Vaucluse, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Vaucluse is an eastern
suburb
of Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. Vaucluse is located 8 kilometres (5 mi) north-east of the Sydney central business district
, in the local government areas of Waverley Council and the Municipality of Woollahra
.
Vaucluse is located on the South Head
peninsula, with Sydney Harbour on the west and the Pacific Ocean
on the east. The Sydney Harbour side of the suburb commands views across the harbour to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The adjacent suburbs are Watsons Bay
, to the north and Rose Bay
and Dover Heights
to the south.
Vaucluse is a mainly residential suburb. For many years, it was the most affluent suburb in Sydney and in terms of houses and properties is still in the top five most expensive suburbs. Tahiti, a Hawaii
an-style residence in tropical gardens above Hermit Bay, set Australian residential record when it sold to a trio of South Africans (the Krok brothers) for more than $29 million in September 2007.
in 1811.
Macquarie Lighthouse was constructed on the ridge, a little south of the signal station, in 1816, having been designed by Francis Greenway
, the first notable architect in the colony. Residential use of the area also developed.
The original Vaucluse House
, from which the area derived its name, was built by Sir Henry Browne Hayes
, who had been transported to New South Wales
for kidnapping the granddaughter of a wealthy Irish banker. When he arrived, in 1802, he was allowed to buy land from that which was granted to Thomas Laycock in 1793 and Robert Cardell in 1795. The house was then acquired by Captain John Piper
in 1822. Sir Henry Browne Hayes, an avid admirer of the 14th century poet Petrarch
, named the house after Petrarch's poem about the famous Fontaine de Vaucluse near the town L'Isle sur la Sorgue in what is today the Department of Vaucluse
in southern France
. In 1827, the small but charming cottage was bought by William Charles Wentworth
(1790–1872), barrister and explorer and one of the men who had crossed the Blue Mountains in 1813. Many structural changes and additions were made while he lived there until 1853. The building has fifteen bedrooms, is in the 1830s Gothic style
and sits on 27 acres (10.9 ha) of gardens. It still survives and is listed on the Register of the National Estate
.
In the early 1840s, the present signal station was built by the Colonial Architect, Mortimer Lewis
. It has continued to be used up to the present day for controlling shipping in and out of the harbour. Later in the same decade, more residential development occurred with the construction of Greycliffe House at Shark Beach by a son-in-law of William Charles Wentworth. It was a large, sandstone house in the "Victorian Rustic Gothic" style, attributed to the architect John Hilly. A succession of prominent Sydney identities leased the house during the 19th century. It was gutted by fire in the 1890s but fully restored. It still stands. It is now used as the visitor centre for the Sydney Harbour National Park.
Another substantial residential development was the construction, in 1854-56, of Carrara on the harbour foreshores. Carrara was designed by John Hilly for John Hosking, the first Lord Mayor of Sydney. The house featured verandahs with Doric columns and was situated to take advantage of the harbour views. Its name was changed to Strickland House in 1915, when it was turned into a convalescent home for women.
By 1871, the colony was experiencing the "Russian scare" that prevailed at the time, as a result of which fortifications were built at Steel Point, just a little north-west of Carrara. Cannon emplacements, powder magazine and embrasures, plus a store and barrack rooms, were constructed at this strategic point overlooking the harbour. The buildings were made of sandstone found at the site and still survive today; they are listed on the Register of the National Estate.
Not long afterwards, Mortimer Lewis was designing a tomb for the Wentworth family. William Charles Wentworth died in England in 1872 and his remains were interred in the Victorian Gothic mausoleum that was constructed in Chapel Road, Vaucluse. Made of sandstone, the building featured a stained glass window in the west end and a clerestory window above the door.
Around about the same time, Edward Mason Hunt was busy designing a Victorian Gothic mansion south of Carrara. This two-storey sandstone home incorporated a much smaller home built at that site by Alexander Dick, circa 1840; that home changed hands in 1868 and enlargement proceeded. The new mansion, known as The Hermitage, featured multiple gables, a castellated tower and prominent fretwork. It was damaged by fire in 1936 but was restored by Emil Sodersten. It was bought in 1964 by the Woolworths company, which used it for some time as a training facility.
Just a little east of The Hermitage, St Michael's Church of England went up in 1877, after being designed by Edmund Blacket
. Located in St Michael's Place, this new sandstone church would later be enlarged in the 1930s, with the addition of a new spire, by Professor Leslie Wilkinson. The new design would eventually win the Sulman Prize for architecture in 1942.
