Bungarribee Homestead Site

John Campbell

From c. 1815 Macquarie began to grant parcels of land from the Rooty Hill Farm to settlers, which marked the beginning of organised European agricultural activity in the area. The largest portion in the subject area was that of John Campbell's 2000 acres which he took up in c. 1822.

Campbell was a retired military officer from Scotland who arrived in Australia on board the Lusitania in November 1821 (with a wife, four sons & five daughters. Campbell, accompanied by his wife and nine children and bearing a letter of introduction from the Earl of Bathurst (then Secretary of State^[5]) to Governor Macquarie, was intent on making his fortune by taking up land and farming. Despite being described by Broadbent (1997) as an "unappealing man" and an "unconscionable self-interested sponger", Campbell appears to have had considerable knowledge of farming and was relatively highly regarded by the colonial government at the time. Campbell's knowledge and status are reflected in his appointments as a committee member of the Agricultural Society of NSW (1822) and later "Joint Commissioner of Crown Lands"^[6][1]

Campbell's land grant was bounded by Eastern Creek in the west, in the north by the current Bungarribee Road (and its line west of Doonside Road), in the south by the Great Western Highway and in the east by the approximate line of Reservoir Road. Campbell erected a temporary residence on the high point of his land and began to clear and cultivate, with the help of 22 convict labourers.^[7][1]

An 1821 Colonial Secretary's record notes authorising John Campbell to select 22 convicts, 'having 80 acres cleared at Prospect under conditions of the notice of 17/11/1821. "Until the party have hutted themselves at a central spot on your estate (he says less than one week) they are to continue drawing rations from Parramatta...".^[8][1]

The 1822 Land and Stock Muster lists John Campbell as granted 2000 acres (at "Parramatta") with 130 acres cleared, 15 acres wheat, 5 acres barley and 2 acres potatoes. Stock are 24 cattle, 28 hogs and 1 horse. In the General Muster of 1822 he is no. A03201 with sons 3202, -03, also wife No. A3178 and 6 children 3179-3184, all "came free" on "Lusitania"..^[9] He was assigned 6 convicts for 6 months victualling from the King's Stores, and applied for 5 mechanics and 4 labourers..^[10][1]

Almost immediately after Campbell received his grant he began building a homestead on that land "suited to his status as a former officer and colonial gentleman". The homestead and estate (a grant of 2000 acres between Prospect and Rooty Hill^[5]) were named Bungarabee which was also the name of the creek which cut east-west through the grant. It is an Aboriginal composition, a derivation of which was briefly associated with the Black Town native school.^[1] He built on the western slope of Bungarribee Hill (on an elevated plateau above the 100 year flood line) in 1822. Construction work utilised assigned convict labour and was preceded by or occurred in concert with clearing sections of the natural vegetation on Campbell's land..^[11] The main portion of the house was circular, with one room on the ground floor and one above, both a full circle in shape. Thus all windows, doors and mantelpieces had to be curved, and the difficulty of properly carrying out such accurate work with the labour available must have been very great. Yet it was done, and stood for over 100 years, testimony to the skill involved.^[5]

Campbell's temporary residence was enlarged in 1825 and incorporated into his grand new home. He positioned his new house on the top of the highest hill on the property, with the main living section facing to the west, providing views to the Blue Mountains in the distance. Situated on the highest point, the house was clearly visible to travellers passing along the Western Road and in time it became a landmark in the area. (Although now demolished, the site retains its landmark qualities through the Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii), hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), Mediterranean cypress / pencil pine (Cupressus sempervirens), Port Jackson fig (Ficus rubiginosa) and peppercorn tree (Schinus molle var. areira) that remain on the site and are visible from Doonside Road and were part of the Bungarribee house garden.). As well as the house, a number of large outbuildings and farm structures were erected on the raised area, including a brick convict barracks, a large brick barn, a number of stables, blacksmith's shop, carpenter's shop and other associated buildings.^[7][1]

The first recorded mention of a kitchen (vegetable and fruit) garden at Bungarribee appears in a sale notice for the estate following Campbell's death, who had established the property in 1823. An auction notice for the estate in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser from August 1828 until its sale in September 1828 described the property as including "a garden consisting of 8 acres with a great number and variety of young fruit trees well watered". Of interest is the description of the trees as "young fruit trees", suggesting at least part of the garden was a recent addition (although at this stage none of the garden would have been over five years old). The size at 8 acres represents two types of garden likely to have been on site: the kitchen garden itself and an associated orchard. A garden of that size would be able to support the entire household, staff and convict labourers on the site. A letter in the Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser of 23/3/1846 reported that 63 people lived at Bungarribee (during the occupancy of the East India Company). This probably represents roughly the number employed on the estate throughout the 1830s. A workforce this large goes some way to explaining why the garden would cover an area as large as 8 acres. A second sale notice from 1882 also mentions the existence of a kitchen and flower garden, vineyard and orchard, but gives no further description of plantings or size^[12][1]

