown grant

and its purpose. The School was founded with

the resultant 31,164 pounds. The official opening

took place on Saturday, 4 May 1889.

“The School is situated on the North Shore, on

the premises hitherto known as Holtermann‟s

Towers, near Lavender Bay Wharf” (Provisional

Prospectus, 1889).

Whilst Sydney Church of England

Grammar School is the School's official title,

Shore is widely used and recognised in the

community. "It was the boys themselves who

invented 'Shore' in the earliest days of the

School when...they had occasion to cheer their

representatives in traditional sports." Finding it

impossible to shout the full name and with

'Grammar' already in use by an older school,

they shortened the officially termed 'North Shore'

to the one-syllabled 'Shore'.

In 1934 the school engaged architect Rupert

Minnett to redesign the former Holtermann

mansion, now known as School House. The

building underwent dramatic modernisation and

alterations and whilst the foundations and

general outline of the original house and tower

remained, the old iron and lace and semi-gothic

tower was removed in favour of the present red

brick structure.

Bernard Holtermann

(1883-1885) left Germany

to avoid military service and

arrived in New South Wales

on 12 August 1858. He then


went to the goldfields from 1859-1860 but

supported himself with other jobs. By 1868 he

was a licensee of the All Nations Hotel.

Holtermann floated Star of Hope Gold Mining

Company in 1872 which found the largest known

specimen of reef gold.

He also invested in Sydney real estate and was

an advocate of construction of a North Shore

Bridge. His civil service includes a period as an

Alderman of Hill End Borough Council. Bernard

Holtermann married Harriett Emmett on 22

February 1868 at Bathurst and they had two

daughters and three sons.

Holtermann served as a Member of the NSW

Legislative Assembly 5 December 1882-29 April

1885, and was Member for St Leonards 5

December 1882-29 April 1885.

Return to William St and turn left and walk to

Mount St. Turn right in Mount St and then right

into Edward St. Walk to Riley St and cross over,

enter grounds via corner gates

Rockleigh Grange, No. 40 Edward St

The present Rockleigh Grange is very different

to the stone picturesque Victorian Rustic Gothic

villa that the colonial artist Conrad Martens

inhabited The trees in Riley St on the left are

relatively recent plantings on the old estate.

They recall the scrub that covered the landscape

behind Martens’ home. In 1867 he wrote that

„this place is much altered since we first took up

our residence here… the original forest is fast

receding and small steamers cross [the harbour]

every quarter of an hour‟.

The Martens had moved to the property with his

wife Jane Brackenbury Carter who had inherited

the property from her parents. They in turn had

bought it from the Berry’s in 1835. They lived

there with their children until his death in 1878.

Martens designed the

first St Thomas’

Church of which

Alexander Berry was

a notable benefactor.

As the rigours of a

landscape painter's

life began to tell on

the ageing Martens,

his friend Alexander

Berry found a post for

him in 1863 as a parliamentary librarian. He died

on 21 August 1878 and was buried at St

Thomas's Cemetery, North Sydney, where the

rest of his family is also buried.

The house was bought by warehouse owner FB

Larke in 1878 and sold again to the Hon John

Hughes MLC (1857-1912) who altered it again

and built tennis courts.

When it was auctioned in 1913 Hardie and

Gorman noted that the „spacious grounds,

situated in Edward Street North Sydney [made it]

very convenient and suitable for a gentlemen-of-

means, professional men, squatter and others‟.

Instead the Catholic Church bought the property.

As the premises for its Apostolic Delegation and

in 1970 it hosted Pope Paul VI.

Hughes was a lawyer

(solicitor) and property

owner. He journeyed

to England in 1870 for

education at

Stoneyhurst, Jesuit

College in Lancashire

and matriculated with

Honours at London

University in 1876.

Upon his return to

Sydney he was

articled to H.M Makinson of Ellis & Makinson in


1878; admitted as a solicitor in 1884 and

practised in partnership with his brother from

1887. He also owned considerable city property.

He was a shareholder in W.H Soul Pattinson &

Co. and in the Commercial Banking Company of

Sydney; Director of Australian Hotel Company

Ltd.; Chairman of Directors of Bannockburn

Estate Ltd.; Trustee of St Mary’s Cathedral;

Treasurer of St Vincents Hospital 1885-1912;

Trustee of Public Library 1898-1912; President

of Prisoners Aid Association 1901-1905.

