Mar
22
After concluding our seven day cruise, we returned to Sydney, dropped off our luggage and headed to Wharf 5 for a ferry ride up the Parramatta River.
The Parramatta River is one of Australia's most iconic waterways, being central to Australia's Indigenous and colonial history, and to the development of modern Sydney.
When Arthur Phillip explored the area in 1788, looking for the ideal penal colony site, the river was already taking an important role in Parramatta’s future. It not only provided food for Aboriginal people and the new settlers, it was also the major transport route between Sydney and Parramatta. Wide varieties of vessels were used on the river including sail and oar boats of the early 1800s, and later steam ships. By the second half of the twentieth century there was extensive recreational use such as boating, picnicking and relaxation. At one time there were more than 20 swimming baths along the river.
We took the ferry for a one hour long ride to the end of the line to the river's namesake, Parramatta.When we researched what we could see, in the time we had, we headed to Elizabeth Farm.How could we resist this, "A restful homestead with a restless history. Dharug dispossession. Convict rebellion. The toppling of governors. Family turmoil. Built in 1793 for the young military couple John and Elizabeth Macarthur and their growing family, Elizabeth Farm today is an ‘access all areas’ museum. There are no barriers, locked doors or delicate furnishings. Set within a re-created 1830s garden, Australia’s oldest homestead is now our most immersive house museum."The modest 1793 three bedroom house is still visible, and was enlarged as Macarthur’s wealth and influence grew in the early 19th Century. He took an interest in architecture and directed renovations, adding larger rooms and a deep verandah to form the shaded bungalow we saw today. Macarthur’s adaptations created a residence better suited to the local climate. It’s an early version of a country homestead style that was reproduced around the colony.
So who was John Macarthur? Turns out this unique man was a British army officer and one of the most extraordinary figures in the early years of the colony. He was a pioneer of the wool industry, key agitator in Australia’s only successful political coup, and the colony’s richest man.
Soon after settling into Elizabeth Farm in 1793, Macarthur began experimenting with wool. When he returned to England in 1801, facing trial after a duel with a senior officer, he carried samples of his Parramatta wool and began lobbying for support for his agricultural endeavors.
When he returned to New South Wales as a private citizen in 1805, he expanded his land holdings and continued to antagonize local officials - including the Governor.
Governor William Bligh commenced his posting in 1805, the year of Macarthur’s return from England. One of his duties was to rein in the commercial activities of the NSW Corps. Macarthur, like other officers in the Corps, had accumulated significant private wealth during his time in the colony.
Bligh, who miraculously survived the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789, found himself in frequent conflict with Macarthur. Tension between the two men climaxed when Macarthur persuaded the NSW Corps, also known as the Rum Corps, to overthrow the Governor in 1808. It was the first and only military coup in Australian history - twenty years to the day after the founding of New South Wales (NSW). Wild stuff.
After the rebellion, Macarthur spent nine years back in England clearing his name. He remained there until he was granted unconditional return to NSW in 1817. After his return, he continued to develop his wool interests and by the 1820s he was the wealthiest man in the colony. By the 1830s, Macarthur’s mental health was failing. He was declared insane in 1832 and died two years later. What stories are hidden within these walls.Back to the house. Named after Macarthur’s wife, herself a formidable character in the early settlement, Elizabeth lived in the house until her death in 1850. She ran the vast estate during her husband’s long absences and after he passed away. She was an artist and a wonderful decorator, evidenced by what has been recreated here.At the Farm, the Macarthurs' table was set in a style called a la Francaise - 'in the French manner'. Individual serving dishes were placed on the table in a geometric pattern, and the diners served themselves and each other from these. At the end of a course the dishes were removed and replaced. A formal dinner consisted of two courses, including a soup to start, with each course containing several vegetable and meat dishes. These were followed by a dessert. Such hospitality for 232 years ago.And how was the estate managed? The vast array of documents associated with Elizabeth Farm list hundreds of employees, both men and women, from assigned and emancipated convicts to those ‘born free’ in the colony. I found it interesting that there actually was a butler named Butler! James Butler arrived in the colony in 1818, convicted for possessing forged banknotes and sentenced to 14 years transportation.
Here is Butler's butler pantry. This is a small, stone-flagged room whose stout door and barred window provided security for the expensive tableware – especially the family silver - housed within it, which Butler cared for on a daily basis. It was little more than a walk-in cupboard used for storage; without a sink or fireplace, few of the expected uses of that room, such as washing delicate tableware or crystal, could actually take place there.The recreated 1830s garden includes plants dating back to the Macarthurs. We delighted in experiencing the residence in a setting not unlike the original. The veranda was an idyllic spot in which to rest before heading back to town.“History is not the past but a map of the past,
drawn from a particular point of view,
to be useful to the modern traveler.”
Henry Glassie
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2 comments:
Wow. The farm is looking pretty good for being Australia's oldest homestead. It is hard to imagine what it would have been like to live on this huge island back then.
You guys are doing so much. Steve looks at home in that porch.
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