By the 1880s, Greenway's Macquarie Lighthouse was in bad repair. In 1883, the Colonial Architect of the day, James Barnet
, built a new lighthouse which was virtually a perfect replica of the original one, and the original was demolished. Other buildings making up the group were the assistant lighthouse keepers' cottages, built circa 1881, and Greenway's keeper's cottage, dating from circa 1840. There are also remains of courtyards to earlier cottages and the stone base wall of the original lighthouse. The entire group is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
, constructed in 1892, it was intended to defend the town of Sydney from bombardment by an enemy vessel standing off the coast. Although the fortification has been heavily vandalised it is still intact and lies adjacent to the Signal Hill, signal station.
The Steel Point fortification in Nielsen Park was constructed in 1871, it originally accommodated three 80 pounder rifled muzzle-loaders (RMLs) that were replaced in the 1890s with 5 inch breech-loading guns
. The fortification was built at a time when fears of a Russian attack seemed imminent as well as other concerns such as in the withdrawal of British garrison troops, threats to British dependencies and increasing self reliance in defence matters. The battery consisted of three sandstone gun emplacements with embrasures for the guns to fire through. The gun emplacements were connected to underground chambers as well as a gun powder magazine by open passages and underground passageways leading into the complex.
In the 1950s, the RAN degaussing station was constructed over part of the Steel Point fortification. The degaussing
station was a countermeasure against magnetic mines. Shark Island was used for this purpose during World War II. Naval ships would pass over cables laid under the harbour and were effectively demagnetized.
sits prominently on the eastern side of the suburb, at Dunbar Head. Vaucluse House is a historic home managed by the Historic Houses Trust
.It is situated in Wentworth Road, with views across Sydney Harbour.
The cemetery was established well before 1869 to cater for the needs of the population in the growing Vaucluse area. It was run for some time by a private trust, but management was transferred to Waverley Council in the 1940s. It covers an expanse of 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) and contains the graves of 6,000 people as of 2008. There are a number of well-known people interred at the cemetery including Australia's first Prime Minister
, Sir Edmund Barton. .
Architect John Horbury Hunt
's last commission was a memorial to Sir John Robertson, former Premier of New South Wales. The memorial is shaped like a cone with two sections, the bottom of which commemorates Robertson's wife, while the top half commemorates Robertson himself. Also interred in this cemetery are members of the Packer family (newspaper proprietors); members of the Fairfax
family, also newspaper proprietors; Sir Walter Edward Davidson
, former Governor of New South Wales; the architect Howard Joseland and entertainer Gladys Moncrieff
Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)
The Eastern Suburbs is a general term used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the east and south-east of the Sydney central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Suburbs can refer to the suburbs within the local government areas of Woollahra, Waverley, Dover...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, in the state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Vaucluse is located 8 kilometres (5 mi) north-east of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
, in the local government areas of Waverley Council and the Municipality of Woollahra
Municipality of Woollahra
The Municipality of Woollahra is a Local Government Area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The administrative centre of the Municipality of Woollahra is located on New South Head Road at Double Bay....
.
Vaucluse is located on the South Head
Sydney Heads
Sydney Heads , is the entrance to Port Jackson in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north, South Head and Dunbar Head are to the south. Middle Head, Georges Head and Chowder Head are to the west and within the bay...
peninsula, with Sydney Harbour on the west and the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
on the east. The Sydney Harbour side of the suburb commands views across the harbour to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The adjacent suburbs are Watsons Bay
Watsons Bay, New South Wales
Watsons Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra....
, to the north and Rose Bay
Rose Bay, New South Wales
Rose Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rose Bay is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Municipal Council and Woollahra Council .Rose Bay has views of both the Sydney...
and Dover Heights
Dover Heights, New South Wales
Dover Heights is a coastal, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Dover Heights is located 9 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council...
to the south.
Vaucluse is a mainly residential suburb. For many years, it was the most affluent suburb in Sydney and in terms of houses and properties is still in the top five most expensive suburbs. Tahiti, a Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an-style residence in tropical gardens above Hermit Bay, set Australian residential record when it sold to a trio of South Africans (the Krok brothers) for more than $29 million in September 2007.
History
Before European settlement, the area where Vaucluse is now located was inhabited by the Birrabirragal aboriginal clan, who belonged to the coastal Dharug language group. The first European activity in the area took place not long after settlement, when a makeshift signalling station was set up on the ridge overlooking the ocean. Its role was to signal the colony if a ship was approaching. Pilots based at Camp Cove, Watsons Bay, could then meet the ship and guide it through the harbour. A formal signal station was established in 1790, serviced by a bridle trail that later became Old South Head RoadOld South Head Road, Sydney
Old South Head Road is a road in Sydney which goes from the suburb of Bondi Junction to Watsons Bay. It also passes through Bondi, Bondi Beach, North Bondi, Rose Bay and Vaucluse. It is historically significant because its earliest origins can be traced back to the early days of the colony...
in 1811.
Macquarie Lighthouse was constructed on the ridge, a little south of the signal station, in 1816, having been designed by Francis Greenway
Francis Greenway
-References:* *...
