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.. rrI-IE GREAT WESTERN
BETWEEN
LEURA AND KATOOMBA
An Historical and Archaeological Study
Grace Karskens M.A.
July, 1990
THE GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY
LEURA ~~d KATOOMBA
AN HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL S~UDY
by
GRACE KARSKENS
Historian/Historical Archaeologist
for
ROADS AND TRAFFIC AUTHORITY
Central Mountains Division, Lithgaw
June-July, 1990
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I wish to thank the following persons and organisations for their assistance and advice:
Mr Mark Broderick, Blue Mountains City Council
Blue Mountains City Council
Ms Helen Haliwell, Blue Mountains Local History Library, Springwood
Mitchell Library
Mr Ted Sadler, Blue Mountains City Council
Mr Bob Walker, R.T.A. Central Mountains Division
Mr Bruce White, R.T.A. Central Mountains Division
Ms Margaret Williams, Corpers Business Service-s
Dr Richard Waterhouse, Waterhouse's Capable Babycare Service
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CONTENTS
1.00 INTRODUCTION
2 .. 00 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
2 . 1 OVERVIEW: THE ·BLUE MOUNTAINS
2.1.1 2.1.2. 2.1. 3 2.1.4
Aboriginal Occupation Early European Exploration and Settlement The Railways and Establishment of Towns The Twentieth Century
2.2 DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDY AREA
2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.2.4
Chateau Napier Precinct Early Leura Township Precinct Marmion Estate Precinct North Katoomba Precinct
3.00 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
3 . 1 • J
THE SURVEY, AND THEMATIC CONTEXTS
3.2 ROAD BUILDING
3.3 RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT
3.4 MOUNTAIN RETREATS
3.5 TOWNSHIP DEVELOPMENT
3 . 6 COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND SERVLCES
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3 • 7 TOURISM
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4.00 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
5.00 IMPACT ,OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AND, CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 CHATEAU NAPIER PRECINCT - ITEMS 1-5
5.2 EARLY LEURA TOWNSHIP PRECINCT _ ITEMS 6-14
5.3 MARMION ESTATE PRECINCT - ITEMS 15-18
5.4 NORTH KATOOMBA PRECINCT - ITEMS 19-26
NOTES
APPENDIX A'
INVENTORY OF HERITAGE ITEMS LOCATED IN THE STUDY AREA
APPENDIX B
LOCATION PLANS
1 . CHATEAU NAPIER PRECINCT
2 . EARLY LEURA TOWNSHIP PRECINCT 3 . MARMIAN ESTATE PRECINCT
4 . NORTH KATOOMBA PRECINCT
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1.00 INTRODUCTION
This study was commissioned by the Roads and Traffic
Authority (Central Mountains Division) as a preliminary
investigation of archaeological/heritage sites along the
Great Western Highway between Leura and Katoomba, New South
Wales. The stu~y area is the corridor along which highway
widening and reconstruction is proposed it is bounded by
the Great Western Railway along the south and the northern
boundaries of properties fronting the hlghway along the
north, and extends from Mt Hay Road in the east to 230m west
of Bowling Green Avenue in the west (see map I}.
The study's function is primarily to identify and evaluate
sites of cultural significance within the study area, to
assess the impact of the proposed new work and to devise
strategies for conservation where necessary and appropriate.
Some understanding of the area's historica~ development is
essential for these tasks, although the project brief did
not include a detailed and exhaustive investjgation of the
area or the individual sites. Such research, however, is
certainly warranted for some of the items located ..
Accordingly, this study includes a brief historical overview
of the development of the Great Western Highway, Leura and
Katoomba, from which major historical themes may be drawn in
order to interpret and assess the material record. More
specific data on the study area itself is also presented,
based largely on the subdivision plans for the area.
Section 3 is a discussion of the present material record
within the study area and the extent to which it represents
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past activities. Each item is also recorded individually in
the inventory (Appendix A). Section 4 present$ a statement
of significance for the study area. Statements of significance for each item have been included on the
inventory sheets. Section 5 discusses the impact of the
proposed highway on the heritage items located and the
conservation strategies considered appropriate for each site.
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HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT
OVERVIEW - THE BLUE MOUNTAINS
Aboriginal Occupation
It is believed that the central area of the Blue Mountains
was the territory of the Dharug tribe, whose region also
extended over the Cumberland Plain below. The Gandangara
people occupied the Southern Highlands and the southerly
part of the Blue Mountains, while the Wiradjuri lived to the
west; whether or not they occupied the western slopes is unclear.
Data about Aboriginal occupation of the mountains comes
mainly ~rom archaeological'sites such as rock shelters, art'
sites and open (scattered) sites. While these qo show that
the mountains were inhabited, it is not known for certain
whether the people were plain dwellers who moved seasonally
into the area, or whether they were permanent occupants.
Since European activity has focused on the Great Western
Highway, most of the sites so far investigated fall within
this corridor along the ridge. The vast areas still in
their natural state offer a resource from which we may learn
more of Aboriginal lifeways in this region'1
No Aboriginal sites were located within the study area.
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2.1.2 Early European Exploration and Settlement
There had been numerous attempts to cross the sandstone
barrier of the Blue Mountains before the successful
expedition of Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William
Charles Wentworth in 1813. The earlier attempts were
motivated more by scientific curiosity than economic
necessity, and by 1805 Governor King concluded that if the
mountains were not, in fact, impassable, they were "so
di ff icul t as to be not worthl-.'h i le" . It is thought that
Blaxland and Lawson often talked with the botanist George
Caley whose failed journey, like those before, demonstrated
the wrong methods of exploration. Perhaps the "famous
solution of keeping to the heights" emerged in these
conversations. It is possible, too, that the continuous
ridge linking the Grose and Cox Valleys was an Aboriginal
route and that the famous explorers owed much to Aboriginal
guides'2
The steep ridge they followed became the focus of European
activity in the Blue Mountains to the present day. William
Cox's men, convicts hand-picked fo= their strength and
willingness, hacked out a rough, at times impassable, track
along it in 1814-15, and were rewarded with emancipation,
land and stock.. Improvements were made continuously over
the 1820s and 1830s, especially during the period of the
ambitious Surveyor General, Thomas Mitchell. By the late
1830s, the rough track had become the Great Western Road,
endowed with handsome bridges, retaining walls and huge
cuttings blasted out from the mountains ides by convict gangs
Fig. 2 ,\ugustus Earle' s "I\ing' s Table Land, Blue '!0lJnt;,in c ";PF ~(\llth ~'31",,,, +:!:~ ::>'~I='('~'.:-2:':c neh' road" c 1826. \\01'1, on the Western 01'
Hoad h'a undcrh'a~' conti nU311)' during the> 1830s.
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now working as punishment rather than for rewards. Like the
Great Roads to the North and South, the Western Road was
powerfully symbolic of the colony's progress towards a
civilized state within the course of empire. The mountains
themselves, however, ~emained in the European mind a
threatening barrier of bleak and blasted landscapes
separating the comforting and fertile green valley floors to
the east and west. The scatter of early rough roadside inns
became more genteel towards the 1840s as the early trickle
of travellers grew to a throng during the gold rushes of the
1850s. Few lived in the mountains though; most were passing
through from Sydney to the west and back again'3
2.1. 3 The Railways and Establishment of Towns
··The hazardous days of road travel seemed final~y over when a
railway ~.as opened over the mountains to Bathurst between
1867 and 1879. A station was opened at Weatherboard (now
Wentworth Falls) in 1867, and another in 1874 at The
Crushers (later Katoomba) where, apart from the heavy stone
crushing machinery for the road and railway, the area was deserted. 4
At the same time a shift in cultural outlooks and taste was
beginning to transform the mountains in the Victorian mind
from a desolate wilderness to "God's workshop", where
evidence of the almighty hand could be r~garded with "
sublime
almost pantheistic reverence. From the 1870s the mountains
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offered, to those who could afford it, a retreat from the increasing congestion and grime of booming Sydney. Influential and well-to-do families built elegant homes and laid out extepsive English-style gardens along the ridges, and several paid for private platforms to be erected on the railway lines.5
During the 1880s tourism boomed in the Blue Mountains as hundreds crowded onto the trains in order to take in the sights. Katoomba, propelled by astute local businessmen into a thoroughly modern "model" tourist town, bepame the focus of attraction. J.B. North's South Katoomba Coal Mines established in 1870 had inadvertently initiated this boom by . leading to the discovery of the breathtaking sights at Echo Point and the Three Sisters'6
Land around the various railway stations was broken up and sold off in suburban allotments in the 1880s and 1890s, and cottages and villas, most of timber with iron roofs, appeare~ on them! particularly fro~' the turn of the century. The Victorian and early twentieth century obsession with fresh ~ir and physicai/spiritual renewal as an antidote for life in the increasingly crowded and diseased city led to the establishment of large numqers of guest houses {by 1917 there were sixty in Katoomba alone}, hospitals t health resorts (such as the Hydro Majestic) and boarding schools where children could experience the joys of the "strenuous life".;
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aerial view of Katoomba showing its proximity the valleys {from Julie Stockton, "Health and
tion", in Spearri tt and Bushell, p. 83. I
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2.1.4 The Twentieth Century
The boom continued through to the
with the growth of motor transport,
was improved after years of neglect.
1920s and particularly
for which the highway
By the 1930s Katoomba was the honeymoon capital of New South Wales, while Leura
traded on a more refined image of gracious houses and smart shops.
After World War 11, though, and with the enormous changes in
outlooks, population, technology, education and transport of
the post-war period, the Mountains lost favour to the new
hedonistic cult of the beach. Compared to the freedom of
sun, sand and surf they seemed old fashioned, constricted and tame. The guesthouses became seedy and dilapidated. the
town centres languished, the man-made "improvements" to the
various natural sights seemed tiresome and ugly. In 1957 a
bushfire swept over the ridge destroying many older homes
and buildings of the upper mountains. During the 1970s and
1980s, a new wave of nostalgia for all things old fashioned,
and days which seemed simpler and safer, led to the
repopularisation of the Blue Mountains as a holiday retreat
for those seeking rest in the clear air and spectacular
views, and "old world charm" in the old guesthouses and streetscapes of the towns.
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2. 2 DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDY AREA
The study area reflects several of the historical themes
outlined above. For ease of discussion and reference, the
area has been broken up into four precincts, each with
distinguishing historical development, viz:
2.2.1
1. Chateau Napier Precinct - from Mt Hay Road to Leura Mall.
2. Early Leura Township Precinct - from Leura Mall
to Wentworth Street.
3. Marmion Estate Precinct - from Wentworth Street to Queens Road.
4. North Katoomba Precinct - from Queens Road to 230m
north of Bowling Green Avenue.
Chateau Napier Precinct
When the railway station at Leura opened in 1891 the land
east of Leura Mall was still large portions : G.S. Goyder
and David Brown owned eighty acres ~overing this precinct,
while the "island" formed by the road and railway was Crown "
Land. In 1895 the latter area, comprising sandstone
formations, light soil and bounded along the railway by a
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three rail split fence, was put up for sale by the
government and the outlines of the present subdivision
pattern were established. Leura Mall south of the highway
had been-laid out 100 links (2? yards/20.1ml wide and Mt Hay
Road 200 links (44 yards/40.2m) wide. Building development
was gradual: by about 1910, with the sale of the Leura
Station Estate, two houses existed on the south side of the
highway (on portions 171 and 172) one of which may be Item 2
(cottage); and another, The Sisters, probably named for the
celebrated Three Sisters, fronted Leura Mall. It is thought
that the fine paling fence still in situ (Item 5) belonged
to this house.