The problems encountered by Campbell during the construction of the estate were considerable. In 1824 approximately one year after beginning work on Bungarribee, Campbell was in debt to his creditors including Simon Levey and John Macarthur.^[1]

Campbell was appointed a magistrate for the district, and in those days this was a real distinction. Governor Brisbane, Macquarie's successor, on one occasion found it necessary to give some samples of the penalties inflicted by various magistrates, and he quoted one wherein Mr Campbell figured. The bench consisted of Lieutenant William Lawson, of Prospect (Veteran Hall), Donald Macleod, and John Campbell, Esquires. Christopher Lawler, a convict employed at Rooty Hill, was the culprit, and was charged with 'having a quart tin in his possession stolen from the Huts on Mr Campbell's farm.' Lawler was sentenced to receive 25 lashes every second morning until he produced the remainder of the property stolen. This was evidently a customary sentence, as others are cited, but Lawler evidently would not or could not produce the remainder, for a note states that after receiving 100 lashes he was returned to his gang.^[13][1]

In 1826 Campbell's wife died and in 1827 Campbell himself died at the age of 56. Their tragic deaths and the invention of Chief Bungaroo and other stories involving the murder of a convict and the firearm suicide of an officer in one of the bedrooms led to a proliferation of stories about the house being cursed or haunted.^[1]

Thomas Icely

Bungarribee was sold to Thomas Icely in 1828 for 3652 pounds with financial assistance from John Macarthur. Icely arrived in NSW on the Surrey in 1820, and within five years had an estimated capital of over 30,000 pounds.^[14][15][1]

The Round room and tower were added by Icely in 1829.^[16][1]

Icely made extensive purchases of horses, cattle and sheep, and was given a grant of land to the extent of 2560 acres in the Carcoar district. The estate which was increased by purchases, was named Coombing Park after a creek on the station. Here Icely prospered and became one of the leading pastoralists of the day.^[1]

Bungarribee was used for breeding and fattening purposes. In the days before the advent of the railway, moving stock or wool was a slow and laborious business. The roads of the day were little more than tracks, and a full day's journey by bullock wagon would be covered by a truck in less than an hour now. In such circumstances such an estate as Bungarribee, adjacent to Sydney, would be of great value as an appendage to a pastoral property in the country.^[13][1]

Icely was owner during EJH Knapp's 1832 survey, and is listed as a horse breeder.^[17].^[18] The large stables shown by Knapp in 1832 may have been built by Icely, who was a noted horse breeder. The 1828 Muster showed Icely had 14,770 acres, including 1230 cleared and 138 cultivated. He had 65 horses, 1450 cattle and 7500 sheep (compared to John Campbell's record in the 1822 Muster of having only one horse but 24 cattle and 28 hogs).^[1]

The 1832 Knapp survey of Eastern Creek and north boundaries of the 2000 acres of property transferred from Campbell to Icely. This showed in some detail the house, outbuildings (stables, dairy and barracks?), also extensive formal gardens covering 120 x 100 meters.^[19] Knapp was government surveyor. His plan is the only known plan that shows the outline and dimensions of the kitchen garden and positions it in relation to the house. The plan shows a rectangular garden divided internally into 16 individual beds with what appear to be paths running in a grid pattern through it. Around the perimeter appears a border, which may also represent border plantings. A central path running north-south has three circular features with smaller garden beds in the centre. This plan is similar to ideas for kitchen garden planting being put forward by the likes of Thomas Shepherd (Sydney's first commercial nurseryman and garden designer) and Scottish/English writer John Claudius Loudon at this time, although it is further from the house than they recommended. This is probably due to the site's topography, with the house and associated outbuildings built on a raised, relatively narrow portion of the site while the garden was located to the northwest, on a flat adjacent to one of the creeks that ran through the estate.^[12] The garden is shown in a number of other media (sic), most notably two paintings of the estate during the ownership of the East India Company. Of these, it is most clearly shown in T.Rider's painting of the site c.1850 which (looking to the homestead group across the estate), shows the garden enclosed by a timber railing fence, separated from the house by a large paddock.^[20][1]