, the first notable architect in the colony. Residential use of the area also developed.
The original Vaucluse House
Vaucluse House
Vaucluse House is a historic estate in Gothic Revival style in the harbourside suburb of Vaucluse in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb takes its name from this house. Vaucluse House is a 19th century estate with house, kitchen wing, stables and outbuildings, surrounded by 28 acres of...
, from which the area derived its name, was built by Sir Henry Browne Hayes
Henry Browne Hayes
Sir Henry Browne Hayes was an Irish-born convict, transported to New South Wales.Hayes was born in Ireland, the son of Attiwell Hayes. Hayes was admitted a freeman of the city of Cork in November 1782, was one of the sheriffs in 1790, and in that year was knighted...
, who had been transported to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
for kidnapping the granddaughter of a wealthy Irish banker. When he arrived, in 1802, he was allowed to buy land from that which was granted to Thomas Laycock in 1793 and Robert Cardell in 1795. The house was then acquired by Captain John Piper
John Piper (military officer)
John Piper was a military officer, public servant and landowner in the colony of New South Wales.Piper was born in Maybole, Ayrshire Scotland, son of Hugh Piper, a doctor; his family came from Cornwall. He was commissioned as an ensign in the New South Wales Corps in 1791, and sailed on the...
in 1822. Sir Henry Browne Hayes, an avid admirer of the 14th century poet Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
, named the house after Petrarch's poem about the famous Fontaine de Vaucluse near the town L'Isle sur la Sorgue in what is today the Department of Vaucluse
Vaucluse
The Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...
in southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1827, the small but charming cottage was bought by William Charles Wentworth
William Wentworth
William Charles Wentworth was an Australian poet, explorer, journalist and politician, and one of the leading figures of early colonial New South Wales...
(1790–1872), barrister and explorer and one of the men who had crossed the Blue Mountains in 1813. Many structural changes and additions were made while he lived there until 1853. The building has fifteen bedrooms, is in the 1830s Gothic style
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
and sits on 27 acres (10.9 ha) of gardens. It still survives and is listed on the Register of the National Estate
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
.
In the early 1840s, the present signal station was built by the Colonial Architect, Mortimer Lewis
Mortimer Lewis
Mortimer William Lewis , was an English architect and surveyor who migrated to Australia and became Colonial Architect in the state of New South Wales from 1835 to 1849. Lewis was responsible for designing and overseeing many government buildings in Sydney and rural New South Wales, many of which...
. It has continued to be used up to the present day for controlling shipping in and out of the harbour. Later in the same decade, more residential development occurred with the construction of Greycliffe House at Shark Beach by a son-in-law of William Charles Wentworth. It was a large, sandstone house in the "Victorian Rustic Gothic" style, attributed to the architect John Hilly. A succession of prominent Sydney identities leased the house during the 19th century. It was gutted by fire in the 1890s but fully restored. It still stands. It is now used as the visitor centre for the Sydney Harbour National Park.
Another substantial residential development was the construction, in 1854-56, of Carrara on the harbour foreshores. Carrara was designed by John Hilly for John Hosking, the first Lord Mayor of Sydney. The house featured verandahs with Doric columns and was situated to take advantage of the harbour views. Its name was changed to Strickland House in 1915, when it was turned into a convalescent home for women.
By 1871, the colony was experiencing the "Russian scare" that prevailed at the time, as a result of which fortifications were built at Steel Point, just a little north-west of Carrara. Cannon emplacements, powder magazine and embrasures, plus a store and barrack rooms, were constructed at this strategic point overlooking the harbour. The buildings were made of sandstone found at the site and still survive today; they are listed on the Register of the National Estate.
Not long afterwards, Mortimer Lewis was designing a tomb for the Wentworth family. William Charles Wentworth died in England in 1872 and his remains were interred in the Victorian Gothic mausoleum that was constructed in Chapel Road, Vaucluse. Made of sandstone, the building featured a stained glass window in the west end and a clerestory window above the door.
Around about the same time, Edward Mason Hunt was busy designing a Victorian Gothic mansion south of Carrara. This two-storey sandstone home incorporated a much smaller home built at that site by Alexander Dick, circa 1840; that home changed hands in 1868 and enlargement proceeded. The new mansion, known as The Hermitage, featured multiple gables, a castellated tower and prominent fretwork. It was damaged by fire in 1936 but was restored by Emil Sodersten. It was bought in 1964 by the Woolworths company, which used it for some time as a training facility.
Just a little east of The Hermitage, St Michael's Church of England went up in 1877, after being designed by Edmund Blacket
Edmund Blacket
Edmund Thomas Blacket was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St...
. Located in St Michael's Place, this new sandstone church would later be enlarged in the 1930s, with the addition of a new spire, by Professor Leslie Wilkinson. The new design would eventually win the Sulman Prize for architecture in 1942.