The Leura Station Estate (c1910) subdivided land on the
north side of the highway between west of Leura Mall and Mt
Hay Road. The four blocks ease of Leura Mall were puchased
by Justin McSweeney who built a large timber guesthouse,
Chateau Napier (Item 4) on Lots 2 and 3 in 1911; another
large wing fronting Leura Mall on Lot 1 appears to date from
the 'twenties. Houses and cotta;;'tes app,eared' on the- 'blocks
further east'," among them No. 21 (Item 1), a small gabled
cot tage, and No. - 27 (Item 3), a timber bayed house set high
above the road in a well planted terraced garden.
The Willow Park subdivision of 1914 advert,ised as the "last
of the Bathurst Road Frontages" in the area, showed Leura
Public School on the Mt Hay Road corner opposite the study
area. The disasterous 1957 bushfire burnt Ch~teau Napier to
the ground, leaving its shape outlined by ruins and the
grounds marked by large conifers and brick and stone walls.s "
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2.2.2 Early Leura Township Precinct
Although the boom in Katoomba real estate led to a
subdivision attempt (Towarra Estate, c1898-90) south of the
line at Leura even before the establishment of the station
there, the earliest buildings in the area appear to have
occurred north of the highway, within the study area.
The stationmaster's cottage (Item 10) may be contemporary
with the station (1891), and the local Rate Books also show
a house and store owned by R.E. Waddington on Lot 4 of
Section 5 by 1894. This would have stood between Wentworth
Street and Highlands Road, formerly called Station Street.
R.E. Waddington himself prepared a plan of his land for
subdivision in 1896 ~.Jhich showed his house "Tl.Jyford" at the
corner of Wentworth Street, and a Post Office and a store on
the allotment at the corner of Highland Street (now a
factory/bus depot). The area behind was fenced off and used
for poul try sheds and yards; the ground was "h'ell trenched"
and a row of pines and other trees ran along the whole frontage.
By 1897 another house belonging to C.H.E. Lindeman, a
prominent local figure, had been built on the next block
eastwards (Section 6, portions 1, 2 and 3). It was occupied
by T.S. Manuel in 1899, and by 1905 Lindeman also owned a
shop/dwelling, probably the corner site, in this section
(both house and shop now archaeological site - Item 13).
Two more houses had also appeared near Twyford in Section 5 b;\T 189'9.
The sale of the huge Marmion Estate from 1897 onwards also
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spurred growth. It covered much of the study area from just
east of Highland Street, westwards to the present-day site
6~ Blue Mountains District Anzac Memorial Hospital. Those
par~s fr~nting the highway opposite Leura Station were
apparently re-subdivided and sold off in subsequent years.
The roadside "village" was more consolidated by 1912, with a
smithy shop on Lot 3 of Section 3 (just west of Leura Mall)
and a shop on Lot 1 (extant - Item 11). The cottage at No.
57 Great Western Highway (Item 12) appears in the Rate
for 1914-16. By that time Lindeman's shop/dwelling
13) was occupied by Barnes Bros General Store, and
Books
(Item
the adjacent house was known as Landsbury or "Welshe's
Residental" (sic). One of the subdivision plans also shows
a school in the vicinity of the Lindeman house.
By 1907 Leura, south of the railway line was also attracting
development although subdivision plans show a cluster of
houses and shops north of the line. By about 1910 a
Professor Butler appears to have been in residence at
Yallambee, a splendid Queen Anne style residence built for a
wealthy shipping broker, Mr Schoffels, and perched on one of
the early Crown Lands allotments overlooking Leura Mall and
the station. The Alexandra Hotel nearby was built in 1902,
its first wing facing the railway station, a later wing
(c19151) facing the road and its increased motor traffic.
An archaeological site at 46 Great Western Highway was a
house and garden which may date from this period.
The 1957 bushfire also took its toll from this precinct, "
burning out the shop, dwelling and house at the northeast
corner of Highland Street, and probably all the early houses
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Fig. 11 An early vie~ of the Alexandra Hotel, Leura (from Old Leura and Katoomba, p. 184).
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between Highland and Wentworth Streets. The latter sites
have been redeveloped, but the former still lie in ruins.9
2.2.3 Marmion Estate Precinct
The Marmion Estate, first subdivided in 1897, covered the
area north of the highway between Leura and Katoomba, apart
from a small, narrow section between Eastview and Mount
Streets. The subdivision created Kings and Queens Roads and
the allotments were aimed at home-builders. Surviving
examples of early development are Pine Glen cottage (Item
16) and Hailsham (Item 17) at 141 and 157 Great Western
Highway respectively. The Federation style house at 129
Great Western Highway (Item 15) was built on two lots of the
later Leura Heights Estate (c1905) .10
2.2.4 North Katoomba Precinct
Although the main centre of present day Katoomba lies on the
south side of the railway, it was the area north of the
road/railway that was first laid out as the village of
Katoomba in 1882. Its all uut deserted bushland was mapped
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out in a rectilinear pattern typical of nineteenth
town planning, and a cemetery and recreation/park
was set aside. The latter became the site of Katoomba's
showground and of the Anzac Memorial Hospital. David Jones'
30 acres between Camp Street and Bowling Green Avenue
(formerly Winifred Street) was left undivided, and the
curving highway formed its frontage. Surveyor Potter marked an "old church" on this site (see Item 24), and the
archaeological survey located early-style stonework along
the property frontage, which may be either an early section
of road works or an early property boundary. A quarry from
which the stone may have been taken stood at the present day
Hospital Road junction.
In 1888 the Katoomba Township, north of the highway, was on
the market, and the section fronting Orient and Camp Streets had been bought up. James H. Neale's 40 acres, adjacent to
David Jones' land, was subdivided but still not sold off in 1890. By 1897 it had several residences on it, including The Rocks on the site of the later Ht St Mary Convent. David Jones' thirty acres was sold off as Grimley's subdivision in 1897 (Camp Street to Bowling Green Avenue)
and the highway frontages were regularised at this stage.
The Victorian/Federation style Rathmines (Item 25) was built
on one of these allotments. Further north, RosEwood Cottage
(Item 23) was built on one of the township allotments first to be sold off. It appeared, with two others between Orient
and Camp Streets, on the 1912 Clearscene Estate subdivision
plan. A bowling green had also been established on Winifred
Street/Bowling Green Avenue, and by 1919 there were houses
all ''along the highway front.H ge .1 I
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Mount St Mary's convent and boarding school (Item 26) opened
in 1901 and the present large Italianate building was
commenced in 1909 on the site of The Rocks. The latter was
removed to the corner of Bowling Green. Avenue and the
highway where it remained until it was recently demolished.
The Catholic sisters sold off part of their land fronting
Bowling Green Avenue and Station Street from 1923.12
The 'twenties also mark the establishment of service
buildings for the growing
grandstand was erected at the
community. A solid brick
showground (Item 22) and the
neo-classical style Anzac Memorial Hospital in its site set
well back from the highway was opened in 19Q7.13 Part of
the large frontage to the highway was given over as a war
memorial garden set with small plaques and planted with
shrubs and firs.
Fig. 14 South facade of Ht St Hary's convent and boarding school n.d. (from Old Leura and Katoomba p. 120).
SHAO£D fOTS ONLY TO Bf SOLD
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THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
RECORD
3 . 1 THE SURVEY AND THEMATIC CONTEXTS •
The study area was examined via windscreen survey and foot on June 25 and 27, 1990. The nature of the area
on
is tied fundamentally to road and rail-side development, the narrow ridge along which the road and railway run is
for
and has been the main focus of European activity in the Blue
Mountains. The survival of the archaeological (physical)
record has been dependent on the l±fespan of materials used . in early buildings, on successive phases of highway widening
and deviation, to a lesser degree on development pressures,
and to a dramatic extent on bushfires which destroyed so
much of the evidence of past activity.
The twenty six items located in the study area fall into the
following historic~thematic context ·and may be interpreted within them:
1. RQad building.
2. Railway development.
3. Mountain retreats.
4. Township development.
6. Tourism.
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3 • 2 ROAD BUILDING
Two examples of early twentieth century road construction
were located in Precinct 2 (Early Leura Township) there
are remnants of early municipal roadworks on Highland Street
(Item 14). Timber kerbs and stone carriageway edging occur
on the eastern side of the road. Timber kerbs are rare
survivors, although other examples have been located at
Wentworth Falls'14 The features probably date from after
the Marmion Estate subdivision of 1897 and the growth of the
Leura township along the highway in the 1890s and 1900s.
Another interesting road construction feature is the
sUbstantial rock faced retaining wall between Kings and
Queens Roads in Precinct 3 (Item ,18). It rises to
approximately 2.5m' supporting the embankment carrying the
'highway above. It comprises 3 to 10 courses of dry laid
stone, and is thought to date from the early twentieth
century, for its style matches other work of the period (for
example, on Leura Mall and at the Chateau Napier site
Items 4, 5 and 6). The raising of the road at this point
was most likely a response to the increase in motor transport at the time.
One further possible example of roadwork is the low wall
fronting the vacant blocks between Camp Street and Edwin
Lane (Precinct 4, Item 24). Although at present
undocumented, the dry laid ashlar stonework with its
sparrow-picked finish closely resembles convict-built
retaining ~alls of the 1830s which OCCur elsewhere on the
Great Western Highway (for example at Lapstone Bridge and Mt
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Victoria Viaduct) and on the Great North Road around
Wiseman's Ferry. The wall is about 15-20m long and 60cm
high and lies well below the level of the adjacent footpath.
Its other possible origins are as a boundary wall for the
early church marked nearby on the 1882 survey, or for early
houses built on the Grimley Estate after 1897. Further
historical and archaeological research is thus required in
order to assess the wall's significance.
3 . 3 RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT
The study area contains two railway. buildings, both in
Precinct 2 Leura Railway Station (Item 9) and the
stationmaster's cottage (Item 10) at 70 Great Western
Highway. The brick and render station is substantially
intact, with a hipped roof, and falls within the National
Trust L~ura Conservation Area. The old statiorimaster's
cottage is a very plain asymmetrical cottage of Flemish bond
brickwork with a gabled bay and sash windows. The verandah
has been partly infilled with fibro, and the roof recovered with unsympathetic tiles.
the oldest buildings in
generally.
It is, nowever, probably one of
the study area and in Leura
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3.4 MOUNTAIN RETREATS
Leura and Katoomba and many other mountains towns attracted
numerous wealthy families from the 1870s onwards. They'
built substantial homes which were often intentionally
romantic and picturesque to blend with the sublime views.
Yallambee, in Leura Mall (Item 6), is a good example of an
early twentieth century mountain retreat. It is set in a
mature garden with a curving pathway and a massive rock faced
fence and steps to Leura Mall. Its romantic Queen Anne
design, with steeply pitched tile roof, half timbered twin
gables with shingles and brackets, was typfcal of some of
the mountains' large scale domestic architecture. Similar
buildings are The Ritz Guest House (now a nursing
nearby, and Jenolan Caves House. Yallambee, together
its many ancillary buildings and gardens appears
intact and falls within the Leura Conservation Area.
3 • 4 TOWNSHIP DEVELOPMENT
home)
with
to be
Most of the items located in the study area are houses,
ranging from small timber cottages to large brick villas.
They were built on allotments subdivided around the railway
~tation and along the highway from the 1890s onwards,
typically of timber with iron roofs and pretty details.
Early plans '6f the area ~how rows of these houses radiating
from both Leura and Katoomba; the items identified here are
thus the intermittent survivors of those early streetscapes.