Charles Smith

Charles Smith, a thoroughbred horse breeder, resided at Bungarribee from 1832-40.^[21] A tenant during Charles Smith's ownership was Mr Henry Herman Kater (1840-41), who arrived in NSW in 1839 on the "Euphrates", which he had chartered and loaded with horses and cattle. He was a Cambridge graduate, and had acted as one of the Earl of Marshal's Gold Staff Officers at Queen Victoria's coronation. He bought Bungarribee soon after arrival, and pastured his valuable livestock there. Amongst the horses were Capapie, Tross, Cantab, Paraquay, The Giggler and Georgiana, from which descended many of the finest racehorses in Australia. Kater decided to specialise in horse breeding, and sold his cattle to Mr William Suttor of Bathurst, thus helping to form the celebrated herd built up by Suttor.^[13][1]

In 1840 Kater brought his bride to Bungarribee, Eliza Charlotte Darvall, daughter of Major Edward Darvall, and on September 20 1841 a son was born, named Henry Edward. Kater Jr became a well known pastoralist, and was appointed a member of the Legislative Council, and died in 1924.^[22][1]

In late 1841 Kater departed Bungarribee, and Smith leased the property to Joseph Armstrong. He came from the strata of society where families are not discussed, and any imprints he had did not come from a University. Nevertheless Smith was a remarkable man, wealthy, and a great sportsman. He was described as 'one of the greatest promoters of horses breeding, a sporting butcher, who carries on his trade in a large plot of land where Kidman's and Lassetter's stores are (George, Market & York Streets), but taking in the whole square into York Street. Smith was an eminent horse breeder and was a frequent winner. He had a stud farm at Bungarribee, and an establishment at Camperdown. He owned more blood stock of the highest type than any other breeder at the one time'. Smith died in 1845, and Bungarribee passed into the occupation of agents of the East India Company, who used it as a depot for horses intended for remounts in India.^[23][1]

East India Company and various late twentieth century owners

Godden Mackay Logan (2007, 10) note that the property was occupied by the East India Company between c. 1843-6) and from 1846-51 by Benjamin Boyd, prominent colonial merchant and entrepreneur. Boyd used its convict barracks for a period as accommodation for South Pacific (Kanaka) labour he had working on his properties.^[1]

It then passed though through a number of tenants, one being Captains Dallas and Apperley (1845-47), who used the property as an assembly depot and "rest station" for horses purchased in NSW as remounts for the British army in India. After the East India Company there seems to have been a return to horse breeding, cattle grazing, agriculture and dairying.^[11][1]

An 1846 record (Lt. Col. Godfrey C Mundy, notes Bungarabee (sic) as the H.E.I (East India) Company stud establishment (just on the eve of abolition)...and consisting of an excellent dwelling house and offices, stables permanent and temporary for several hundred horses, with some fine open paddocks around them...'.^[24] Other records imply that Icely and Kater both used the horse stud from which the East India Company exported late in the 1840s.^[25][1]

After Smith, the property passed through the hands of a number of owners including John Kingdon Cleeve J.P., Major J.J. Walters J.P. (who resided in the house for 17 years,^[13] Maurice Davey, Charles Hopkins and Thomas Cleaver.^[13] J.K.Cleeve bred and raced horses. Aside from this, the property relied on varying farming and livestock activities to remain self sufficient and financially viable. Godden Mackay Logan, 2007a,10) record Cleeve's occupation and farming of the estate as being between 1858 and 1890.^[26][1]

J. J. Walters

The property was initially leased by Major J.J. Walters in 1900 (purchased 1908) who operated it as a mixed farm including dairying, cattle and crops. In 1913 the estate east of the present day Doonside Road was subdivided as part of the "Bungarribee Farms Estate". Bungarribee House itself eventually passed into the hands of a Thomas Cleaver and during WWII the American Air force built a sealed runway on the property which was used as an emergency training ground.^[15][1]

The modification and change in function of some structures appears to have been a feature of the second half of the nineteenth century. When Major J. J. Walters took up the property in 1900 he noted in a letter (1913) that the only buildings besides the residence were an old brick men's quarters, large brick barn with 10 loose boxes around it, brick dairy (meat house) and brick & and wooden vehicle house. (NB: Campbell's dairy was demolished in the late 1800s. The Walters family were aware of the foundations, which became the basis of the "ball room that burnt down" story. The only truth in the story might be the fact the dairy burnt down).^[15][1]