By the 1880s, Greenway's Macquarie Lighthouse was in bad repair. In 1883, the Colonial Architect of the day, James Barnet
James Barnet
James Johnstone Barnet was the Colonial Architect for New South Wales from 1862 - 1890.-Life and career:Barnet was born at Almericlose, Arbroath, Scotland. The son of a builder, he was educated at the local high school...
, built a new lighthouse which was virtually a perfect replica of the original one, and the original was demolished. Other buildings making up the group were the assistant lighthouse keepers' cottages, built circa 1881, and Greenway's keeper's cottage, dating from circa 1840. There are also remains of courtyards to earlier cottages and the stone base wall of the original lighthouse. The entire group is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
Former military sites
Several defensive fortifications are located on the shores and cliff tops of Vaucluse, such as the Signal Hill BatterySignal Hill Battery
The Signal Hill Battery was constructed in 1892-3 at Watsons Bay and is adjacent to the Signal Hill Lighthouse on Old South Head Road.-History and description:...
, constructed in 1892, it was intended to defend the town of Sydney from bombardment by an enemy vessel standing off the coast. Although the fortification has been heavily vandalised it is still intact and lies adjacent to the Signal Hill, signal station.
The Steel Point fortification in Nielsen Park was constructed in 1871, it originally accommodated three 80 pounder rifled muzzle-loaders (RMLs) that were replaced in the 1890s with 5 inch breech-loading guns
BL 5 inch gun Mk I - V
The BL 5 inch guns Mk I - Mk V were early British 5-inch breechloading naval guns after it switched from muzzle-loaders in the late 1870s. They were originally designed to use the old gunpowder propellants...
. The fortification was built at a time when fears of a Russian attack seemed imminent as well as other concerns such as in the withdrawal of British garrison troops, threats to British dependencies and increasing self reliance in defence matters. The battery consisted of three sandstone gun emplacements with embrasures for the guns to fire through. The gun emplacements were connected to underground chambers as well as a gun powder magazine by open passages and underground passageways leading into the complex.
In the 1950s, the RAN degaussing station was constructed over part of the Steel Point fortification. The degaussing
Degaussing
Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field. It is named after Carl Friedrich Gauss, an early researcher in the field of magnetism...
station was a countermeasure against magnetic mines. Shark Island was used for this purpose during World War II. Naval ships would pass over cables laid under the harbour and were effectively demagnetized.
Landmarks
The Macquarie LighthouseMacquarie Lighthouse
The Macquarie Lighthouse, also known as South Head Upper Light, was the first, and is the longest serving, lighthouse site in Australia. It is located on Dunbar Head, Vaucluse near the entrance to Sydney Harbour. There has been a navigational aid in this vicinity since 1791 and a lighthouse near...
sits prominently on the eastern side of the suburb, at Dunbar Head. Vaucluse House is a historic home managed by the Historic Houses Trust
Historic Houses Trust, New South Wales
The Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales is an Australian-based statutory authority within the Office of Environment and Heritage in the New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet....
.It is situated in Wentworth Road, with views across Sydney Harbour.
South Head Cemetery
South Head Cemetery is situated at the junction of New South Head Road and Old South Head Road, Vaucluse, New South Wales. Although it is in Vaucluse, which is in the Woollahra municipality, it is administered by Waverley Council and is a companion cemetery to Waverley Cemetery.The cemetery was established well before 1869 to cater for the needs of the population in the growing Vaucluse area. It was run for some time by a private trust, but management was transferred to Waverley Council in the 1940s. It covers an expanse of 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) and contains the graves of 6,000 people as of 2008. There are a number of well-known people interred at the cemetery including Australia's first Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, Sir Edmund Barton. .
Architect John Horbury Hunt
John Horbury Hunt
John Horbury Hunt was a Canadian-born architect who worked in Sydney, Australia and rural New South Wales from 1863.-Life and career:...
's last commission was a memorial to Sir John Robertson, former Premier of New South Wales. The memorial is shaped like a cone with two sections, the bottom of which commemorates Robertson's wife, while the top half commemorates Robertson himself. Also interred in this cemetery are members of the Packer family (newspaper proprietors); members of the Fairfax
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
family, also newspaper proprietors; Sir Walter Edward Davidson
Walter Edward Davidson
Sir Walter Edward Davidson KCMG was a colonial Administrator and diplomat. He served periods as Governor of the Seychelles, Governor of Newfoundland and as Governor of New South Wales, in which he died in office....
, former Governor of New South Wales; the architect Howard Joseland and entertainer Gladys Moncrieff
Gladys Moncrieff
Gladys Moncrieff OBE was an Australian singer who was so successful in musical theatre and recordings that she became known as 'Australia's Queen of Song' and 'Our Glad'.-Early years:...
External links
- Google map: Vaucluse
- Historic Houses Trust Vaucluse House