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Fig. 18 Leura Conservation Area is Classified by the National Trust of Australia IN.S.W.) and recognised by the Local Environment Plan. The section north of the railway falls within the study area. (Blue Mountains City Council)
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Among the more modest houses are weatherboard Federation style cottages (Items 12 and 16) which are intact although run down. Such houses were very common in the early twentieth century and could be bought prefabricated from firms like George Hudson & Co. Rosewood Cottage (now a restaurant - Item 23) demonstrates how these houses can be restored, particularly through appropriate paint colour schemes, and sympathetically extended. Other less intact cottages face one another across the highway in Precinct 1 (Items 1 and 2). Two larger Federation style houses, both set in mature gardens are 129 Great Western Highway (Item 3, Precinct 1) and Hailsham, 157 Great Western Highway (Item 17, Precinct 3). At No. 129, a stone flagged path and steps lead up successive densely planted terraces to a bayed timber house with a hipped and gabled iron roof and timber detailing. Hailsham, by contrast, nestles on slopes below the road surrounded by an extensive terraced garden with established stands of conifers, the rare Eucalyptus Oreades (Blue Mountains Ash), poplars and azaleas. At the rear the mature orchard is bordered by blue spruce, rhododendrons, maples and conifers.ls Both these houses have unsympathetic alterations, for example infilled verandahs and foundations, but in both cases restoration appears to be feasible. In their fine gardens they, like Yallambee, offer evocative views on the establishment and evolution of mountains homes during the first half of the twentieth century.
Another earlier timber house, Rathmines (Item 25), was probably built soon after the Grimley's subdivision of 1897. Although the symmetrical facade has been partly altered by an enclosure, the side elevation reveals intact Jours, windows and verandah details of a transitional Victorian/
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Federation character. The steeply pitched roof has symmetrically placed brick chimneys.
A large brick and roughcast villa, (Item 15, c1910-15) stands on ~n elevated block above the highway on the Leura Heights Estate. It has lost its original roof material (now
modern tiles) and its timber balustrade, but retains the
timber-floored· return verandah with bevelled posts and
curvilinear valences, as well as bays of casement windows
with some diamond-patterned top lights. A row of large firs
flanks the house to the east, but there is little else remaining of the garden.
One further site within this thematic context is the site of
a ruined house at 46 Great Western Highway (Item 7). A
fence and c1910 gate open onto a small garden of rockeries.
The overgrown ruins of a house, possibly that shown on the
c1910 Leura, Station Estate subdivision plan, terrace apove this garden. Further
lie on a
historical/ archaeological investigation may reveal its significance,
"
age and the nature of occu~ancy.
3 • 5 COMMUNITY SERVICES AND FACILITIES
Early Australian towns and suburbs relied largely on pr~vate initiative for their basic services. If the populations
grew large, and insistent enough, the towns were eventually
endowed with public schools, hospitals and recreational
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facilities. Thus the earlier services in the study area
were the shops, Post Office, and school at Leura (Precinct
2). Of these, the site of C.H. Lindeman's shop/dwelling and
hOQse survives at the corner of Great Western Highway and Highland Street (Item 13) , comprising wall walls, foundati6ns, steps, mounds of rubble and a scatter of
surface artifacts. A small rendered brick shop built hard
on the property boundary (Item 11) at the corner of Leura
Mall is the only other material evidence of the early village.
More substantial community facilities appeared in the 1920s; . three are located in Precinct 4. The Blue Mountains
District Anzac Memorial Hospital (Item 20) was opened in
1927 on a large Crown Land s~te set back from the hlghway.
The red brick and sandstone main wing with its large
classical pediment and sandstone portico appears to be
intact but is obscured by the many more functionally-styled buildings around it. Part of the grounds fronting the highwa~ were·given over to an Anzac Memorial Garden (Item 19 c1920s or 30s, or possibly later) staked on either side of a gravel timber posts with memorial plaques.
planted with firs and
path with small, white
The showground adjacent
small brick grandstand to the hospital was endowed with a
(Item 22 - 1920s) topped by an ornamental ventilator. This structure is also largely intact, although in need of-maintenance. Mens' and Ladies' conveniences in matching style and materials are perched on the slopes behind it.
At the western end of the study area the former Mt St Mary's "
convent and boarding school (item 26, 1909-10) forms a gateway landmark for Katoomba. It is a very large 3-storey
building of pared-down Italianate style, with round arched
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windows and loggias, pilasters and a square four-storey
tower. The main building is flanked on the west by a
Spanish Mission style wing (1930s) and on the east by an unsympathetic 1960s blond brick wing ..
3 • 6 TOURISM
The study area contains two sites which demonstrate the Blue
Mountains' traditional economic reliance on' ~ourism: the Chateau Napier site and the Alexandra Hotel .
. The Chateau Napier site (Item 4, Precindt 1) is marked by a
cluster of promirient mature conifers standing on the
elevated site above the highway. The remains of a once
balustraded fence and an intact stuccoed archway and steps
still stand on Leura Mall. Beyond are th~ burnt out remairi~ of two main· wings of the guest house, the older timber
section on the two middle portions, and the 1920s stYle wing
on the western side. The ruins comprise partly intact walls
(1920s wing), wall foundations, a long pathway and series of
steps leading from the highway to a terrace/landing, a large
expanse of concrete paving, possibly a tennis court, the
concrete floors of garages to the rear (near Britain Street)
and a high brick perimeter wall curving around the
northwestern corner. The highway frontage is bounded by a
substantial rock-faced wall 3-4m in height of uncoursed
l"'andolll bonded ashlar masonry. The extent to which the site
has been altered since the 1957 bushfire is not known, but
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no evidence of new structures was found.
some shrubs and ground Cover plants
survive along the highway frontage.
Mature trees and
(e. g. agapanthus)
The Alexandra Hotel (Item 8, Precinct 2) on the opposite
side of the highway has two facades : the older 1903 facade
(which may incorporate more than one building stage) faces
Leura Railway Station, its picturesque timber detailed style
greeting visitors as they alighted from the train. A later
small wing (c1915) tacked onto the rear of the timber house
faces the road, acknowledging the rise in trade from
motorists. While the railway side features ornate brackets,
spindles, arches and posts surmounted by a "tudor" gable of
half timbering and roughcast, the road side resembles a shop
front, with a simple curvilinear paparet.
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and e. (Blue Mountan
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LEURA ~EWERAGE
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STATEMENT OF
SIGNIFICANCE
The study area is significant for the following reasons:
4.1 Historic
4.2 Archaeological
"
The present Great Western Highway
runs along the line of earliest European
exploration and movement into the interior, and the area has served this
purpose continuously sin~e 1815.
significance is enhanced by
This
the existence of early twentieth century
engineering features such as retaining
walls, kerbs and carriageway edging, and
a retaining wall possible dating from
the 1830s (Items 14,18 and 24). The road itself is also historically significant because of the role it
played in attracting and shaping town
development along its route ..
The area contains three sites of
archaeological potential, including the Chateau Napier site, the Lindeman shop/ dwelling and house site and the house site at 46 Great Western Highway (Items 4, 7 and 13) . Another unconfirmed site is that of an early Church (pre 1882) and early roadworks (Item 24). These
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sites represent a repository of
information about late nineteenth and
early twentieth century life in these
areas.
4.3 Architectural The area contains a range of
4.4
domestic architecture of the 1900-1920s
includin~ cottages, villas and a mansion
which, although contrasting in scale,
are typical of Blue
architecture in material~,
Mountains
style and
detailing. They are physical reminders
of the character of early township and
roadside development
'Katoomba.
in Leura and
Natural/Cultural Parts of the study area are notable
Land'Scape J for th~ir vistas of natural and man-made
landscapes. These include views to the
,north over escarpmen~s and valleys (for
example from 129 Great Western HighwaY)J
stands of large, dark conifers (for
example, at the Chateau Napier site),
valley vistas of exotic deciduous trees
and stands of the rare Eucalyptus
Oreades (Blue Mountains Ash around
Hailsham, and opposite the hospital),
and terraced, fenced, mature gardens "
which surround early twentieth century
homes (for example, 127 Great Western
Highway, Yallambee and Hailsham).
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Statements of significance for each item are given in the Inventory (Appendix A).
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IMPACT OF PROPOSED
DEVELOPMENT AND
CONSERVATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
The study area contains a considerable number of sites of great variety and consequently, differing levels of significance requiring a range of conservation strategies.
The historic nature of the highway itself (see 4.1 above)
will not be compromised by the new work, since the latter is
part of its ongoing historical function, and, in any case,
much of the highway has already been modernised. Some of
the items identified by this study, however, would be
destroyed by the new work as proposed, and in a few cases
they are considered to be of such valu'e that ·all e'fforts
should be made to conserve them, including
examination of all development options and
historical/archaeological research. The
careful
further
following discussion and assessment is based on the new ~orks J as planned at ~resent and on consultation made with designers
from the . R.T.A. 's Central Mountains Division. The
recommendations are made in accordance with the Australian
ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Culteral
Significance (The Burra Charter).
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5 . 1 CHATEAU NAPIER PRECINCT
Item 1 Cottage, 21 Great Western Highway
The present plans do not affect this cottage. Should it be
affected by future planning, a photographic and plan record
should be made in case of demoliton; if possible the
structure could ·be sold off for removal and re-erection
'elsewhere.
Item 2 Cottage, 8 Great Western Highway
The present plans do not affect this cottage.
conservation should be as for Item 1.
Strategy for
Item 3 House and Garden, 27 Great Western Highway
The front fence, garage and a limited sect"ion of the garden
are to be destroyed by the proposed work. As the house is
set well back in the terraced garden and above the highway,
this is considered acceptable as long as suitable fencing
and trees are reinstated along the new work.
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Item 4 Chateau Napier site, Great Western Highway, Corner Leura Mall
The proposed work will involve the demoliton of the fine
stone retaining wall on the highway frontage of this site
and it is thought that construction work may destabilise the
extant archway, wall and steps fronting Leura Mall, as well
as significantly altering their visual context. As the
stone wall and archway are of considerable townscape/
aesthetic value, as are the mature conifers behind them, it
would be preferable not to disturb this site at all. If
such disturbance is, in the final analysis, unavoidable, is recommended that:
it
1.
2.
3.
4.
The site as a whole be subject to a full historical/
archaeological investigation and recording.
The retaining wall be recorded before dismantling,
re-erected as part of the new work.
As many trees as possible are retained.
and
The archway and steps are stabilised and retained in situ.
Item 5 Timber Paling Fence, East Side of Leura Mall
This item is not affected by the present roadway "
If it is '~ffected by fuLure plans, the fence proposals.
should be dismantled and reused to define the property boundary,
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5 • 2 EARLY LEURA TOWNSHIP PRECINCT
Item 6 Yallambee, 117-121 Leura Mall
The proposed work runs well clear of Yallambee and its
garden and ancillary buildings. The site must not be
disturbed or destroyed by future work.
Item 7 House and garden site, 46 Great Western Highway
This site is not affected by the work as proposed. If it is
affected by future proposals, it should first be subject to
an historical/archaeological investigation and recording.
Item 8 Hotel Alexandra, Great Western Highway, west of Leura Mall
The proposed work will only affect part of the property
frontage to the highway; this is considered acceptable as
this area seems of no particular significance. Future
proposals should avoid destruction of either of the wings
and consider landscaping to enhance the vista to the hotel.
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Item 9 Leura Railway Station
The proposed work will not affect the station.
Item 10 Stationmaster's Cottage
Part of the front yard of the cottage will be taken by the
work as proposed. This is acceptable, though sympathetic
fencing and planting would soften the impact and improve the
vista to the cottage. Although the cottage is at present
nondescript and in need of restoration, it is likely to be
one of Leura's earliest buildings; future p~anning should avoid its demolition.
Item 11 Shop, Great Western Highway, corner Leura Mall
This building is not affected by the proposed works. If it
is affected by future work, it should be. fully recorded before dem6litlon.
Item 12 Cottage, 57 Great Western Highwaz
The proposed work will involve demolition of this cottage.
As there are many examples of this type in the mountains,
and probably thousands in Sydney, demolition is considered
acceptable. A photographic/plan record should be made
beforehand, and ideally the house should be sold for removal elsewhere.
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Item 13 Lindeman's shop/dwelling and house site, Great
Western Highway, corner Highland Street
The front (south) boundary of this archaeological
including wall foundations, will be destroyed by the site,
works as proposed. This is acceptable only if a full historical
and archaeological investigation is undertaken beforehand.