After Walters' departure in 1915, the house was largely unoccupied and fell into disrepair; reprieved to some extent by Hopkins' renovations in 1927-28. Between 1949 and the mid 1950s the house's decay was such that it ceased to be used as a homestead residence. The last occupants, a caretaker and his family occupied the few remaining weather proof rooms in 1950^[27].^[15][1]

A 1935 article described Bungarribee as 'with its burden of a century's life, standing like a battered old man, calmly awaiting the call that will write "finis" in its history.^[13] The author did not appear to have visited the house, relying on information in an article by William Freame, "Lavender and Old Lace", in 1926. In 1935, the house was in good condition - the author wasn't aware the house had been renovated ).^[1]

Commonwealth and military ownership

In c. 1941, the Bungarribee estate, excluding the house, as well as properties adjoining the estate, was resumed by the Commonwealth for use by the military. The house and land to the east of Eastern Creek (which bisects the property north-south) remained in the possession of the last private owner of the site, Thomas Cleaver (1929-50). The military's interest in the site was for the construction of an airfield to serve as the training site and as an overshoot runway for the nearby RAAF Station Schofields airbase. A runway was constructed of compressed gravel with aircraft hides and taxi ways to the south. The runway extended on the southern side of Bungarribee Creek, in a south-westerly direction from close to the junction of Eastern and Bungarribee Creeks, crossing Doonside Road and ending near McCormack Street (Arndell Park), approximately 1.8km in length. Following the war's end, the estate remained in Commonwealth ownership, with the Cleaver family continuing to run dairy cattle on the northern portion..^[28][1]

In 1949, the Historic Buildings Committee of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects recommended that the house should be immediately "restored" in recognition of its significance. Between March and December 1950 the house was recorded by students of Sydney Technical College who noted that the cellars were flooded, the rubble footings were sinking and the walls were rotting. (NB: The house was in good shape in 1949. An OTC employee took several photos, and not a sheet of roofing iron is missing or window broken) .^[15][1]

A 1951 aerial photo shows the house and stables in accordance with Knapp's record, but later smaller buildings as well. Some trees on this photo still exist.^[18] Walter's letter (Appendix V) may relate to some outbuildings of 1913, standing in 1951). The same photo also shows the full extent of the American 1942 runway of 1500 metres sealed length. On inspection much of the sealed pavement has been broken, but it is an interesting residual artifact..^[29] This implies the property was involved with defence operations during World War Two. (The use of Bungarribee in defence operations during World War II is evident, however the extent of this remains unclear. National Archives files refer to this. Wallgrove and Veteran Hall were used more extensively) .^[15][1]

Overseas Telecommunications Commission ownership and demolition

The Overseas Telecommunications Commission acquired the site c. 1950, though Godden Mackay Logan note it as 1949, and one local map has a notation "Commonwealth Gazette", 13 Oct 1949 re resumption of site. The OTC developed it for a new international transmitting communications station. This work, including the construction of staff housing, had no bearing on the demolition of the house in 1957 or surviving outbuildings in the early 1970s. OTC ignored all pleas to protect Bungarribee house and when near total ruin in 1954, offered it to the National Trust of Australia. The offer was declined on the basis of the unworkable lease conditions, but more importantly had it been offered three years earlier, restoring the house would have been a practical proposition. (The decision was jointly reached between the Trust and Institute of Architects). The house with the exception of the barn and meat house was demolished in 1957.^[1]

By this time it had been unoccupied for a number of years and was deemed beyond repair. Despite some local opposition and a campaign by the fledgling National Trust for its retention and restoration, it was demolished. The only structure to survive was the two storey brick barn, which OTC used for storage.^[30][1]

John Lawson, a member of the local historical society had offered to restore the house at his own expense, only to be turned down by OTC, who subsequently accepted his 20 pound tender to demolish it. Lawson was required to level the site, not grade the foundations. As such, partial remains survive. The most undisturbed of these are the kitchen and servants' wing demolished c.1945. Smith's brick barn, one of the oldest original features to exist on the estate, was modified to house OTC catastrophic stores but was felled during a severe summer storm in 1977 after having stood for about 138 years. To the south of the barracks and barn sites, OTC built staff housing during the mid 1950s, behind the site of the barn along Doonside Road along the Bungarribee driveway. At the intersection of Doonside and Douglas Roads, the remains of these and the garden plantings can still be seen today..^[31][1]