Apart from his legal career, he was an Alderman

of the Sydney City Council for Fitzroy Ward from

1 December 1891-30 November 1894 and was a

Member of the Disposal of Refuse Committee

(1891-1894); the Electric Lighting Committee

(1892-1894); and the Height of Buildings

Committee (1894).

Hughes was a Member of the NSW Legislative

Council, (13 August 1895-13 August 1895);

Minister of Justice (3 July 1899-13 September

1899); Vice President of Executive Council and

Representative of Government (22 November

1898-3 September 1899); Vice President of

Executive Council and Representative of

Government (29 August 1904-20 October 1910).

He was created Knight Commander of the Order

of St. Gregory by Pope Leo XIII in 1894

Proceed up Edward St to a small laneway. Turn down the lane which will take you into Priory Rd

The Priory, No. 5 Priory Rd

Originally a single storey villa this substantial

sandstone house and the large gardens that

once surrounded it were one the earliest

excisions on the Berry Estate. The land was

leased around 1835 by Lt Col George Barney,

first commander of the Royal Engineers in NSW

and the designer of the Victoria Barracks in

Paddington.

Colonel George

Barney was a

Member of the

NSW Legislative

Council 17 July

1843-29 February

1856. He was

commissioned as

a second

lieutenant in the

Royal Engineers in

July 1808 and

served in the

Peninsular War

and in the West Indies, where he took part in the

capture of Guadaloupe in 1815. He was a civil

engineer in Jamaica for several years. He was

promoted second captain in 1813 and captain in

1825. Barney arrived in Sydney with his wife and

three children in December 1825 with a

detachment of the Royal Engineers.

Barney bought the property five years later and

in the 1840s he leased the house back to

Alexander and Elizabeth Berry while they were

waiting for their new mansion, Crows Nest

House, to be completed. Elizabeth died here in

1845.

The Priory nestled amongst picturesque

gardens, 1871. (Couresy State Library of NSW)


Part of the St Leonards Anglican gentry,

Barney’s son married the daughter of William

Branwhite Clarke. He leased The Priory for a

period to another notable Anglican and Member

of Parliament, Francis Lord. Barney died on 16

April1862 and was buried in the St Thomas’

Cemetery (now St Thomas’ Rest Park, 200 West

St, Crows Nest). After Barney’s death it was sold

to the Fisher family. Thomasina lived there until

her death in 1914

At this time the attics were converted to a full

floor in 1914. The estate was subdivided into 40

lots between 1915 and 1929 and many of those

cottages and flats still survive around ‘The

Priory’.

The building was subsequently converted to flats

and in the 1970s local historian and heritage

campaigner David Earle lived here and formed

the Priory Conservation Co-operative Society

which promoted a unique combination of urban

and heritage planning through co-operative

housing.

Proceed up Priory Rd and turn left into Bay Rd. Cross over and stop before Harriott St

Branthwaite

The land extending from here back up the hill to

McHatton Street was the site of the Rev. William

Branwhite Clarke’s estate and home,

Branthwaite. Clarke was the first rector of St

Thomas’ Church and a renowned geologist.

Alexander Berry was a great benefactor of

Clarke’s church and a personal friend who

enjoyed discussing matters of science,

philosophy and religion. He gave Clarke five

acres of land on his estate shortly before Clarke

retired in 1870.

Branthwaite, home of „Wunny‟ (son of William

Branwhite Clarke) and Granny Clarke, 1880s.

(North Sydney Heritage Centre, PF 2327)

Harriott St is named after a woman who

married into Clarke’s family. The Branthwaite

Estate was completely subdivided by the 1930s.

Hovenden Hely died at Branthwaite in 1872, late

of Wyoming and eldest son of the late Frederick

Augustus Hely. Hely died at the comparatively

early age of 49 years.

Return back up Bay Rd and turn left into Pacific Highway. Proceed to traffic lights North Sydney Demonstration School

Around the grounds of the North Sydney

Demonstration School is the large stone and iron

fence of Crows Nest House. Alexander Berry

completed the house in 1850 – the residential

centre of his still vast estate – it enjoyed

extensive views of the harbour and took the

name of its more modest predecessor Crows

Nest Cottage located further up the hill. The

fence was erected by Sir John Hay in 1890 after

he inherited the property in the 1880s. The

wrought iron gates feature a nest of crows.