Item 14 Road construction features, Highland Street
These features are relatively rare and should be left
situ as far as possible. Any remaking of Highlands
should if possible match the stone and timber features the old work.
5 • 3 . MARMION ESTATE PRECINCT
Item· 15 House and row of pine trees, 129 Great Western Highway
in
Road
of
The work as proposed involves the demolition of this house;
if it is retained, its front bay will stand only 2m from an
approximately 7m drop to the highway below. The
significance of the house is not outstanding; it is a fairly
plain and to some extent altered example of its type.
However, it is a large, spacious house, capable of
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restoration, on a high site with views over the valleys to the south,and a large rear yard. It is considered that the house might well be worth saving if possible, even with the higpway close to its frontage; proceeds from its resale (and hence possible restoration) may outweigh the cost of demolition/retention.
Item 17 Hailsham and garden, 157 Great Western Highway
At this stage the R.T.A. proposes to dismantle and relocate Hailsham and to clear its front (south) gardeh in order to make way for new work. If the house is left in situ, the highway will pass within 2m of the south facade. This site is considered to be of such significance that neither of these actions are acceptable on conservation grounds, since the house derives much of its importance from its garden setting. The house in isolation, and in its present altered state, +-would ,not warrant" the expense of removal. Further, the Australian ICOMOS Charter f'"or" the" Conservation o"f Places of Culturql Significance (The Burra Charter) states that buildings should remain in their historical location, except as a last resort (Article 9).
Conservation strategies for this site include:
1. Close examination of all alternatives to the present highway design with a view to conserving Hailsham and its garden intact and along present boundaries.
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2. Close examination of all alternatives with a view to
mitigating the impact of the new work., for example
through resuming only a portion and relocating the
fence, ornaments and plantings.· This should be
underta~en together with (3).
3. Commission a conservation plan for the site to be
prepared by
architectural
consultants qualified
and historic gardens
in historical,
research and
assessment. This plan should involve the working out
of a design option which does least possible damage to
the site.
Item 18 Retaining Wall, Great Western Highway between
Kings and Queens Roads
The work as ·proposed will involve the demolition of this
retaining wall. While it would be pr~ferable {o'··preserve
the wall in situ, if this is not possible, its recording,
dismantling and re-erection as part of the ~ew ~ork would be
an acceptable alternative.
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Item 19
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NORTH KATOOMBA PRECINCT
Anzac Memorial Garden within the grounds'of Blue Mountains District
Anzac Memorial Hospital
This item is at present unaffected by the proposed work. If
it is affected by future planning, it is considered
acceptable to remove and replant the garden elsewhere in the
hospital grounds, subject to consultation with relevant
community groups.
Item 20 Blue Mountains District Anzac Memorial Hospital
The significant buildings ~.;i thin the hospital complex are
unaffected by the Pl'oposed work and are unlikely to be
affected .. by future plans. The foreground of the hospital
frontin.<;. t·he Great Western Highway is 'of no heritage
significance.
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Item 21
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Remnant Stand of Eucalyptus Oreades (Blue
Mountains Ash) Great Western Highway opposite
Blue Mountains District Anzac Memorial Hospital
The work as proposed involves the destruction of this stand.
The trees are listed on Blue Mountains City Council
Significant Tree Register as rare remnants of the original
high mountain forest and hanging swamps at the headwaters of
Leura Cascades.I6 The new highway design ~hould be re
examined to see whether. the trees might be preserved. It is
recommended that consultation be carried out between the
R.T.A., Blue Mountains City Council and local conservation
groups.
Item 22 Grandstand and Auxiliary Buildings
These struc~ures are not affected .by the proposed works and
"are,unlikeli to be affected by future designs.
Item 23 Rosewood Cottage, now restaurant, Great Western
Highway, corner Orient Street
This item is not affected by the works as proposed. Any
future designs should ensure the preservation of the house,
fence, surrounding mature trees and the vista to the site.
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Item 24 Possible 1830s retaining wall and early church
The Hork as - proposed will most likely involve the
destruction of this wall. Too little is known of its
origin, significance and the archaeological potential of
this site as a whole to devise appropriate conservation
strategies at ~his stage. Further histor~cal/archaeological
research is required in order to ascertain 1) the history of
- the wall, and 2) the location of the early church and
~hether or not subsequent development (housing, etc.) is
likely to have eliminated all archaeological trace of it.
Item 25 Rathmines, Great Western Highway, corner Edwin
Lane
The work as proposed will either involve the demolition of
this house or of much of its front garden. Although run
down and with its front facade partly altered, the house is
interesting in its tra~sitional Victorian/Federation style
and could be one of Katoomba's earliest houses in this
earliest area of subdivision. It is recommended that the
site be further investigated for its history, architectural
intactness and whether it is a rare example in Katoomba or
not. It is further recommended that the highway design be
reassessed to see whether an adjustment could preserve
Rathmines with an adequate curtilage.
'r
- 38 -
Item 26 Former Mt St Mary Convent and Boarding School
The work as proposed does not affect the convent building.
Any future work should allow for the presenvation of the
building and the vista to it, and ideally enhance that
vista.
'1
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f 1111' Ipr r lif '., '" I
1·'lf
I1I I 1,,11
'11 \
III I: 11 III I I~ , I'l' " ,
" , ,j-
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
NOTES
Nola Robertson, "Aborigines of the Blue Mountains", in
Peter Stanbury and Lydia Bushell (eds) , The Blue
Mountains - Grand Adventure for All, Sydney, 1985, pp.
31 - 41.
See Theo Barker, "The Crossing of the Mountains and the
founding of Bathurst A Sesqui-Centenary Review",
Journal of Royal Australian Historical Society, 51 : 2,
98-100; T.M. Perry, Australia's First Frontier - the
Spread of Settlement in New South Wales 1788-1829,
Melbourne, i965, pp. 26 - 27.
See Grace Karskens, Cox's Way Historical and ~~-=----~~--~~~~~~==~---=~
Archaeological Study of Cox's Road and Early Crossings
of the Blue' Mountains New South Wales, Lands
Department, Sydney, 1988.
Anne Burke, "Awesome Cliffs, Fairy Dells and Lovers
Silhouetted in the Sunset - A Recreational History of
the Blue Mountains, 1870 1939", in Spearritt and
Bushell, The Blue Mountains, pp. 96, 98.
Ibid. ; see also Grace Karskens "Historical and
Architectural Development of Caves House Precinct", in
Robert Moore, "The Caves House Precinct, Jenolan Caves
Reserve C,onserva tion Plan" , unpublished report
prepared for the Tourism Commission of New South Wales,
1988, Volume 2 pp. 4, 7.
----------=-.:..::.-'----------------------------= ........ ---
.)
, '";
I I I I I I ~
I '"
n
I I I I I I I I
- 2 -
6. Burke, loco cit.; Hugh Speirs, Landscape Art and the
Blue Mountains, Sydney, 1981, pp. 64 ff.
7. Burke, op. cit.; Julie Stockton, "Health and Education
- Local Industries Built on Air", in Spearritt and
Bushell, The Blue Mountains, pp. 82 - 94.
8. See series of maps and plans in Subdivision Box
Leura, Mitchell Library; Katoomba Municipality, Rate
Books, 1911, 1912-13. I am indebted to Helen Haliwell
of Blue Mountains City Local Histori Library at
9.
Springwood for her assistance in the Rate
research,. and other details of local history. Books
Ibid.; Amanda May Kaloila, "Katoomba and Leura: An
Architectural History", B.Arch. thesis, University of
New S~cith Wales, 1980; Anon., Old Leura and Katoomba,' A
Rotary Publication, Katoomba,
Books, 1893-1916. 1982?, p. 184; Rate
10. Subdivision Boxes
Mitchell Library. Katoomba (1 & 2) and Leura,
11. C. Potter, Plan. of the Village of Katoomba, 1882, Subdivision Box Katoomba (2) and series of subdivision
"
plans, Mitchell Library.
.~ .. -. -------
I~ ! I II~ 1111-'Ill I -\
1111'
III
11*
11' I' ill
.1,11' i .I
I'j I-III 11 11 i I III
III " I ! I'
" III : jJ qL.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
- 3 -
Subdivision plans, ibid., Old Leura and Katoomba, p.
120.
Stockton, op. cit. p. 87.
See Meredith Walker, "The Character of Towns and
Buildings" , in Spearritt and Bushell,T ~~h~e~~B~l~u~e~
Mountains, pp. 123 - 124.
Andrew Flatau, et. al., "A Submission to the Roads and
Traffic Authority, Central Mountains Division,
concerning the proposed reconstruction of the Great
Western Highway between Leura Mall and Bowling Green
Avenue Katoomba by residents and landowners of the
valley bound by Kings Road, Queens Road and the Great
Western Highway", unpublished submission, November
1989.
Pers corn. Mark Broderick, Town Planning Department,
Blue Mountains City Council.
"
APPENDIX A
INVENTORY OF HERITAGE ITEMS
LOCATED IN THE STUDY AREA
I
- 2 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No 1
. Precinct 1 - Chateau Napier Precinct
Title Cottage
Location 21 Great Western Highway, Leura
History The cottage was most likely built after
t4e subdivision of the Leura Station
Estate (c1910) and appears to date from
c1915-20.
Description A small, gabled, weatherboard cottage
with simple detailing, including
shingling to the gable and panelled
doors with side and fanlights. The
house is sympathetically painted but has
lost its return verandah as shown on
1956 sewerage plan. The garden features
a timber picket fence.
Ilr
\1" ~I" 11 ' If lip 11 ..
'If If If If Ilr
~Ir
,I: In In In :In
IM In M , .
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 3 -
A pleasant example of small-scale
domestic architecture typical of Blue
Mountains township/suburban development
of the early twentieth century.
Not affected.
If affected by future development,
record before demolition.
C !~ EAT W L S T E /( N fI I G 11 WAY LE U /( A TO KAT 0 0 M BA
fI J S TO HIe A I. / A It C 11 A EO LOG J C A L S lJ H V E Y J U L Y, 1 9 9 0
GRACE KAHSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
ITEM 1 Cott~£~: 21 Great Western Highway, Leura
r.
fr
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'T~ I P~f!;C.iNc.rr I CO"T'T'" AGe: eJ lPEC,A.-r \VC!.S.-re..c:N HIGHWA., ........ L..;EuIf::.A..
o :J 10",."" L..' ___ ..... ' - _____ I
,
l'l-\ ~="lr AGE.. I-tAS
f...OST
'-'~DAI-i
......
6
'(
- 4 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 2
Precinct 1 - Chateau Napier Precinct
Title Cottage
Location 8 Great Western Highway, Leura
History :rhe co..ttage appears to have been in situ
on Lot 171 by the time the Leura Station
Estate was subdivided (c1910). It
stands on a lot sold off in" the Crown
Lands sale of 1895.
Description A small, gabled, timber cottage with an
encircling pitched verandah and intact
early twentieth century style chimneys.
The iron roof has been replaced by
unsympathetic orange liles. An
overgrown garden has several very large
conifers at the rear.
I
I I • I I I I
I • I • I • I I
I • I •
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 5 -
Built between 1895 and c1910, this is
possibly one of Leura's oldest cottages,
and demonstrates typical small scale
township/suburban
development of
century.
Not affected.
Blue
the early
Mountains
twentieth
Retain if possible; if affected by
future development, conduct
historical/architectural
record before 'demolition.
'I
further
research;
Cr ..
• • 11
(; I{ I': 1\ T W E ~; T E f( N II J G 11 W A 'i
III S'1'OI( I CALl AHCIIAEOLOC J CAL SUHVEY JULY, 1990
(;h'ACE EAJ{SKENS, IliSTORIAN/HISTOHICAL AJ{CHAEOLOGIST
iTEM 2 Cottage, 8 Creat Western Highway, Leura
! .
