Fernhill, Mulgoa

Fernhill
Fernhill Location of the western fringe of greater metropolitan Sydney
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Residence and horse stud; Former residence and gardens
Architectural style	Old Colonial Greek Revival
Location	1041 Mulgoa Road, Mulgoa, New South Wales
Country	Australia
Coordinates	33°49′31″S 150°38′19″E / 33.8251751167°S 150.6386152810°E / -33.8251751167; 150.6386152810Coordinates: 33°49′31″S 150°38′19″E / 33.8251751167°S 150.6386152810°E / -33.8251751167; 150.6386152810
Construction started	c. 1830
Completed	c. 1840
Client	William Cox, and one of his sons, Edward
Grounds	690 hectares (1,700 acres)
Design and construction
Architect	Attributed: Mortimer Lewis, John Verge, or Francis Clarke
Website
www.fernhillestate.net.au
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name	Fernhill
Type	Historic landscape
Criteria	a., c.
Designated	2 April 1999
Reference no.	00054
References
[1][2]

Fernhill is an heritage-listed house located on Mulgoa Road, Mulgoa in western Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. Completed in c. 1840 as a residence for Captain William Cox and family, the house was completed in the Old Colonial Greek Revival style with its design attributed to either Mortimer Lewis, John Verge or Francis Clarke.

Set on 690 hectares (1,700 acres), Fernhill was built as a much grander residence with associated gardens following Cox's earlier construction of The Cottage, that dated from c. 1810.^[3] Following Cox's death in 1837, Fernhill was completed under the supervision of one of his sons, Edward.

Heritage listing

On 2 April 1999, Fernhill was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register with the following statement of significance;^[1]

The Fernhill estate comprises an extensive area of modified and natural landscape which provides the setting for a house completed c.1845 for Edward Cox. The estate is primarily significant for its landscape which is a rare Australian example of the English landscape school's practice of modifying the natural landscape to create a romanticised natural appearance embellished by a richness of cultural features: for the house which is a fine example of Greek Revival architecture, exceptionally well crafted; and the setting of the estate within the Mulgoa Valley with its modified landscape distinguished by historic colonial era homesteads and the Anglican Church.

The estate also demonstrates a unique phase in Australia's history with the rise of the landed pastoral estates, in this instance developed by Edward Cox and his son Edward King Cox. The importance of Fernhill as a group of related sites (along with St. Thomas' Church, Mulgoa, and the Cottage, Mulgoa) is twofold: the landscape is exceptionally significant in its own right irrespective of the buildings, and is as important as the architectural, historic and visual relationships of the buildings themselves.

This group of three sites retain their original visual relationship to each other and demonstrating the ambitions and changes in wealth and status of an important early colonial family (the Coxes) from 1810-1880s. The landscape between the Cottage, the Church and Fernhill has remained virtually unaltered since the 1850s. This landscape is a unique piece of evidence of a very rare attitude in the mid-nineteenth century towards the natural environment.

Fernhill's landscape extends generally from Mulgoa Creek in the east to beyond the ridge of bush behind Fernhill house in the west, from Littlefields Creek in the south to Mayfields Road in the north. Fernhill setting is an extensive area of modified landscape providing a picturesque approach to the historic Homestead. The landscape is significant for the high degree of creative design achievement, attributed to the original owner, Edward Cox.

It is historically significant for the following reasons: - the landscape is a rare Australian example of the English landscape school's design technique which modified existing landscapes to create a romanticised natural appearance; - the landscape demonstrates a cultural phase in Australia when landscape design was influenced by the teaching of Thomas Shepherd who advocated the adaptation of the English design technique.

The landscape contains a richness of cultural features such as: - long vistas to the Homestead; - vistas to St. Thomas' (the family) Church spire from the Homestead; - use of water as a foreground for vistas and views; - ornamental bridges to articulate enframed views; and clumps of trees carefully created by thinning of native bushland.

Fernhill is possibly the only intact early colonial garden laid out on the principles of the English Landscape Garden (a landscape "Park" in the picturesque manner) but relying entirely on indigenous plant material and the process of elimination (thinning and tree removal) rather than planting. While unfortunately somewhat altered in character and detail, Fernhill's remnant exotic trees of the 19th century garden (Bunyas, stone pines, Chinese elms) around the house and the remnant garden layout are a carefully contrived culmination of the more important landscape drive.

Fernhill was probably one of the last buildings completed in the Colonial period of New South Wales architecture. It was the home of Edward Cox, son of William Cox, and as such is intimately linked with much of the early rural development of the colony. Fernhill property retains most of its rural landscape character, including a visual relationship with the Cox family's earlier house Mulgoa Cottage and church, St Thomas' Church of England.

Fernhill was constructed of stone quarried on the site and was probably one of the last buildings to be completed in the noble colonial period. It was at this time that the Greek and Romantic Revival period commenced in which the buildings were constructed of imported materials. Believed to be possibly the finest extant Greek Revival temple house in New South Wales. The fact that the house was not completed (it is single storey, and was apparently to be two storied) makes it physical evidence of the depression of the 1840s. Perhaps most significant is its siting. In the truly picturesque sense, it is sited like a Greek temple, on an acropolis of a site, to command the country for miles around. It is also significant as the home of a prominent settler, Edward Cox.

— Statement of significance, New South Wales State Heritage Register.

Residents and owners

The various residents and owners of Fernhill have been:^[4]

• William Cox, 1830 – 1837
• Edward Cox, 1837 – 1868
• Edward King Cox, 1868 – 1883
• Standish Cox, 1883 – 1896
• Francis Augustus Wright, 1896 – ????
• Warren Anderson, 1980 – 2012
• Simon and Brenda Tripp, 2012 –
• Government of New South Wales, 2018 –

In 2017 there were plans by the Rookwood Cemetery Trust to acquire grounds surrounding the homestead for the purposes of creating a new cemetery in western Sydney. Amidst significant community opposition, the NSW Government declined planning approval for a cemetery on Fernhill.^[5][6] In early 2018 the estate was bought by the NSW Office of Strategic Lands of the NSW government.^[7]

Popular culture

The finale of season three of The Bachelor was filmed at Fernhill.^[4][6]

See also

• Australian residential architectural styles

References

External links

• Jacobs, Ken; Christie's (2017). "Fernhill Estate, Mulgoa Valley, NSW" (Real estate marketing brochure). Prestige Homes of Australia Pty Ltd.