Elizabeth Macarthur
A taste for the ornate
Traces of long-lost decorative features at Elizabeth Farm provide insights into changing fashions in 19th‑century architecture and design
Museum stories
A turbulent past
With its deep, shady verandahs and elegant symmetry, Elizabeth Farm is an iconic early colonial bungalow
Eastern influences on colonial dining
Two intricately painted and monogrammed china plates that were once part of a large dessert service made for the table of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, are testimony to an adventurous spirit in early colonial Sydney
Elizabeth Farm - The Old and The New
This film was digitised as part of a special project to preserve 'at risk' audio-visual archives
Growing up on Elizabeth Farm
The Macarthur children of Elizabeth Farm had fields, gardens and muddy riverbanks to explore
Convict Sydney
John Macarthur - Ambitious, volatile, self-confident
John Macarthur is well remembered as an ambitious and ruthless soldier who forged a powerful colonial farming dynasty
Mr Butler: the Macarthurs' butler
If you’re a fan of the crime-fighting character ‘Miss Fisher’ you’ll know that one of the characters is named with his profession – ‘Mr Butler’. But did you know that at Elizabeth Farm there actually was a butler named Butler?
Sarah Pettit, the Macarthurs’ first servant?
Elizabeth Farm lists hundreds of employees, from assigned and emancipated convicts to those ‘born free’ in the colony. One significant name remained elusive – the very first. Until now ...