The house was demolished in the early 1930s

and the North Sydney Demonstration School

opened here in 1934.


Alexander Berry was a

medical practitioner

(surgeon) and

businessman. He was

educated at Cupar

Grammar School and

studied medicine at the

St Andrews University

and Edinburgh

University. After

qualifying in medicine,

he joined ships trading with India and China as a

surgeon's mate but soon decided to pursue the

commercial side of shipping. In 1806 chartered

and later bought a ship in partnership with

Francis Short, speculating in goods. From 1808

he made several voyages to New South Wales

with cargos of goods and travelled to South

America returning to London in 1812, after losing

his ship.

In 1819 he returned to Sydney establishing a

mercantile business in partnership with Edward

Wollstonecraft. In 1822, Berry and

Wollstonecraft applied for a grant of 10,000

acres on the Shoalhaven River in New South

Wales. In 1823 they exported coal to Rio de

Janiero. They closed their mercantile business in

1828. In 1830 a grant of land of 10, 000 acres

applied for on the Shoalhaven in 1822 was

approved. Between 1830 and 1840 Berry

purchased an additional 22,000 acres which

produced maize, tobacco, wheat, barley,

potatoes, pigs and cattle. Wollstonecraft died in

1832, and from 1836, Berry rarely visited the

Shoalhaven estate, leaving its management to

his brother David. In the 1850's Berry began to

let farms on the estate on clearing leases. By

1863 the estate comprised 40,000 acres. His

interests included aboriginal culture and

geology.

Berry was a member of the Philosophical

Society in 1821 and commissioned as a Justice

of the Peace in 1822. He was also a councillor

on the Australian Philosophical Society,

established in 1850. Berry was a Member of the

NSW Legislative Council 12 April 1828-5

January 1843, Member of the NSW Legislative

Council 17 July 1843-29 February 1856,

Member of the NSW Legislative Council 22 May

1856-10 May 1861.

Berry died at Crows Nest House on 17

September 1873 was buried below the pyramid

monument in St. Thomas’ Cemetery (now St

Thomas’ Rest Park) with his wife Elizabeth and

brother-in law Edward Wollstonecraft.

Cross over traffic lights and proceed along McLaren St Stormanston, No, 27 McLaren St

Occupies the site of an earlier house known as

Montrose (and even earlier as Church Hill

Cottage). Church Hill Cottage (so named

because of its proximity to St Thomas’ Church)

was built in the 1850s by Sir William Westbrooke

Burton. After he left Australia in disgust in 1861,

the house was purchased by merchant Robert

Napier and it was renamed Montrose Cottage.

Subsequently John Whitton, Engineer-in-Chief of

NSW Railways purchased the property in 1875

and he and his wife lived here until his death in

1898. The house was tenanted out until 1907,

when his widow sold the property and it was

subdivided and the house demolished. There

are two plaques affixed to the fence recording

the life of artist Adelaide Ironside and John

Whitton, Engineer in Chief of NSW Railways,

who once resided here.

Stormanston House was built in 1907. It was

acquired by the Sisters of Mercy and has been


used for student accommodation and also as a

convent. The house was refurbished in 2001.

John Whitton employed a gardener to maintain

the extensive and beautiful landscaped grounds

of Montrose, 1890s. (North Sydney Heritage

Centre, PF 764)

Sir William

Westbrooke Burton

was a lawyer

(barrister). He was

educated at Daventry

Grammar School. He

was a retired Judge

when he was

appointed to the

Legislative Council. His early career was in the

Royal Navy, which he entered as a midshipman

in 1807. He sailed to Lisbon, Cadiz, the

Canaries, the Mediterranean, West Indies, China

and the East. Called to the Bar at the Inner

Temple in 1824, he was recorder at Daventry

and President of the Local Court of Quarter

Sessions 1826-1827 and Conveyancer and a

special pleader. He became a second puisine

judge at the Cape of Good Hope in 1828 and a

judge to the New South Wales Supreme Court in

1832. He took leave to travel to Great Britain in

1839-1841. He returned to New South Wales in

1842 and became a judge of the Supreme Court

in Madras in 1844. He returned to Sydney in

1857.

He was member of the NSW Legislative Council

(11 August 1857-10 May 1861) and President of

the Legislative Council (9 February 1858-10 May

1861). Burton resigned from the Legislative

Council after the 'swamping' in 1861 and left

New South Wales in disgust.

