Built between 1813-1818. The second oldest surviving structure in the
City of
Blacktown and the only one listed with the NSW Historic Houses Trust.
Features in several of Banjo Patterson's poems.
The house is one of the most significant
and substantial houses of the
Macquarie period (1810-1822), being the largest and most complete
publically owned estates displaying the occupancy and culture of an
Australian
family.
Originally the home of Richard & Elizabeth Rouse, who arrived in
Australia in 1801. At the time the house was built, Rouse was
Superintendent of Public Works & Convicts and he diverted convicts
and materials
to help build his home (a common practice at the time) and operated a
toll both on the opposite side of the road.. The house
remained in the family until 1978 when it was aquired by the Historic
Houses Trust, however it continues as a family residence and has been
home to the Rouse family for 7 generations and over 180 years. The
Rouse family were key players in 19th Century Sydney, politically,
socially and economically - in 1852 when Richard died the family
controlled 230,000 acres of farmland and 20 cattle stations. The 3rd
and 4th generations sold off the income-generating estates in order to
maintain their extravagent lifestyles and by the 1890's only the Rouse
Hill estate was left (which was originally intended as the family home
and not as a working farm). The Rouse Hill estate, at it's largest,
covered 1200 arces. Today only 30 acres surrounding the house remain.
Surrounding the estate is an additional 375 acres held by the National
Parks & Wildlife Service.
The estate now consists of the mansion itself, the gardens, stables,
workers cottages and a further 21 out-buildings. The older of the two
worker's cottages was built 1819 from timber slabs and clay caulking
with a dirt floor. A second cottage was built of brick from the remains
of the old coachhouse. After the family fell on hard times, these
cottages served as family residences, a huge comedown from the glory
days of the family! The barn and laundry were built in the 1840's. In
1855 a verandah was added and in the 1860's the house extensively
refurnished.
The central mansion is a two-storey neo-classical Georgian-style home
built by convict labour. Has a separate two
storey brick service wing, offices forming an arcaded courtyard, 22
rooms, staircase hall with a cantilevered timber stair, service stair and two cellar rooms. The upper floor
contains HHT offices and the family residence. The main house
is built of sandstone with a slate roof, timber
floors (some of the ground floor rooms have stone flagged floors). The
two-storey service wing was added in 1862 and includes one of the first
indoor bathroom's in Australia..
The garden is
perhaps the earliest garden design to have survived in NSW, almost
unaltered in form. Particularly significant are the bunya pines, which
date to the early decades of the house. There are also impressive
specimens of stone pine, oak and moreton bay figs.
Of the other buildings on the site, the most notable are the stables
built in 1875 by architect John Horbury Hunt. The stables have flagged stone
floors, ornate stalls and brick walls and looks almost as impressive as
the house itself - horses were an important part of the family life,
both socially and economically. In addition to breeding horses for
travel and work, the family was heavily into horse racing and hunting.
In a rather controversial decision, the HHT have chosen not to restore
the house or any of the out-buildings, but to preserve it as it was
when they aquired the house. Thus the house has not been restored to a
snap-shot in it's history, rather it reflects the 6 generations who
have lived there - a television set is nestled amongst Victorian
furniture, for instance. This preservation extends even to ad-hoc
repairs by the Rouse's and their descendents. This decision allows the
house to attest to the history of the family throughout it's occupancy,
both good times and bad.
In addition to it's connection with the family, the estate is also
famous (or infamous) as being the site of the Battle of Vinegar Hill
which occured 5th March, 1804, although the exact location of the
battle is uncertain and there are some conflicting claims. The Battle
of Vinegar Hill was named after the earlier battle in Wexford, Ireland,
1798. About 300 Irish political prisioners working at Parramatta staged
a mass escape on the 4th with the plan to capture a ship and return to
Ireland. They were attacked by government forces the next day at Rouse
Hill, with 45 being killed before they surrendered. Many had also
fought in the earlier Battle of Vinegar Hill.
The estate is open at limited times during the year for inspection. The
ongoing upgrade of the Windsor Road will eventually see the road
diverted around the estate and the Rouse Hill Public School, itself a
historic site, will be incorporated into the Rouse Hill estate.
Sources: Blacktown Advocate, 22/3/2000 Blacktown City Guardian,
2/6/1999 Blacktown City Sun, 21/1/2003 Mt Druitt-St Marys Standard,
11/2/2004 Blacktown Advocate, 11/2/2004
Tour notes, 31/3/2001 Rouse Hill Regional Park, NSW
National Parks & Wildlife Service brochure
NSW Historic Houses Trust Rouse Hill
brochures
NSW Historic Houses Trust Website, http://www.hht.nsw.gov.au
NSW Heritage Office Website, http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au