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-
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- 6 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 3
Precinct 1 - Chateau Napier Precinct
Title House and garden .
Location 27 Great Western Highway, Leura
History This house was most likely built after
the subdivision . of the Leura Statipn
Estate (c1910) and stylistically dates
from c1910 - 1915. Its set back and
Description
garden demonstrate the long,
blocks of that subdivision.
large
A largely intact Federation house of
weatherboards and a hipped and gabled
iron roof. The gabled bay features
coloured lights and timber brackets and
finial and. the ver-andah, although
infilled, retains a valence of turned
---"""'-----------~~--'-"' .. ~-- .. - .. ~- .
I _I li
-"! -' l J --~ ~ , , , •
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 7 -
spindles. The house also has tesselated
tiles and a prominent chimney. It is
sited high above the road overlooking
Leura in a terraced garden planted with
mature, cold climate trees and shrubs,
including hydrangeas and rhododendrons.
The garden features a small timber
pergola over a stone paved pathway and
steps, and a timber spaced paling fence.
A good and externally intact example of
the Federation style executed in timber,
typical of Blue Mountaini homes of the
early twentieth century. It retains its
original curtilage and mature garden.
Front fence and garage to be removed.
This impact is acceptable if the front
fence and plantings are reinstated to
provide a partial screen from the new highway.
I1 I ~; 'I' 0 I J (' /\ L ! /\ It CH A EO LOG I C /\ L :) \J It V E Y JlJI,Y, 1990
(; lU\ (' (,: K A H:) KEN S, !I 1ST 0 f{ I /I. N ! 11 1 ~; TO I{ I C t\ L .f>. It C Il /\ EO L 0 (; J S T
House and garden, 2 7 Great Wes te rn H j~h\.Jay, Leura
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IT~A -3 PRe:.CINC-T I HOUse:...AND GAJ1:..(7'eN 2.7 ~e.A..T vE.ST'e:.R:N HlG~\VAY" Le.0f:<:.,A.
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- 8 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS,
Item No.
Precinct
Title
Location
History
HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST •
4
1 - Chateau Napier Precinct
Site of Chateau Napier Guesthouse
Great Western Highway, corner of Leura
Mall, Leura.
The first sectio~ of the guesthouse was
built for Justin McSweeney on Lots 2 and
3 of the Leura Station Estate in 1911.
The present large conifers were probaply
planted at that stage and the stone
retaining wall fronting the Great
Western Highway erected. A second brick
and stucco wing was built c1920 on Lot
1, closer to Leura Mall. The early
guesthouse advertised "spacious
verandahs and·. balconies U and a
"promenade roof tt for talring' the air J "
as well as a motor garage, tennis court and
Description
Significance
r.
- 9 -
billiards room. The 1957 bushfire burnt
Chateau Napier to the ground, leaving
the site much as it is today.
The site comprises a complex of ruined walls, wall and pier foundations and paths and steps leading up from the road frontages. Near Britain Street at the. rear of the site are the concrete floors of the garages, and the perimeter walls,
include a curved dry-pressed brick wall,
a substantial sandstone retaining wall,
a smaller brick and render retaining
wall, and a rendered archway entry. The
site has a number of large conifers and
some other mature shrubs, and the ruin site is
materials,
scattered
including
bathroom tiles.
with
1950s
building
style
The site is significant for its
archaeological potential in relation to
the history of recreation/tourism which
has played such a fundamental role in
the development of the Blue Mountains.
The stone wall, group of conifers and
the archway entry are also a well-known
landmark along the highway in this area.
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 10 -
Identified in Blue Mountains Heritage
Study.
The large stone retaining wall will be
destroyed/possibly reconstructed as part
of new work. New work may also destroy/
destabilise the arched entry to the site
on Leura Mall.
It would be preferable not to disturb
the site at all. . If no alternative is
available, it is recommended that:
1. The site as a whole be subject to
full historical/archaeological
investigation and recording.
2. The retaining wall be re-erected as
part of the new work.
3.
4 .
As many trees as possible
retained. are
The archway
Leura Mall
and
be
retained in situ.
steps fronting
stabilised and
•
1
111
,
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1111 .
Ilr:r 'I r 11 r Ilr 11 il" I ., r I I
',1;1 T \,1 TlllN 111CIIW,IY LHIII\I'() h i\ T ( )( l :'1 Il ;1
J [I I, Y, 1 (J :J 0
C ILI\ (' I' IL\ 1< ~; hEN S, fI 1ST () H I 1\ N I HIS T () I{ I C 1\ L
I T I ~1 \ l(]l(; Vi(~h' or Chatedu Napicr' heroI'(' 11 ' • .J(iS
d st.!' () y (~cl by bus h r 1 re. T h (~ 0 i del' 1 lJ 1 1 h' i fI g 1 S 11
the right, the 1920 hling on the l('i"
--------_._------- ..
G et E /\ T \.J EST E H N 11 1 C 11 Iv A Y LI·;U/lA TO KATOOMBA
11 1 S T 0 Hie A L / A It C 11 A E 0 LOG 1 C A L S U J( V E Y JULY, 1990
C HAC E K A H ~) KEN S, 11 1 S TO I? 1 A N I Jj J S T () HIe A L A E C If A E 0 L () G 1 S T
iTEM 4
.-----
Four concrete pier foundations of the 1920s wing. Scale lm in 20cm divisions. View to west
r :r I
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r r r r
r r r r r Ir Ir Ir Ir
G rl EAT W EST E /{ N fI I G 11 WAY !,!<:U!{A TO KATOOMBA
11 1ST 0 R [ CA L / A It CH A EO LOG I CA L SUR V E Y JULY, 1990
G HAC E K A H S KEN S, Il 1ST 0 H I AN / II 1ST 0 I~ [ CA L A I< CH A EO LOG 1ST
ITEM 4 View down the steps and pathway which led up to the old wing, showing the stumps of original "urn" balustrading. Scale lm in 20cm divisions
I,J, l! IU\ I ( I hI T (l\) ,"1 1\ ;\
If I . T () I{ I (. A L / ;\ 1{ ( 11 i\ H) L () (; j C:!\ L S lJ /{ V I', Y JULY, I ~J ~J ()
C; i U\ E K !\ I { SKI. N :;, 11 I S T 0 It I !\ N / II 1ST 0 1 ( I (' i\ L ;1 U C !l 11 E (J L 0 (; 1ST
I'rHl
ilafl,jc";1 i)(dld('d ash 1 al" masonry l'('ta i III rll: hil I I f~"Of1; I ne: (;r"":1'. hC:-:t.t'I"n I!jgtl\';il\,; \'i1.1 (.
c11VI:-:I'ltlS
Vie \, a t t h co n () r UH< est co!' n e r 0 f t h (' S 1 t c
the (; u r" \" e d b r i c k r C' n c p / f'(~ t a j Tl i n g \.; Cl 1 1 . In 20cm divisions
I []I 1 [\ ()crn
t () h" a ["(j s
Sc;;]e lrn
I
I I I I I
CI-fA:r-e_"""-J NAPle::.ot. G:.Us;::.sTt-tou....E. '$"-re
GeE..A."" 'f../e:.s-rer..~ 1-1~"""V C\:::>1eN£e '-Et..J~ /~ '-l!!:...u..-:: .......
o 10 eo ...... 1...--__ ..1..-__ .... '
6~1CK A.~
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\V..6..LL- P'AJ2:TL.V ~S.D r eelC-o<: ~DA.:r'ON.s
~11:::'NE:. lC:uol3~
Re.rAlNING \VAI-.L.
"
f
- 11 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS" HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 5
Precinct 1 - Chateau Napier Precinct
Title Spaced paling fence and trees and shrubs
behind.
Location On the east side of Leura Mall,
bordering the caravan park.
History The fence was probably erected around
"The Sisters", a residence built on one
of the Crown Lands subdivision lots of
1895. The house is shown on a c1910
plan, and appears to have been still in
situ on the 1956 sewerage plans.
Description
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy "
- 12 -
A well crafted, spaced-paling fence
with square posts, painted green, set on
two courses of rock faced stone and
backed with trees and shrubs. The fence is approximately 55 metres long with a
stone pier and gateway at the south end.
Part of the panels are in need of repair.
The fence and shrubs have townscape
significance as an extensiye, attractive
street feature within the Leura Urban
Conservation Area.
reminder of the It is also a visual
early house, "The Sisters", which stood on the site.
Falls within National Trust's Leura
Urban Conservation Area and recognised
as such in Blue Mountains City Council's L.B.P.
Not affected.
Repair and preserve. Should future plans affect the fence, should as a
last resort be removed and repositioned
to make a boundary on this side of Leura Mall.
(; 1 ( I,: 1\ T ... 1 EST E j( N "J C I1 'vi ;\ Y Lf':lJIII TO hll'!'O()MB/\
If 1 S TO l{ j C /\ L I /\ Hell /\ E () L () C J (. /\ 1, . lJ I{ V F Y .J lJ L Y, 1:1 9 0
Cl? /\ C E h /\ I{ S I{ F N S, 11 1ST () J{ 1 11 t~ /11 I S 'j' 0 J( I ell L 1\ IU~ fj /\ EO L 0 c; 1 S T
J TE!'l ;) Timber spaced-paling fence along the east side of Leura ~1a 11
r
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r
('
LE.URA
R..A..'l-J..VAY STATION
o
\V Eo sre:RJ-..I
SPAC-E..D PA..L-It-...IG I=ENCE
ON -S'-oI-,.JE. FOU,,-,O.'>,;TlONS
, I
~!
- 13 -
GREAT WESTERN HiGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 6
Precinct 2 - Early Leura Township
Title Yallambee, outbuildings and garden
Location 117-121 Leura Mall, Leura
H~~tory Yallambee was built on an allotment
which ~a·s part of the Crown Lands sale
of 1895. While one other subdivision
"
plan shows one "Small" as the
the house was built for a occupant,
wealthy
shipping broker, Mr Scoffels, and was
later occupied by a Professor Butler, a
millionaire named Miss Hill, and. Captain
and Mrs Bruce.
I I1II
JI.i ~I
! 11_'
11-
li_
11
11_
III
11-
I,ll. III I:.
I.
Description
Significance
Other Listings
- 14 -
A fine English romantic/Queen Anne style
mansion of brick and· render with
Marseilles tile roof. The picturesque
half-timbered gables and other rustic
detailing were much favoured for
mountain locations. Yallambee is set in
a large mature garden with a curved
pathway and matching outbuildings. A
massive rock-faced wall with steps
fronts Leura Mall and has an Art Nouveau style wrought iron gate.
An externally intact example of the
Queen Anne style employed for an Upper
class mountain retreat. It is related
stylistically to other intentionally
picturesque mountain architecture (e.g.
The Ritz N~rs~ng Home, formerly a
guesthouse, ~nd Jenolan Caves House).
The house retains its curtilage,
gardens, fences and outbuildings.
Included in the National Trust's Leura
Village Urban Conservation Area; this
area is recognised by Blue Mountain City Council's L.E.P.
.,
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
"
- 15 -
Not affected.
Avoid disturbance/alterations.
.. ,. .... ",": ~ - f.' .'~ . ~ • ".
\I{ !
Jr ~{ I
\I(
I(
I(
I(
I1 , I I
I I I I I I
III STOI{ I ('AI./ Al( 'IIAEOLOGI CAL lJHVEY ,JULY, ]990
C; f( ACE l{ A H S KEN S, If J ;) TO f{ J A N I HIS T ()f( I C A L A It C H A E () L () G r S T
ITHl 6
I'1'El'l 6
-.~~ -,-----."" .~
~-..:\
- -.