Another well-known

tenant of Montrose

was pastoralist

Sir Terence Aubrey

Murray. He was

educated at the

school of Reverend

William White,

Church of England

clergyman, in

Ireland. He arrived in

New South Wales with his father in April 1827

and took up land grant at Lake George 1829. He

inherited an adjoining grant on his father's death

in 1835. He purchased other adjoining land and

called the consolidated property Winderradeen,

building a fine homestead there. With T. Walker

he bought Yarralumla near Queanbeyan in

1836, where he lived until 1855 when he moved

to Winderradeen. He also took up land at

Jingellec, Upper Murray and in 1846 he

announced that he had given up squatting in

unsettled districts, but continued to lease large

areas of Crown land in settled districts (42,680

acres in 1857). Murray settled Yarralumla and

part of Winderradeen on his wife and lost most

of the property to her family by her will when she

died in 1858. He was almost bankrupted in

1865.

He was Executive Commissioner for New South

Wales at the Paris Exhibition 1866-1867 and

active as the President of the Society for


Abolition of Capital Punishment. He advocated

importation of coolie labour from India in 1841.

Sir Terence Murray was probably the only

member of Parliament to oppose democracy but

supported John Robertson's Land Acts 1861. He

was also the Uncle of F.J. Gibbes, Member of

the Legislative Assembly.

He was elected as a Member of the old

Legislative Council from 1843-1856, where he

fought ardently against capital punishment. From

1856 he was the Member for the Southern

Boroughs in the Legislative Assembly until he

successfully contested the seat of Argyle in

1859. Throughout 1856 Murray held the

positions of Chairman of Committees, Secretary

for Lands and Works and Auditor-General. He

was also the Secretary for Lands and Works

1857-1858. Murray was elected Speaker of the

Legislative Assembly 1860-1862 when he was

appointed to the reconstituted Legislative

Council. Upon entering the upper house he was

immediately appointed President of the

Legislative Council, holding that office until 1873.

In October 1862, when Murray ruled that the

Council should not attempt to amend money bills

he was in fact attempting to persuade the

Legislative Council to adopt the traditions of the

English House of Lords. However, his decision

met with great opposition and the Council

continued to amend money bills. He died on 22

June 1873 at Darlinghurst in New South Wales.

After the loss of his property to his wife’s family

and in an attempt to economise, they came to

live here for three years. “As the North Shore

was not easily accessible. Murray saw less of

his friends…this was a real sacrifice for him, but

it made it easier to manage on a stringent

budget”. (Murray of Yarrolumla)

Proceed to Miller St and turn right, follow brick fence to main gates

Monte Sant’ Angelo, Miller St

In the centre of the grounds of Monte Sant’

Angelo Convent is the original building, Ma-Sa-

Lou, the 1855 home of Hon. Francis Lord,

M.L.C. (son of wealthy emancipist Simeon Lord).

Francis named it after his daughters Mary,

Sarah and Louisa.

MaSaLou (1890s) is used as the

administration/offices for Monte Sant‟ Angelo.

(North Sydney Heritage Centre, PF 763)

In 1873, the Sisters of Mercy started a school in

a nearby cottage. Outgrowing this, Ma-Sa-Lou

was purchased by the Sisters of Mercy in 1878

and the girls' college opened in 1879. The Hall

was built in 1906 and a magnificent Chapel in

1915, designed by architect Joseph Sheerin

(noted for his St. Patrick's College, Manly).

Ma-Sa-Lou was the

former home of

pastoralist Francis Lord

(1812-1897). He opened

a store at Bathurst and

in 1839 and described

himself as a merchant.

He later became a

pastoralist at Cumnock,

having land in both settled and unsettled

districts. Lord signed a petition to import coolies

in 1842. He was a Member of the NSW


Legislative Council (June 1843-June 1848),

Member of the NSW Legislative Council (May

1856-May 1861) and Member of the NSW

Legislative Council (October 1864-January

1893).

Return back uphill in Miller St and cross over at McLaren St traffic lights

The Lodge, corner Miller and McLaren Sts

The home of Francis Lord (see above) from

1878 to 1892 when the property was sold to a

John Carter who leased it out immediately to

banker W C B Tiley. Lord died at Rydal in 1897.

