Vaucluse House heritage
Built in 1803, Vaucluse House was isolated, centred in a valley surrounded by a dense, shadowy woodland and accessible only by boat. Arrivals to the harbour bay had a clear view of what was then a small, single-storey stone cottage with a smoking chimney. Those who made their way across the sand and up the gently sloping hill would have encountered in this cottage a formidable man named Henry Browne Hayes. (Harbourside Gothic)
Over five decades, new owners transformed the cottage into a large and picturesque estate. By the 1830s, the gardens and grounds covered most of the present-day suburb of Vaucluse but the main house of the family’s dreams was still unfinished. In 1915 Vaucluse House became Australia’s first official house museum, and continues today to delight and intrigue visitors with its stories and still-secluded grounds. (Vaucluse House)
In 2023, MHNSW undertook varied work at Vaucluse House, including research into the historical graffiti in the laundry and stables, stonework conservation and landscape stabilisation, including renewal of the kitchen garden. (Annual report 2023-24 pg. 7).
The visitor experience at Vaucluse House has been improved through new digital and physical interpretation and infrastructure works, providing more information and easier access around the site. Supported by a generous philanthropic donation, targeted works were undertaken to mitigate climate-related impacts on the landscape and gardens. Excessive rainfall had exposed the historical sandstone road that intersects with the garden and had also affected plantings and garden beds. The stone piers and iron gates at the main entrance were stabilised and conserved and the 1920s colour scheme was reinstated. The visitor car park and delivery road were upgraded, improving tree protection, traffic management, accessible parking, and environmental management (specifically treatment of water run-off). (Annual report pg. 17).
There is not a lovelier site in the known world … Travel where you will the eye will not rest upon any spot more favoured by Nature than that exquisite valley which was called Vaucluse.
Our Curatorial team worked with two students on Macquarie University’s Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) project to document graffiti in the Vaucluse House laundry and stables (page 42). This research provides important evidence of people who visited the site during the Great Depression, World War II and the 1970s–80s, linking Vaucluse House with broader historical developments in NSW. This project will inform future stories. (Annual report pg. 17).
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We manage, maintain and interpret buildings and places of historic importance for the education and enjoyment of the public
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