"~ ' .. ' .'':, -'It
Yallambee and garden, 117 121 Lcura Mall, Lcura
Hock faced retaining wall/fence and art nouveau gatb of Yallambee, Leura
I I I I I I I I
/AATVe:E DE:NSE.L..--Y
PLAJ-...l-rED
c:;.A.C<:I>E:J..J
________________________________________________ ~,hl~~!~~" _~!~ __ __
--------------------------- ---
- 16 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 7
Precinct 2 - Early Leura Township Precinct
Title Site of house and garden
Location 46 Great Western Highway, Leura
History The land on which the site occurs was
part of the Crown Land ~-subdivision of
1895, and the house may have been the
structure marked north of Yallambee on the c1910 subdivision plan for the Leura
Station Estate. The remaining fence and
gate and rubble on the site suggest a
house dating from- c1910-20. More
research is required to ascertain the
age and importance of the house.
- J
",-1'1' fl_
I!I' Iq
"
11 /1 11 II a
Description
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 17 -
An intact fence and gateway open onto a
former garden set with ro~keries and, on
a terrace above, the remains of a house.
The house site includes a short, narro~ flight of walled steps, mounds of earth
and rubble and the base of a toilet.
Dry pressed bricks and brick fragments,
including a bullnosed brick suggest a
house dating from 1910-20.
The item may have significance as a
potential archaeological site which would provide data on early township
development ~nd domestic life in Leura.
Falls within the National Trust's Leura Conservation Area, recognised by Blue Mountains City Council's L.E.P.
Not affected.
If affected by future planning, the site
should be the subject of a full
historical/archaeological investigation and recording.
, ,
"
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I. OV:OO:-~~\--{
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- 18 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORI9AL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 8
Precinct 2 - Early Leura Township Precinct
Title Alexandra Hotel
Location Great Western Highway, West of Leura
Hall.
History
Description
The Alexandra Hotel ~as built in 1903
with its main facade facing Leura Railway Station to welcome the growing
number of guests. The land had been
part of the 1895 Crown Land sale. Another later wihg was added at the rear
to face the highway (c1915-20) and its
increasing motor traffic.
The south-facing facade features an
ornate verandah detailed with
spindle valences and balustrade, turned
I
-I I
-I
. -.
I
'-I
tI I I
Significance
I
I
I
I '(
I
I I
- 19 -
posts, curvilinear valences and
brackets. The verandah unifies a part
brick, part timber two storey structure
built on two levels with a central
·panelled door and sash windows with
coloured margins. The Marseilles tile roof is gabled and features a large central gable detailed with half timbering and roughcast and Art Nouveau style lettering. The north-facing building, a single storey small bar and
bottle shop, abuts the rea~ of the early
wing and features a curved, stuccoed parapet (c1915) and a pitched verandah.
The cast iron columns and lace brackets
.appear to be a recent,
addition. unsympathetic
The hotel is a material record of the .. tourism boom
century which
Katoomba and
interesting
in the
focused
Leura.
early twentieth
particularly on
It has an
townscape/visual and historic relationship with Leura Railway
Station, demonstrating how rail and tourism were inextricably bound together, and the later wing also shows the impact of the use of motor transport. The facades appear to be
largely intact and the south facing wing
is a well maintained example of early
twentieth century taste in architectural embellishment.
' ------ -~ ---- ~,- --,",--
, 11
-'
~ ~ L 111-----.
other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 20 -
Included in National Trust's Leura Urban
Conservation Area, recognised by Blue
Mountains City Council's L.E.P.
The proposed development will pass over
part of the property frontage.
Future possible proposals should avoid
destruction or damage to the building
and cons ider the enhancement of, the
vista towards it.
"
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Alexandra lIotel, fncadc t,owards the south, facing Leura I?ailway Station
Alexandra Hotel, facade towards the north, facing the highway
11 \ -
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- 21 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST . .
Item No. 9
Precinct 2 - Early Leura Township Precinct
Title Leura Railway Station
Location On Great Western Railway, west of Leura
History
Description
Mall.
Leura Rai~way Station was opened in 1891
after m~dh speculation by real estate
developers over its location. Its
establishment spurred the land sales of
the next thirty years and the development of Leura.
A small, intact, brick and stucco
station building with a pitched iron
roof typical of late Victorian station design. "
Significance
other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 22 -
A good, intact example of a small, late
Victorian station, the site is also
historically important for its ce~tral
role in the establishment ~nd
development of Leura and the surrounding
area.
Included in National Trust's Leura Urban
Conservation Area, recognised as such in
Blue Mountains City Council's L.E.P.
Not affected.
Preserve intact.
I
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C !( EAT WE S T EH N il r G H WAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
11 1ST 0 fl 1 C A L I A H C H A EO LOG I C A L S U Ft V E Y .] U L Y, 1 990
CHACE KA[<SKENS, HlSTOHIAN/HlSTOHlCAL AHCHAEOLOGIST
ITEM 9 Leura Railway Station, view to east
"
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- 23 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS,
Item No.
Precinct
Title
Location
History
Description
a
HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST .
10
2 - Early Leura Township Precinct
Stationmaster's cottage
70 Great Western Highway, Leura.
The house was pro~ably ~uilt in the .. . -.
. 1890s to house the Leura stationmaster.
A plain, brick cottage with a hipped and
gabled roof extending over the front
verandah. The brickwork is Flemish
bond; there are three stepped brick
chimneys and
bracketing to
unsympathetic
some simple
the gable.
alterations
timber
Several
include
partial infilling of the veiandah, ~he~
handrail to the steps, and a steel mesh
fence.
- -,.--_ .. _--_ .. _----
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Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 24 -
One of Leura's earliest buildings and
historically associated with the
important railway statio~; the house is
capable of restoration.
Part of the front yard will be taken by
the work as proposed.
Re-fence front yard.with sympathetic
fencing and screen house with
appropriate plantings. Future planning
should avoid demolition.
I
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(;!,EAT wESTEHN HIGIIWAY LEUHA TO !\ATOOMBA
II J S TOR I C A L / A Hell A E 0 L 0 (; 1 C A L S U H V E Y J U I. Y. 1 9 9 0
CllACE KAHSKENS, 1I1STOHJAN/1I1STORICAL AHCIIAEOLOGIST
ITEM 10 Leura Stationmasters Cottage, 70 Great Western Highway, Leura
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- 25 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST •
Item No.
Precinct
Title
Location
History
Description
Significance
11
2 - Early Leura Township Precinct
Shop
Great Western Highway, north west corner
of Leura Mall.
• 4- TheJshop was bu.ilt about 1912 ?pposite "
Chateau Napie~ and is part of the
roadside village developme.nt of the
period.
A small, plain, brick and render shop
built right up to the property boundary.
A survivor from the early twentieth
century"toadside virlage, largely Qfped
out by the 1957 bushfire.
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Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 26 -
Not affected.
If affected by future development this
shop should be fully recorded before
demolition.
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- 27 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 12
Precinct 2 - Early Leura Township Precinct
Title Cottage
Location 57 Great Western Highway, Leura
History The cottage was probably built after the
subdivision of the Marmion Estate from
1897, or a subsequent estate. It dates
stylistically from c1910-1920 and Rate
Book records indicate its existence by
1914. It may have been one of the many
prefabricated cottages on the market at that time.
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Description
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategies
"
- 28 -
A small, simple, timber cottage with a
hipped and gabled iron roof and pitched
verandah. The house retains paired sash
windows to the front and 4-paned windows at the side.
An intact example of small-scale
domestic architecture typical of Blue
Mountains township/suburban development
of the early twentieth century. It is
also part of the now-vanished roadside village development.
The development will involve the
demolition of the cottage.
Since there are many examples of this
type of house in the Mountains, and
probably thousands in Sydney, demolition
is considered acceptable. A record
should be made of the house beforehand
and ideally, the house could be sold for
removal and re-erection else~herc.
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(; It CAT W I·: S T E It N If 1 G 11 WAY LELJHA TO KATOOMBA
11 1ST () I ( I C A L / A fl. C 11 A EO LOG J C A L SUR V E Y ,) U L Y, 1 Y 9 0
GI(ACE KAJ{SKENS, HI STOHIAN/HJSTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
lTE~l 12 Cottage, 57 Great Western Highway, Leura
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- 29 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTO~ICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No.
Precinct
Title
Location
History
13
2 - Early Leura Township Precinct
Site of C.H. Lindeman's shop/dwelling
and house
Great Western Highwiy, corner Highlands
Road.
C. H. Lindeman' s hous~ .. on this site date's
from at least·1897 and the shop/dwelling
at least from 1905. The house was
occupied by T.S. Manuel in 1899, and by
c1915 the streetscape comprised Barnes
Bros General Store on the corner,
adjoining "Welshe's Residental"
possibly a boarding' or guesthouse~
buildings were still owned by
(s ic ) ,
Both
C.H.
Lindeman, a local figure of some note.
Both structures were burnt down in the
1957 bushfil"~e and some rubble ap'pears to'
have been dumped at the rear since then.
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Description
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
- 30 -
The site comprises wall foundations
along the highway frontage,
sandstone foundation walls of
intact
four
courses, sparrow-picked stones down the
western frontage and a series of flights
of steps at the rear, and what appear to
be fountains/cellars at the rear to the
east. The central section has overgrown
mounds of earth and rubble, with some
wall foundations visible, and
artifacts (pottery, glass shards,
were visible on the surface.
some
etc. )
The site is significant for its
archaeological potential in exploring
the character of the late nineteenth and
early twentieth century structures which
stood here, and to examine their usage
ind role in the early roadside village.
Identified in Blue Mountains Heritage
Study.
The front (south) section of the site
will be destroyed by the proposed work.
Conservation
strategy
"
- 31 -
The destruction of the site is only
acceptable if full historical/
archaeological investigations are
carried out beforehand.
F - "-.--~- ",~ ~ ,.f;
; le EAT wET E I(N 11 I G 11 WAY L /., U HAT 0 KAT 0 0 M H A
11 1ST 0 HIe A L I A In: It A E 0 LOG 1 C A L S U H V E Y ,JULY, 1990
C le ACE K A H S J\ ENS, H] S TO In AN / il 1 S TO IU CA L A H CH A EO L 0 C 1ST
I TEt>1 13 Lindeman's shop/dHelling and house site, Great Western Highway corner Highland Street. View south of the intact stone foundations on western frontage along Highland Street. Scale lm in 20cm divisions.
to the
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- 32 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCH~EOLOGIST
Item No. 14
Precinct 2 - Early Leura Township Precinct
Title Road construction features.
Location Highland Street, near intersection with
Great Western Highway.
History Highland Street was originally darned
Station Street, as it was sited opposite
Leura Railway Station. The road was
laid out by 1898, by which time the footpaths to
constructed
Council. The
the highway
by Katoomba
timber kerbs
had been
Municipal
and stone carriageway edging may date from the
early twentieth century when shops and
houses appeared on the highway here.
The use of timber beams as kerbs was
described in Coane's AusLralian Roads (1903).
'I II II
jtl.
- 33 -
Description Large hardwood beams form the kerbs down
Highlands Road and a course of sandstone
blocks mark the edge of the now-sealed roadway.
Significance The use and survival of timber beams as
kerbing is rare (other examples have
been located at Wentworth Falls) while
the roadway features are interesting
relics of early municipal works in what
was then the village centre.
Other Listings
Impact of ,
Development The new highway will probably destroy
the features at the south end/junction.
Conservation
Strategy As much of these features should be left
in situ as Possible; the new
intersection should match the old layout
and reuse the old material if possible.
"
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eS
"
•
- 34 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORI"AN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
~Item No. 15
Precinct 3 - Marmion Estate Precinct
Title House and row of pine trees.
Location 129 Great Western Highway, Leura
History The t~tensive Marmion Estate was first
subdivided 'in 1897, although the site of
129 appears not to have been'part of it,
but Lots 1 and 2 of the c1910 Leura
Heights Estate. Eastview Street behind
the house was created by this
subdivision. The house is stylistically
dated c1915.
Description A large Federation style villa of brick "
and roughcast walls, bay windows with
casement windows and diamond-patterned
--------................... _.