The house was demolished in the mid-1960s to

make way for the then 2UE radio broadcasting

station. This two storey offices was subsequently

sold to developers in 1989, and with adjoining

site Nos. 37-39 McLaren St was redeveloped

with the present apartment building.

Proceed downhill in McLaren St and cross over at end to Walker St

No. 189 Walker St

This is the site of Fereneeze the grand

Victorian gothic home of William Tunks, (1816-

1883), alderman and

parliamentarian, was

born at the Nepean

River, NSW son of John

Tunks and his wife

Esther, nee Arndell. He

worked first as a

carpenter and joiner but

had retired from business

before entering

parliament.

Tunks was a retired contractor of independent

means. Apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner to

James Bynes at Parramatta, and in 1838

described himself as a carpenter. By 1851 he

was a licensee of the Curriers' Arms Inn at

Sydney. Later he was a contractor for supply of

blue metal to Sydney Municipal Council and

taking a telegraph line to Albury. He retired from

business before entering the Legislative

Assembly and lived at Ryde, and later at St

Leonards. He was a member of first cricket

eleven to play Victoria. He worked for the

Municipality of St Leonards and for the North

Shore generally. Tunks was the first Mayor of St

Leonards, NSW (1867-1883) and was re-elected

15 times and was elected member of the NSW

Legislative Assembly for the seat of St Leonards

(1864-1874).

Tunks is also considered to be the father of

public parks in North Sydney. Ald. Tunks'

personal interest in St. Leonards Park was

legendary. He is said to have walked there

nearly every day supervise the positioning of the

paths and the planting of trees and shrubs,

many which came from his own garden. A public

subscription memorial fund was established after

his death. As testament to his public works the

Tunks Memorial Fountain was erected in St.

Leonards Park in 1885. Tunks Park and Tunks

Street commemorate his name.

He died here at Fereneeze in 1883 and was

buried in Gore Hill Cemetery, Artarmon. The

house was owned by the Tunks family until the

early 1920s. It was eventually sold to property

developers in 1960 and demolished for the

present block of flats. Architect George Matcham

Pitt was tenant here briefly around 1911-13.

Proceed up the hill in Walker St and turn right into Ridge St No. 73 Ridge St

This house was built on lot 28 of Lords Paddock

Estate by North Sydney grocer John W Challand

in 1899. Edward Mann Clark (1854-1933) lived


in this house from 1908-1913 and at various

North Sydney addresses before and after this

time. He was a timber merchant. He was

educated at Oldfield's Commercial Academy in

Hobart until the age of 12 and when his father

died he moved to Sydney. He became manager

of a brick company when he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly. Initially employed with N

Dawson, watchmaker, he then worked for timber

merchants, Miller and Harrison, then Goodlet

and Smith, and by 1882 was a member of Clark

and Priestman, timber merchants. Clark was

also commissioned as a Justice of the Peace,

member of the Ku-ring-gai Chase Trust and

assisted in establishing the Taronga Zoological

Park.

Clark stood as a Labor member in 1891; free

trade in 1894; Liberal Reform in 1901 and

Independent in 1907. He was a member of the

Single Tax League and Member of the NSW

Legislative Assembly (17 June 1891-14

September 1910), Member for St Leonards

(1891-June 1894), Member for Willoughby

(November 1894-July 1895), Member for St

Leonards (July 1895-July 1898, July 1898-June

1901, July 1901-July 1904 and September 1907-

September 1910).

Apart from his state political life, he was also

heavily involved in local government politics in

North Sydney, serving as an Alderman for East

St Leonards from 1884-1890 and was its Mayor.

He served as an Alderman for North Sydney

from 1890-1928 and served two terms as Mayor

of North Sydney, 1892-1893 and 1918-1919.

Proceed to end of Ridge St St Malo, No. 97 Ridge St

St. Malo was erected in 1883 by the Reverend

Doctor Kelynack and it was then named

Lamorna. Dr Kelynack, a Methodist clergyman,

moved to Newington College in 1888 and let the

house to various tenants, including John Mitchell

Purves. The house remained in the Kelynack

family until 1900 when it is sold to Edwin Batt,

who renamed it St. Malo. Gertrude Walker, a

nurse, leased the property after Purves and

started a private hospital here. Eventually the

house was acquired as part of the St. Ives

Church of England Hospital, in conjunction with

adjoining properties, Nos. 93 and 95A Ridge St.