By the early 1970s, the small surviving section of the barracks, meat house and barn skillings had been gradually demolished. (The eastern end of barrack block was converted into a small stable by Hopkins in 1927-28. The meat house is the dairy building, incorrectly named by Walters in 1913. A large butcher's block was still in place in the 1940s) .^[15][1]

The two storey brick barn was demolished in 1977 following damage in a severe storm. By the 1990s, telecommunication technology had surpassed the need for radio transmitting and the OTC site was closed. The station buildings and aerial masts had been removed by 2001.^[30][1]

Archaeological test excavations were undertaken in June 2000. The removal of the top layer of grass and vegetation revealed the remaining homestead walls, floor surfaces and footings. The wall foundations and verandah footings have a maximum dimension of 38m along the east-west axis and 22.5m along the north-south axis. As described in the historic records the homestead featured "a two-storied, circular conical roofed tower with two single storey verandah wings radiating from it - an L shaped house with a drum at the junction of the two arms. The exposure of the homestead footprint clearly revealed the "drum" of the building and the two wings which radiated in a west to east and north to south direction respectively. Clearly evident around the drum and two wings of the homestead is the sandstone alignment for the verandah. Also revealed are the servants area (which appears to include the base of a kitchen fireplace/wood stove) and a cement or line washed brick floor (which may have been part of the laundry or scullery area). The stone cobbled flooring of an early outbuilding and the barracks to the rear of the house were also located. In addition to structural remains there was cultural material lying on the surface including glass and ceramic fragments and other European domestic artefacts.^[1]

Locations for the cellars, large enclosed stockyards, piggery, store, ham house, stable, carpenter and blacksmiths' shop and tennis court have not yet been found, although it is expected given the high level of preservation in the main house that remains of these structures will also be present..^[32][1]

Above ground are remnants of the former garden of Bungarribee estate, with landmark mature coniferous trees including Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii), hoop pine (A.cunninghamii) and Mediterranean cypress or pencil pine, (Cupressus sempervirens) indicating the location of the former homestead on the site..^[33][1]

OTC occupied the Bungarribee estate from 1949 until c. 2001, although the station ceased operations during the 1990s. The development of the OTC site involved the building of a modern 2 storey transmitting station to the south of Bungarribee Creek and erection of a series of aerials across the entire land holding for transmitting radio signals. The new OTC station was accessed via the Great Western Highway, west of Doonside Road. It was officially opened by the Postmaster-General in February 1957. To the north of Bungarribee house site, on Doonside Road, an area was also developed for staff housing, with a curving access road, street plantings and dwelling houses. The housing was designed by prominent architectural firm Hennessy, Hennessy & Co. which OTC commissioned for the housing and the transmitting station (as well as the Receiving Station and accompanying accommodation at Bringelly) .^[34][1]

Recent developments

c.2005 aerial photographs of the property in context show the OTC staff housing has been removed, while its layout and tree plantings survive..^[35][1]

In September 2015 Environment Minister Mark Speakman announced approval of the lease of a 16.5ha site for a new zoo on land adjoining Bungarribee's picnic area and playground. The new zoo - subsequently known as the Sydney Zoo - was due to open in late 2017 and attract about 745,000 visitors a year. It was subsequently delayed until early 2019.^[36][37][1]

In March 2017 Western Sydney Parklands' $15 million Bungarribee Park was opened, making it the largest recreational space in Western Sydney since the construction of Homebush's Bicentennial Park. It provided for the wetland around Bungarribee and Eastern creeks to be protected, with 20 hectares of native wildflower and thousands of native trees will be planted to restore the Cumberland Plain.^[38][1]

