Tulkiyan

The house was built for Mrs Mary Donaldson and her husband William, a Sydney merchant. It remained in Donaldson family ownership and occupation for 80 years, with minimal alterations to furnishings and building fabric. Tulkiyan was bequeathed by Miss Margaret Donaldson to Ku-ring-gai Council in 1985.

As a house museum, Tulkiyan illustrates the early 20th century fashion, taste and lifestyle of an Edwardian family on the affluent upper North Shore of Sydney. The largely intact interior is furnished with most of the original contents of the house. Furniture bought from David Jones in 1913 was simply updated in 1930 through the replacement of worn carpets and a re-covering of dining chairs. The original front garden layout also remains, along with remnants of early plantings, including lilly-pilly trees on either side of the main gate. Tulkiyan’s asymmetrical form, gables, shingle roof, wall finishes and bay windows are also typical of the period and the dark stained timber joinery of the interiors, decorative plaster ceilings and Art Nouveau style gas fireplaces are all synonymous with the Arts and Crafts architectural style.

Tulkiyan is listed as an item of State significance on the NSW Heritage Register.

Photographer: James Whitelock

Date Photographed: March 1990

Original image format: 35mm mounted slides

Copyright: Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Photograph James Whitelock

Further reading: Ryder, J, From Nutcote to Elwatan: the art and architecture of B.J. Waterhouse, Mosman, NSW: Mosman Art Gallery, 2004.