John Mitchell Purves

(1847-1915) was a

founder of the real

estate business, Batt,

Rodd & Purves. He

served as Member of

the Legislative

Assembly (1880-1887),

and Member for the

Clarence (1880-1887).

He also served as

Mayor of North Sydney 1897-1898, was esquire

bedell of the University of Sydney and a founder

of the Sydney Lancers. He lived at St Malo from

1894-1902, dying at Woollahra in 1915.

Cross over to St Leonards Park and visit the Tunks Fountain a short distance along the main pathway from the North Sydney War Memorial

Continue along path toward cricket nets and turn left, walk to Miller St. Cross over traffic lights. Walk along

Carlow St to end and turn right into West St. Cross over pedestrian crossing and walk along and turn left into Hayberry St

St. Leonards Lodge is located on what

became lots 11-14 in Section 2. It is presumed

that the house was demolished by 1887 when


Alfred Walker built the present houses known as

Nos. 61-67 Hayberry St.

William Lithgow retired from the office of Auditor-

General in 1852 and moved across the Harbour

to St. Leonards Lodge. He died in 1864 and is

buried in St. Thomas’ Cemetery (now Rest

Park). Nos. 61-67 Hayberry St occupies the site

of the former St. Leonards Lodge after which the

land subdivision is named and encompasses

West, Emmett, David, Hayberry and Falcon

Streets. The exact date of construction of house

is not known, but was most certainly built by

William Lithgow in the early 1850s as his private

residence. Lithgow was born in Scotland in 1784

and was educated at Edinburgh University,

graduating as a licentiate of the Church of

Scotland. Arriving in the Colony in 1820,

Lithgow's first position was as Assistant

Commissary-General. He was to hold a variety

of other administrative positions in the Colony

including Auditor-General for the Colony’s

accounts under Governor Brisbane and private

secretary to Governor Darling. Lithgow was

appointed as a member of the Legislative

Council under Governor Darling and served as

the government nominee to the 1843

Parliament, retiring from Parliament in 1856 with

the introduction of Responsible Government.

“On Saturday last, Mr William Lithgow, formerly

Auditor-general of this Colony) died at his

residence St Leonard‟s Lodge, North Shore, in

his eightieth year of his age. The deceased, who

was much respected, accumulated a

considerable amount of property during his long

and honorable career, and has left some

considerable bequests to public charities and

other colonial institutions”. His entire estate was

auctioned including: “Lot 3 - St Leonards cottage

and grounds-the residence of the late proprietor.

All that highly improved parcel of land containing

18 acres3 roods 13 perches, beautifully situated

on the heights of St, Leonards, and laid out as

ornamental grounds, garden, orchard, vineyard

and grass paddock, together with the well-known

villa St. Leonards Cottage”.

Conrad Martens sketch of William Lithgow‟s St

Leonards Lodge, 1844-1860. (Courtesy State

Library of NSW)

Sydney merchant Henry Herron Beauchamp

(partner/brother-in-law of Frederick Lassetter,

who founded the Sydney retail and wholesale

empire Lassetter and Company) purchased St

Leonards Lodge at the sale in 1864 from William

Lithgow’s estate, although he never lived here.

Holtermann family at St Leonards Lodge, 1860s.

(Courtesy State Library of NSW)


He subsequently sold the house and grounds to

Bernard Otto Holtermann in 1872. The

Holtermann family lived here until they built the

grand mansion (The Towers) which became

S.C.E.G.S. Shore School.

Bernard Holtermann died on the 29 April 1885

and is buried in the St. Thomas’ Cemetery (now

St Thomas’ Rest Park, 200 West St, Crows

Nest) and the last portion of the estate

comprising St Leonards Lodge and grounds was

auctioned in December that year. Several

streets in the vicinity of St Leonards Lodge are

named after Bernard Holtermann and his family.

Our A Premier Place to Live walking tour

ends here at Hayberry St. You can

continue this walk along West St to St.

Thomas’ Rest Park and thence to Tarella

(No. 3 Amherst St), home of Sir Joseph

Palmer Abbott.

These walking tour notes were compiled

by the Historical Services team in History

Week 2006 from resources held in the

North Sydney Heritage Centre, Stanton

Library. Ph: 99368400

a premier place to introduction live

Documents