Modifications and dates

• 1821 50 acres cleared at Prospect
• 1822 2000 acres (at "Parramatta") with 130 acres cleared, 15 acres wheat, 5 acres barley and 2 acres potatoes. Also the initial construction of house
• 1828 Muster showed Icely had 14,770 acres, including 1230 cleared and 138 cultivated.^[1]
• 1832 - survey of property showed in some detail the house, outbuildings (stables, dairy and barracks?)(Marked "C B" - perhaps Convict Barracks. Other staff huts are not delineated by Knapp. The barn and barracks that survived until modern times were built after a fire in 1838. The barn in 1832, if unchanged from Campbell's time, likely contained the various workshops mentioned in 1828 (J.W.Moore), also extensive formal gardens covering 120 x 100 meters.^[1]
• 1846 record (Lt.Col.Godfrey C Mundy, notes Bungarabee (sic: Campbell's spelling form) as the H.E.I (East India) Company stud establishment (just on the eve of abolition)...and consisting of an excellent dwelling house and offices, stables permanent and temporary for several hundred horses, with some fine open paddocks around them...'.^[24][1]
• Campbell's dairy was demolished in the late 1800s.^[1]
• 1913 the estate east of present day Doonside Road was subdivided off. Outbuildings were erected?/noted by then-owner Walters. Also noted that 'the only buildings beside the residence are an old brick house men's quarters, large brick barn with 10 loose boxes round it, brick dairy and brick and wood vehicle house'. House window shutters were oiled, although possibly painted at a later date. They were removed in 1927-28 by Hopkins, to eventually end up spanning the carriage openings of the barn. The eastern end of barrack block was converted into a small stable by Hopkins in 1927-28. The meat house is the dairy building, incorrectly named by Walters in 1913..^[39][1]
• A large butcher's block was still in place in the 1940s.
• 1942 - resumed by Military. American runway of 1500 metres sealed length^[40]for use as a training site and as an overshoot runway for the nearby Schofields airbases.
• 1949-50 - Roofing iron was removed / pilfered. Only the southern range of rooms were habitable in late 1950
• 1951 - aerial photo shows house and stables, and later smaller buildings as well. Some trees on this photo still exist.^[18] Also shows indications of garden walkways, dams or waterholes and trees. (Knapp has delineated 4+ acres of a larger 8 acre garden. Only the eastern half is visible in aerial photographs). The two "waterholes?" shown by Knapp (in 1832) )(about 14m south of the garden) are shown about 12 m apart and the 1982 map indicates them on the south side of the dam centred at 02670E 60360 N..^[41]
• 1957 - demolition of homestead^[1]
• 1977 - barn is destroyed by a storm
• 1980 aerial photo showed indications of garden walkways, dams or waterholes and trees. (NB: Knapp has delineated 4+ acres of a larger 8 acre garden. Only the eastern half is visible in aerial photographs. The two "waterholes?" shown by Knapp (in 1832) (about 14m south of the garden) may still be visible..^[19][1]
• 2012 - August 18th - A Bunya pine trunk failed 2m above ground level after a period of high winds, snapping off. It turned out to have termite riddled core and little live wood. The stump was subsequently removed and ground out. A replacement Bunya pine was planted in the same location.^[42][1]

Site/former farm

The site sits within the former Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) Transmitting Station site at Doonside. The Eastern Boundary of the Bungarribee Homestead Complex is Doonside Road at Douglas Road and the heritage curtilage extends for an area approximately 2.6 by 1.6 km. It is part of an original grant of 2000 acres received by John Campbell on 30th June 1823. The grant was bounded on the north by a line bearing east 180 chains 50 links commencing at Eastern Creek, on the east side by a line bearing south 150 chains to the Great Western Road, on the south by that road and on the west by Eastern Creek..^[43][1]

The archaeological potential of the site was reported as extremely high as at 10 July 2000, as the site consists of the rare, largely intact footings of an 1820s homestead including main house, outbuilding, barracks and original garden plantings.^[1]

The archaeological footprint of the complex is largely intact. It is expected to contain some occupation deposits relating to all phases of occupation on the site. The original vegetation (including large plantings) is largely intact.^[1]

Garden and grounds

Above ground are remnants of the former garden of Bungarribee estate, with landmark mature coniferous trees including Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii), hoop pine (A.cunninghamii), Mediterranean cypress or pencil pine, (Cupressus sempervirens), Port Jackson fig (Ficus rubiginosa), Himalayan blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) and peppercorn tree (Schinus molle var. areira) and boxthorn, (Lycium ferocissimum) indicating the location of the former homestead garden and possible former farm hedging on the site. An 1832 Knapp survey showed a square 8 acre formal kitchen garden north-west of the homestead site and other records note an orchard area from the time of the Campbells and into the 1830s^[44](See History section also)updated 19/2/13 using Landcom, 2013 Tree Management Strategy).^[1]

Homestead(s)

Campbell built a temporary dwelling on the property in c.1822, prior to building the main house, which was started by 1825. The temporary residence was later incorporated into the main dwelling as the servants' quarters..^[45][1]