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Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Developme~t.
Conservation
Strategy
• J
- 35 -
top-lights and some curvilinear incised
timber detailing to the return verandah.
The balustrade has been removed and the
roof unsympathetically retiled. Inside
the house retains some original jOinery
and restrained plaster ceilings. The
front garden has little significance
although the curved row of mature pines
along the eastern boundary are of note.
There are good views towards the south.
An example of a large Federation stYle
villa retaining some original features I
and well sited on a ridge overlooking
the escarpment and valley to the south.
Proposed·~o be demolished; if retained
the front bay of the house will be about
2 metres from the drop to the new highway below.
Although the house is not of outstanding
significance and has been altered, it is
recommended that its retention and
resale after roadworks are complete be
investigated. The structure is in sound .... f{ •
~s capable of restoratlon and
has large, well-proportioned rooms.
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- 36 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST .
Item No.
Precinct
Title
Location
Histol1,y
Description
16
3 - Marmion Estate Precinct
Pine Glen - cottage
141 Great Western Highway, Leura
The .cottage was erected on the Marmion
Estate c1914. It may have been a
prefabricated building brought up and
erected on the site.
A painted Federation style timber
cottage with gabled bay and pitched
verandah, hipped and gabled iron roof
and brick chimney. It has some timber
detailing to the verandah, gable and
T.o!indows. "
,a.:. ___________________ - _______ . ___ . ______ ... _ ---'-
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Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 37 -
An intact example of a modest, timber
cottage of the early twentieth century
which demonstrates the town/subdivision
development o~ Leura/Katoomba in that
period.
To be demolished.
As there are many obher examples of this
type of house in the Mountains and in
Sydney, its removal is
acceptable if the site is considered
recorded
first. Ideally tl-le house could be "sold
for r8ffioval elsewhere.
'(
~---- --
•
I eRE A T WE S T E f{ N H I G I1 WAY LEUHA TO KATOOMBA
•
I IIISTOHICAL/ARClIAEOLOGICAL SUHVEY JULY, 1990
GHACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/lIISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST •
I •
I •
I •
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ITEM 16 Pine Glen, 141 Great Western Highway, Leura
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- 38 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST,
Item No. 17
Precinct 3 - Marrnion Estate Precinct
Title Hailsham and garden
Location 157 Great Western Highway
History Hailsham stands on land sold off from
the huge Marmion Estate subdivision ~f
1897 onwards. A c1905 plan shows its
blocks still for sale, and the house
dates stylistically from 01910. The
garden was probably originally
established when the house was built,
but has also evolved considerably since.
The house has been in the hands of the
present owners, the McClures, for the
past fifty years, and Mr Wally McClure's
mother":apparently created many of the
ornaments in it.
Description
Significance
"
- 39 -
A Federation style asymmetrical timber
house whose bay roof is unusually
hipped, like the main roof, rather than
gabled. A verandah, now partly
enclosed, runs along two sides of the
house and is detailed with fretted and
spaced slats, turned spindles and
ornamental brackets. The house also
retains its original door and window
joinery. The foundations have been
unsympathetically infilled, although
this is probably reversible.
The house nestles in a valley slope
surrounded by an extensive mature
garden, the front ,terraced with stone
work and with many enclosed gardens,
ornaments, a picket fence and a wide
range of exotic and native plants. The
back garden features a mature orchard
bordered by blue spruce, rhododendrons,
poplars, maples and conifers. Around
the garden to the north, a stand of the
rare Eucalyptus Oreades (Blue Mountains
Ash) forms a fine backdrop.
The house in its siting/setting of an
extensive, complex and mature garden is
a rare and evocative survivor,
demonstrating early twentieth cenlury
taste in domestic architecture and
gardens in the Blue Mountains.
r r I J I I I I I I I I I r.'II' • I I 11 I'
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other Listings
Impact Qf
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 40 -
At present plans are to raze the garden
and either demolish or relocate the
house. If the house is left in situ,
the new highway will pass within 2m of
its front bay.
, Hailsham and its garden are considered
to be of such significance that none of
the above actions are acceptable, since
the house derives much of its
significance from its setting/siting,
and, furtper, that relocation is not
considered a conservation strategy,
according· to the Burra Ch~rter.
recommended that~
It is
1.
2.
Close examinatioI1 of all
alternatives to the present highway
design with a view to conserving
Hailsham and its garden intact and
along present boundaries.
Close examination of all
alternatives with a view to ., mitigating .L.L _ impact of the ne\.J 1.-11t::
work, for example through resuming
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- 41 -
only a portion and relocating the
fence, ornaments and plantings.
This should be undertaken together wi th (3).
Commission a conservation plan for
the site to be prepared by
consultants qualified in
historical, architectural and historic gardens
assessment. This research and
plan should
involve the working out of a design
option which' does least possible
damage to the site.
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fTE/A 17 Pl::=:S'CI .... ~;.,-.3 H,4..JI-SH"A/A- ANP ~ IS"? e:;e.~ ...... ~JU"-' Ht.::#'-4'W'.o.V"
L.,...ts.W Ii!::A
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"
- 42 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 18
Precinct 3 - Marmion Estate Precinct
Title Retaining wall
Location On the north side of the Great Western
Highway between Kings and Queens Roads.
History
Description
The exact date of the wall is not known
but its -style Jis common to the early
twentieth century. Possibly the road
~'as improved for increasing motor
traffic of that time.
A substantial rock-faced battered
retaining wall rising from three to nine
courses, up to approximately 3m in
height. It is similar in style to walls
on local domestic sites, for example "
ILems (Chateau Napier) , 5
(timber/stone fence of The Sisters), and
6 (Yallambee). The wall appears to be
in sound condition.
, ----I
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lilt ! I
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lit ,
" , ,.
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategies
- 43 -
The wall is part of improvements to the
historic Great Western Highway, which
has carried European traffic since 1815.
It most likely demonstrates the response . to the use in motor transport in the
early twentieth century.
The wall will be demolished by the new work.
It would be preferable to retain the
wall in situ; if this is not possible,
it should b~ dismantled and re-erected,
as part of the new work, and identified as such.
I
( ,/; !~, 'I \, I" :;1 I, I { 11 I (; 11 w\ ')
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, 11:-1 I H 1\(H:I,j';\;'(,d r'('t:llfllfl~ h)\l he\I,'('cn Ki1\~~~: (.\ \ .' t' ( , r 1 :',
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ITEM 18 Vie ,,' t () \,' s t () r [' Cll' k fa c e d re t a i n i n ,I.( 1< il. 1 1
• .' 11 11 11 11 11
• • • • • 11 L
t~A. IS P-~NC-" :3 Src" .. .,!!! 1ii!t!!:--r~IN6 \VAL...L-. GCS-A. .. \Vs::!:!.TEA="-J HI4!>HWAV 8e:-n.v~ K.<1'-IC::>s 4NP GI.~~ R:oAP'S LE.U1il!!A.
o 10
I
"
I - 44 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 19
Precinct 4 - Katoomba North Precinct
Title Anzac Memorial Garden
Location
. ~ Hlstory
Description
Significance
On the Great Western Highway, in the
grounds of Blue Mountains Anzac Memorial
Hospital.
The 'garden was possibly established in
the 1920s after the hospital was opened
(1927), or later in the century.
A small, plain garden mainly of firs
with a curved, white gravel, central
pathway edged with undressed stones.
Small, white, timber posts with engraved
metal memorial plaques line the pathway.
The garden is a community tribute and
memorial to the war-dead of the Blue
Mountains.
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1I I I I I I
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategies
- 45 -
The garden is not affected by present
plans.
If the area were affected by future
planning, the garden could most probably
be removed to another section of the
hospital grounds, since l~ndscaping and
planting are fairly rudimentary .
• • • • • 11
• .. ..
(; It F 1\ T W EST J': IUJ 11 J (; 11 W 1\ Y LEUh'1\ TU kl\TOOMBI\
IlISTOHICI\L/I\JtCIlI\EOLOGICAL SUHVEY JUl,Y, 1990
CHACE KAHSKENS, IIISTOHIAN/I!ISTOHJCAL AHCIIAEOLOGIST
ITEM 1 9 Anzac Memorial Garden, in grounds of hospital, showing central pathway, plantings and memorial plaques
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;&../V~ '~C!.J..:>.L.. .:::;;.. .. eOEN ~.,... \VE:"'''rE;R::t-.! 1-(1a,.1-("",,,,,,-V, N
,4N~ ~AC>-1A.t... 1-(0.5""""""""1- <:;;.e:OUNP'S I<:A Tl::>o.-...zs "'"-
C> 100-1-1 -_L--_ ...... I
- 46 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 20
Precinct 4 - North Katoomba Precinct
Title Remnant stand of Eucalyptus Oreades
(Blue Mountains Ash).
Location On the south side of the Great Western
Highway, opposite Blue ~ountains Anzac
Memorial Hospital.
History
Description
These trees were once common in this
area, forming the old high
forest and hanging swamps
mountain
at the
headwaters of Leura Cascades. Very few
of these trees survive.
An avenue of white-trunked eucalypts
lining the roadside on the strip between
roadway and railway.
r
r r r r r r r 'r I I 11 'I I I
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategies
.,
- 47 -
Rare survivors of the mountaintop
forest which once stood in this area;
the trees, forming an avenue along the
highway, also have considerable visuall
landscape value.
Blue Mountains City Council Significant
Tree Register.
The new highway will involve the
destruction of the stand.
Design should be reconsidered to see
whether the trees can be retained.
Recommend that consultation be made with
Blue Mountains City Council and local
conservation groups.
I I I I I I I I I I I I , , , t ~
--
-'-----
1,I,tJIU\ T() K.\T()()MIIA
I1 1ST 0 It j 'A L / /\ I{ ell A F 0 I, () C J CA L S lilt V E Y ,j tJ I, Y I 1990
(; I1 ACE K A R S KEN S, HIS 'I' 0 It I AN / Il j S TO [{ I CA L A It ell A EO L 0 (; J S T
l'I'El'l 20
]\('11If1;\f)\ ~;ta[\d or "1 ()\H) t <l 1 [\ S i\ s h )
l-tlcalyptus Oreades (Blue (Jppusi\(' llluf' :-1ourltains
\'j(,\.) oj" the remnant sLand to the south
Dj t r' j (: \
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l-r~ zo r-e::e.c.JNC,-r' 4-f?:E/AN""'N-r" .s;-T.o..r-.,O oc=- e:LJCAl.V?-n.J,s Or;::c:~e.E> (5vul!! /,ADc.J--.rT A.u...JS .-...:sl-4 ) ot-Po 6.-re .6.N ZA.C ;?<$/""O el.A.l...- HOS PIT """'
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- 48 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOqIST
Item No.
Precinct
Titie
Location
History
21
4 - North Katoomba Precinct
Original wings of Blue Mountains
District Anzac Memorial Hospital
Great Western Highway, Katoomba
Plans for the hospital's establishment
were first made in 1919, with the
intenti6n that it was to be ~ practical
soldiers' memorial. Fundraising
activities continued over the following
six years, and the building was
completed in 1927 and opened by the
Duchess of York. It had 22 beds and was
staffed by a matron, two sisters and six
nurses.
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Description
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 49 -
The early wings are well-crafted,
handsome Classical Revival style
structures in warm red brick with
sandstone dressings. The main entrance
has a restrained stone portico and is
surmounted by a classical pediment. The
view to the early building is obstructed
by the many later additions.
The buildings have historic value as
evidence of the growth of the Mountains
community and its c0mmitment to
remembrance of the war-dead. They have
aesthetic value as examples of the
Classical Revival style popular in the 1920s.
Identified in Blue ~ountains Heritage Study.
The buildings are not affected.
Not likely to be affected.