The main house featured a two-storey, circular conical roofed tower with two single story verandah wings radiating from it in an L shape. Historical accounts note that the walls of the two storey circular section were solid and constructed of soft red sandstock bricks from Parramatta/Prospect. The one storey walls of the radiating wings and the internal walls were of half timber - post and rail - with sandstock bricks forming the infill panels of the walls. Window and door openings throughout the house were spanned by timber lintels and the solid brick portions of the house also featured decorative flat and semi circular brick arches. Vertical lathes were nailed to the rails on the external walls which were ultimately finished in white washed stucco. The roof structure and floors were built of adzed and pit sawn timber joined with handmade iron nails and the roof itself was covered with shingles. The open colonnaded verandahs and halls features sandstone flagging and the building boasted a substantial cellar.^[46](mostly taken from - Bungarribee, An old colonial homestead, Kell, Mathews, Newman, Sylvester-Booth, Sydney Technical College, 1950).^[1]

The main portion of the house was circular, with one room on the ground floor and one above, both a full circle in shape. Thus all windows, doors and mantelpieces had to be curved, and the difficulty of properly carrying out such accurate work with the labour available must have been very great..., testimony to the skill involved..^[5][1]

The main ground floor living rooms featured glazed French doors, opening onto the verandah. The house had 5 bedrooms on the ground floor and one in the first floor tower. It also featured formal living and dining rooms, a withdrawing room for the gentlemen, servants' quarters (in the original family cottage which was incorporated into the rear of the house) and a cellar underneath the main house accessed via an internal pantry. Later reports indicated that the cellar may have had a passage running from it towards the Bungarribee Creek and that a large underground tank or cistern was located to the rear of the main house. The house was built in the Picturesque style, which had been made popular in England by the architect John Nash in the early 19th century and had begun to appear in colonial design from the 1820s. In NSW this style never gained much attention, with more examples in Tasmania than the mainland. Bungarribee house was its most recognisable expression in New South Wales.^[47][1]

Outbuildings

As well as the house, a number of large outbuildings and farm structures were erected on the raised area, including a brick convict barracks, a large brick barn, a number of stables, blacksmith's shop, carpenter's shop and other associated buildings..^[7][1]

A considerable number of detached buildings were constructed which appear to have been associated with the working of Campbell's estate. A notice in the Sydney Gazette in 1828 noted that:^[1]

'The Valuable Estate of Bungarrabbee, the Property of the late John Campbell, Esq., situated on the Great Western Road, about 10 miles beyond Parramatta; it contains 2,000 acres of very excellent land, fenced all round, has 250 acres cleared, four large enclosed paddocks, various stockyards and piggery, a garden consisting of 8 acres, with a great number and variety of young fruit trees well watered, and two creeks always supplied with water running through the farm. The house, built of the very best materials, and scarcely completed at Mr Campbell's death, consists of a dining room, drawing room and five bedrooms on the ground floor, and four small rooms in the upper storey. Attached, is a most excellent kitchen or Servants' Room (the residence of the Family for some years before the building of the new house), with store, ham house, stable, barn, carpenter and blacksmiths' shops, superior barracks for the men, &c.; The Dairy is considered to be, in design, the most complete in the Colony. It is not quite finished but a trifle will complete it.'^[1]

The barn, which appears to have been huge, was located to the east of the house and was a solid brick building built from clay stocks interlaced with hard-burnt shale bricks laid in a Flemish bond. (Bricks were made locally. The region is still well known for brick making. The two varieties are blended, with the hard-burnt on the exterior). The roof of the barn featured "tusk and tenon" joinery which allowed nails to be used sparingly. The men's quarters may also have been built of the same bricks and were described as being behind the barn, having brick floors with lofts above where the servants used to sleep.^[48][1]

The modification and change in function of some structures appears to have been a feature of the second half of the nineteenth century. When Major John James Walters leased the property in 1900 (purchased 1908), he noted in a letter that the only buildings besides the residence were an old brick men's quarters, large brick barn with 10 loose boxes around it, brick dairy and brick & wooden vehicle house.^[49][1]

OTC acquired the site to develop a communications station in 1950. The house, deliberately left to decay, was demolished in May 1957. By the early 1970s, the small surviving section of the barracks, meat house and barn skillings had been gradually demolished. OTC built staff housing there during the 1950s, the remains of which can still be seen on site today along with their garden plantings.^[1]

Archaeological test excavations were undertaken in June 2000. The removal of the top layer of grass and vegetation revealed the remaining homestead walls, floor surfaces and footings. The wall foundations and verandah footings have a maximum dimension of 38m along the east-west axis and 22.5m along the north-south axis. As described in the historic records^[50] the homestead featured "a two-storeyed, circular conical roofed tower with two single storey verandah wings radiating from it - an L shaped house with a drum at the junction of the two arms.^[1]