"
-~ , , , , f 11 11 , , , , , • -'-----------
LEUHI\ T
III TOHJCI\L/AHCHAEOLOGICI\L SUHVEY JUI,Y, I <jq()
GHACE KI\HSKENS, IlJSTOHIAN/HISTORICAL I\HCHAEOLOGI ST
ITEr,! Iq:'i faciHl(, of 81cH' ~l(\',Jn\:llTl Ilistri(:i I\n7, (' '1 []jol'ieil llo,spital
, I I , , I I I I, I , • , • , , 11 , I , •
ITE/A. 2J PRe:.c:A"-lc.. ...... .4 OIlleI<Z-l~\... \VING--E> ~ SUJE /Aoi...J"..l.,.A..IN~ DlSTJelC."T '.A.fo...l.~ /A.l!!:./AO~IAL... HOSp,-r,l>..L... G-Pe: .... "T \ve.s;;re~ t-t'G;.k\.V' ....... V CC?1i!:Ne;..II:'.
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- 50 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 22
Precinct 4 - North Katoomba Precinct
Title Grandstand and auxiliary buildings
Location Katoomba Showground, Great Western
Highway, corner Woodland Road, Katoomba
History
Description
The land was set aside for recreational
purposes in 1883. The grandstand dates
stylistically from the 192bs.
An intact brick grandstand of pale brick
dressings to lintels
shallow-hipped iron
with orange brick
and ledges. The
roof is topped by an ornamental
Matching auxiliary
on the slopes at the
ventilator.
buildings stand
rear/south.
I I I I I
III
I . 1
,11 I I I
1I I I I I I I
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategies
- 51 -
Identified in Blue Mountains Heritage
Study.
The buildings are not affected by the
proposed development.
Not likely to be affected .
"
r
C If I', .\ T W EST E f{ N 11 I G I1 W /\ Y LEUIU\ '1'0 KA'J'OOMBA
IIIS'I'Ot(ICAL/AHCHAEOLOCJC/\!, SUItVEY JULY, 1990
C It ACE K A H S KEN S, Il 1 S T () It lA N I fl 1 S T () It 1 CA L A l( CH A EO LOG 1ST
1 TE~l 22 Katoomba Sho;.:ground grandstand with auxiliary buj ldings behind
rq j i Ill/ I1 1-:1/
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KA"T'OO/"8 ...... ~l-40~.::;=tJ"4l> ,G;~" \Ve.st""r;o.e:N '"i,c;;.H\VA.V K<5..-roO ..... ,,_A..
o 40 l50 1--' _---1-1 ---!.-. _I
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-
- 52 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIA~/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 23
Precinct 4 - North Katoomba Precinct
Title Rosewood Cottage, now restaurant, and
fence.
Location
History
Orient Street, corner Showground Lane.
The land on which Rosewood Cottage
stands subdivided e-arly in
Katoomba's·· history; a government
surveyor laid out the blocks in 1882,
and the land had been sold off by about
1890. The house was in situ by c1900
appearing with two adjacent on the
Clearscene subdivision plan of 1912.
The house appears to have been extended
sympathetically.
"
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11, ,I ..
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~IL
~IL
li~L !IL IlL
Description
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategies
- 53 -
A picturesque gabled weatherboard
cottage with square coloured lights to
the front windows of the bay, turned
verandah posts, timber brackets, french
doors and a hipped, iron roof. The
house is flanked by large conifers and a
spaced-paling fence marks the front
boundary.
A good externally intact example of the
Federation style executed in timber
which is typical of
homes; the house is a
early Katoomba township.
Not affected.
Blue Mountains
survivor of the
Not likely to be affected; maintain
house, fence, mature trees in situ and
preserve vista to the house.
--
L E \J 1(;\ TO l\ A T () 0 M B A
HISTORICAL/A!{CIIAEOLOGICA[' SU/tVEY JULY, 1~~10
C IL\ C E K A R ShE N S, HIS T () H I A N / 11 [ S T () J{ I C 1\ I. 1\ Hell A EO L 0 C 1ST
ITEM 23 HosP\~()ud Cottage, now restaurant, Orient Street cornc r S h (H.Jg round Lane, ha toomba
I'
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I-re.,..-A £::!3 P~INc.. .. 4-I2Ose:.\VOoc> Co-rrAG E ee.SrA.(jI1:,o...N' O~Ie:.,A..JT STeer ColI:::N6IO:: .$l-lo--VG::llI=OUNI> 1.-.6NE. ~,o..."TO<YA~
o 20 ~"'A. , I I
"
I I
r r r r r r r r r
- 54 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ~RCHAEOLOGIST
Item No.
Precinct
Title
Location
History
24
4 - North Katoomba Precinct
Possible 1830s retaining wall and early church site
Vacant allotments (3) fronting Great
Western Highway, K~toomba, (between Camp
Street and Edwin Lane.)
Further research is required to
ascertain the history of this wall and
the empty site behind it. The wall
bears striking resemblance to the
convict-built retaining walls on the
Great North Road (1830s) around Wisemans
Ferry, and also on the Great Western
Highway at Lapstone Bridge and Ht
Victoria Viaduct. Other possible
origins are (1) property boundary for
the early uhurch or (2) for later
(c1900) houses on the sites. A 1940
• I • I I I I I I I I
Description
Significance
- 55 -
road construction map indicates that a
retaining wall was to be erected at this
point, and a fence above it, but it is thought that this refers to the wall/ fence of neighbouring Rathmines, which is of different height and detail. The site may also be that of the "old
church" marked on Surveyor C.W. Potter's
map of Katoomba (1882).
The wall comprises two courses of hand
cut and dressed ashlar m~sonry dry laid
with a slight batter. The faces have
the characteristic sparrow-picked finish
of early to mid nineteenth century work.
The wall is approximately 15-20 metres
long, 60cm high and 30cm wide at the
top, although overgrowth of grass
hinders its visibility. The top cou~se
lies welt below the level of the 1940
bitumen footpath.
The full significance of this site
cannot be gauged until further historical/arohaeological investigations
are made. It may have considerable
.historical significance as convict-bu±lt
roa~works, and archaeological potential
as the site of a pre-1882 church.
r
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategies
- 56 -
The development as planned would destroy
the wall and part of the vacant block.
Further historical/archaeological
research is required to ascertain the
origin and significance of the wall and
site; conservation strategies should be
based on these findings.
"
I • I • I • I I I I • i i i ~ i Ii i i i i i i
11 I ( ) I (' I , ( : I1 ,\ I, 1 , { .l (; I (,' A I, S ( j 11 V I" Y ,J I! 1 , Y , ~
IlldE f\,\I{Sl\f',NS, HfSI'OlllAN/llISTOltlCAL AI1CHAEOLOGIST
E::1['ly stone ;,;a11 w<'stern lIigh;,;ay Lan!', Sea I (,~ 1 m
franting vacant RI lotments, between Camp Street and
in 20cm divisions
Gre'a t Ed"in
IlcCai or early stone wall sho\.:ing finish and 1(,\'('1 beJo'.; rODtpath, 5cm divisions
hand-picked Sea 1 f'~ 30em I r,
It
--(
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11 I ;; T Cl 11 I ,\ L / 111< C 11 ;\ E () L 0 (; ! C,\ I, :; lJ 11 V),, Y JULY, I~~JO
(;fl.ACE KAHSKENS, llJSTOHlAN/lllST()HICAL AHCIIAEOLOGIST
I'ii r' I (') f c () n vie L ""l,th I«(lad near sl."!c 1.0 ilF~1 24
bUllt n:tainlnf! Wisemnn's Ferry,
"all 11830) on the Creat N,S,W. showing similar
, J
'"T'EA'.. 21(- PIZ:EC-INC-'T 4-Po~6''"''(.....e" leao':> eo~v.o~1C
AND SrT'E =1=" EA.Jr:,-",," CJ-\U~H a.1::.EA.,.-r 'VEsr~ '-l'G>H IV~. VAC.6Nr AL.L.c:n""" ..... AEN-r.:s a£-~ ~ ~~e:.e::r ~p ~vt"l 1...PNe:. k ........ -nocvA.eJA.
o
-,---------
- 57 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - JULY, 1990
GRACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 25
Precinct 4 - North Katoomba Precinct
~Title Rathmines
Location Great Western Highway, corner Edwin
Lane.
History
Description
The land on which Rathmines stands was
part of David Jones' 30 acres sold off
in suburban allotments in 'Crimley's
Estate subdivision of 1897.
was built c1900. Rathmines
The house features Feder~tion de~ails
such as bevelled timber posts and spoked
balustrade, but also with more old
fashioned features such as symmetrical
facade, cast iron brackets, shuttered 4-paned sash
front door. windows and 4- pannelled
The iroQ roof is hipped and
"
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f/lf I Ir ~r f
-If r r r r
Significance
Other Listings
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategies
- 58 -
relatively steeply pitched. The front
facade is marred by the partial
infilling of the verandah and the eaves
of the side verandah appear altered.
An interesting example of transitional
Victorian/Federation style house; most
probably one of the earliest built and
surviving in North Katoomba, the first
part of the town to be subdivided.
Proposed to demolish house.
For the reasons given above it is
recommended that the development be
re-examined to see whether the house
could be retained with an adequate
curtilage at the front. Further
research (historical/architectural/
archaeological) is also recommended to
determine the house's internal
intactness and also its importance in
relation to other remaining early houses in Katoomba.
GHEAT WESTEHN 11 I Cl/WAY LEUHA TO KATOOMBA
IIISTOHICAL/ARCIIAEOLOGICAL SURVEY JULY, 1990
GHACE KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTOHICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
ITEM 25 Ralhmines, Greal Western Highway, corner Edwin Lane, Katoornba
••• I .. n _____ ._~e~a~,_~==~=.=--= .. ====~===========_ __________ ~========~
I I I I I I I
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o 10 ZO 30", I
- 59 -
GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY LEURA TO KATOOMBA
HISTORICAL/ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY - ~ULY, 1990
GRACE' KARSKENS, HISTORIAN/HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
Item No. 26
Precinct 4 - North Katoomba Precinct
Title Former Mt St Mary's Convent and Boarding
School
Location
History
Great Western Highway between Bowling
Green Avenue and Station Street.
Mt St M~ry's boarding and day school and
convent was opened in 1901 by Catholic
nuns on land which had been part of
James H. Neal's 40 acres. An earlier
house, The Rocks, was evidently removed
to the corner of Bowling Green Avenue
when the present Italianate building was
commenced in 1909 and occupied in 1910.
It was one of the many Mountains
. boarding schools which flourished during
the early tw~ntieth century, when it was . . , thought that beautiful surroundings and
Description
Significarce
Other Listings
- 60 -
clear mountain air, combined with spartan regimes, would produce racially
superior children. The ichool closed in 1974.
A very large three storey pared-down
Italianate style building with a square 4-storey tower, arched windows and loggias, and a hipped and flared roof
line. A Spanish Mission style wing,
complete with bell tower was added at
the western end and an, unsympathetic
blond brick 1960s wing on the east. The building still stands in extensive grounds and is a gateway landmark at the
entrance to Katoomba.
The building is significant for~its
landmark status at the entrance to
Katoomba and is historically interesting
in its demonstration of the boom in
education in the Blue Mountains during the racial-fitness obsessed early twentieth century.
Identified in Blue Mountains Heritage Study.
Impact of
Development
Conservation
Strategy
- 61 -
Not affected.
Not likely to be affected. Ideally new
work should enhance the vista to the
building.
CHEAT \>"ESTEHN il J GI1WAY LEUHA TO i<ATOOMBA
1I1STOHICAL/AHCflAEOLOGICAL SURVEY ,JULY, 1990
G 1< ACE K A It S KEN S, HIS TOR 1 AN / HIS TOR 1 CA L ARC H A EO LOG 1ST
I TE~l 26 Former Mt St Mary's convent and boarding school, Great Western Highway, Katoomba
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