The exposure of the homestead footprint clearly revealed the "drum" of the building and the two wings which radiated in a west to east and north to south direction respectively. Clearly evident around the drum and two wings of the homestead is the sandstone alignment for the verandah. Also revealed are the servants area (which appears to include the base of a kitchen fireplace/wood stove) and a cement or line washed brick floor (which may have been part of the laundry or scullery area. The stone cobbled flooring of an early outbuilding (whitewashed building with half-storey, west of the barn - ref. J. Fowles 1858) and the convict barracks to the rear of the house were also located. In addition to structural remains there was cultural material lying on the surface including glass and ceramic fragments and other European domestic artefacts. (These items were stated to be bagged and removed during the dig).^[1]

Locations for the cellars, large enclosed stockyards, piggery, store, ham house, stable, carpenter and blacksmiths' shop, and tennis court have not yet been found, although it is expected given the high level of preservation in the main house that remains of these structures will also be present..^[46] The tennis court (also used for croquet) was behind the house, to the north, and enclosed (on north side) by a high timber and wire netting fence. No remains would therefore exist. The foundations of Campbell's dairy was beneath the lawn.^[1]

The site is affected by contaminated soils. There are elevated lead levels and some asbestos present although the majority of the asbestos was removed during site remediation works in 2000.^[1]

Bibliography

• Austral Archaeology Pty Ltd (2000). Archaeological Test Excavations at Bungarribee Homestead, Great Western Highway, Doonside.
• Austral Archaeology Pty Ltd (2000). An Archaeological and Heritage Impact Assessment of the Telstra OTC Site, Great Western Highway, Doonside.
• Bertie, C.H. (1935). Touched by the Lazy Hand of Time, in 'The Home'.
• BJ Johnson Consulting P/L (2000). HAM00-06 Bungaribee archival survey - Report.
• Britton, G. & Morris, C., for the National Trust of Australia (NSW) (2000). Colonial Landscapes of the Cumberland Plain & Camden - 4.33.4 - Bungarribee House.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
• Broadbent, James & Hughes, Joy (1997). Francis Greenway Architect (-Bungarribee, Eastern Creek).CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
• Flynn, Michael (1995). 'Place of Eels: Aboriginal Parramatta in Australian History'.
• Fowles, Joseph (painter) (in :State Library of NSW) (2005). Bungarrabee, 1858 (in: Pride of Place - 19th century oil paintings from the Mitchell & Dixson collections).
• Godden Mackay Logan (2008). Bungarribee Homestead, Doonside - Former Kitchen Gardens - Archaeological Assessment and Research Design, May 2008.
• Godden Mackay Logan (a) (2009). Bungarribee Homestead, Doonside - Former Kitchen Garden - Historical Analysis.
• Godden Mackay Logan (b) (2009). Bungarribee - Interpretation Strategy - Draft report, July 2009.
• Godden Mackay Logan (2009). Bungarribee Homestead, Doonside - Former Kitchen Gardens - Archaeological Test Excavation Report, December 2009.
• Godden Mackay Logan P/L (a) (2007). Heritage Impact Statement: Doonside Residential Parcel & Parklands Bungarribee Precinct, Western Sydney Parklands.
• Godden Mackay Logan P/L (b) (2007). Conservation Management Plan: Doonside Residential Parcel, Western Sydney Parklands.
• Broadbent, James (1997). The Australian Colonial House: Architecture and Society in New South Wales, 1788-1842.
• John W. S. Moore, Brisbane. Qld. (2006). [bungarribee@iprimus.com.au "unpublished research"] Check |url= value (help).
• Landcom (& Australian Tree Consulting ATC), 10/1/2013 (2013). Bunya Heritage and View Park - Tree Management Strategy (& Plan).
• Latta, David. Lost Glories - a memorial to forgotten Australian buildings (- Bungarribee chapter).
• Cogno, Luisa (2004). A lost treasure (Blacktown Advocate 21/1/04).
• Moore, John W.S. (2012). "Bungarribee House - resting place of a King (facebook page)".
• Proudfoot, Helen (1987). Exploring Sydney's West (- section on Blacktown/3. Site of Bungarribee).
• University of Queensland Culture and Heritage Unit (2009). Bungarribee homestead, Doonside : archaebotanical analysis.
• Morris, C., & Britton, G./NSW National Trust (for the Heritage Council of NSW) (2000). Colonial Landscapes of the Cumberland Plain and Camden, NSW.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Bungarribee Homestead Complex - Archaeological Site, entry number 01428 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 2 June 2018.