BLACKTOWN CITY HISTORY The Rooty Hill government farm or depot
Old Government House 1860s .
1986 view looking down from Rooty Hill towards the site .
by John Horne
In February this year , Landcom and the NSW Department of Planning , Housing and Infrastructure announced that they are going to build affordable , diverse and sustainable housing at Dunsmore Street in Rooty Hill . In April they began holding meetings with local residents and interest groups to talk about the proposed development .
The area on which they plan to build this new housing covers the heritage listed site where the ruins of an 1816 vintage Old Government House or Overseer ’ s Cottage remain . Immediately , for someone with an interest in preserving our country ’ s heritage , alarm bells start to ring . Developers , whether Government or private , do not have a proud record when it comes to preserving our heritage .
What is going to happen to a place that has been kept from intense housing development up until now ? Since 1802 this block of land has only been used for agricultural purposes . From the beginning , it was the headquarters for one of four stock farms established by Governor King only fourteen years after the British colony of New South Wales was established .
Lachlan Macquarie ’ s regime built a twostorey brick house that became known as Government House on this site and other outbuildings would have been close . The Governor used the residence when travelling in the area and later other wealthy citizens also stayed there .
1961 .
Smith ’ s Eastern Creek Farms , Rooty Hill Developer ’ s map , November 1917 , showing Old Government House . ( State Library of NSW ) 1923 .
In 1822 the Hawkins family with their eight children and female convict servant stayed two nights at the overseer ’ s house when they were on their way to Bathurst . In a letter , Mrs Hawkins described the house ‘ as good and the land all around like a fine wooded park in England .’
In later years the house was called Thornleigh and finally Stratton . Frank Watts was its last owner and his occupation ceased in the 1950s after which it began to deteriorate . Sometime in the early 1960s the corrugated iron roof was removed , leaving the old building exposed to the elements , it disintegrated from within and collapsed .
The site around the ruin has been left undeveloped . Two reasons for this are its important historical importance , and the fact that no-one had the money to fix it . Now , with pressure from many quarters to provide more affordable housing , the New South Wales Government has chosen to use land that covers and surrounds the Rooty Hill heritage site where the Old Government House or depot stood .
The Rooty Hill itself , is across Eastern Road from the Old Government House site , a heritage area that has been preserved as open space and it will not be developed for housing . It is possible for the State Government to also preserve the Old Government House site near Dunsmore Street , Rooty Hill and allow a large enough curtilage around it so it will not be swallowed up and lost underneath highdensity housing .
A park that provides proper curtilage
Important dates in the story of the Old Government House site , Rooty Hill
Pre 1788 and later The Rooty Hill is of significance to the Aboriginal Community . An open stone artefact scatter was discovered there by archaeologists . Angus Creek , at the bottom of the hill , was an important food and water source . 1802 Governor King reserved a large area of Western Sydney for the purpose of agistment and breeding the Government ’ s cattle , horses and other livestock . From the start , the Government stock farm ’ s administration was centred upon Rooty Hill . The superintendent ’ s residence and the accommodation for convict shepherds and workers and other outbuildings like a blacksmith , a butchery , smokehouse , and storehouses were located in the area . The Government Stock Reserve or Rooty Hill Run , was centred around Rooty Hill and was equal to the dimensions and location of the modern Blacktown City . After 1810 Governor Macquarie ’ s regime constructed a two-storey brick building to accommodate not only the superintendent but also the Governor from time to time when travelling in the district . Consequently , the building acquired the name Government House . 1823 John Blackett was appointed as the principal overseer at Rooty Hill by Governor Brisbane . The modern suburb of Blackett is named after him . 1829 The property was transferred to the Clergy and School Lands Corporation . When this corporation failed the land returned to the Crown and stayed in government hands until the 1860s when private ownership began . 1860s The period of private ownership began . 1917 Robert Dunsmore Smith ’ s estate was subdivided and offered for sale in November . 1960s The house in a badly deteriorated condition was demolished and we gained another heritage ruin . 1983 The New South Wales Heritage Council placed an Interim Conservation Order over the site and it was purchased by the NSW Department of Urban Affairs and Planning . The land was identified for regional planning purposes such as open space and recreation areas . 1989 The site was heavily overgrown and had been cleared of its building rubble . Only the foundations of the house and a well survived . 2024 NSW State Government plans to build a suburb on the site with the potential to lose all that remains of the heritage precinct .
and open space around the heritage site within the new suburb , with the addition of appropriate signage and illustrations , is relatively easily achieved . The foundations of the old house and the well could be left and displayed as part of the park .
Archaeological investigation is required to discover the remnants of what was on this important heritage site . Where did the first convict shepherds and herders and their overseers set up in 1802 ?
Their early camps and buildings would have been close beside Angus Creek as water was available . What kinds of activities did the Dharug pursue along Angus Creek and its surrounds long before the convicts arrived in 1802 ? This needs investigating before housing obliterates the evidence .
Blacktown and District Historical Society Incorporated
EMERTON VILLAGE
02 8632 3408
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Founded in 1976 to ensure that the history of the Blacktown area would be collected and conserved for all time by tapping into documents and people ’ s memories .
You are welcome to visit our Research Centre , open Tuesdays 10.00 am to 2.00pm , or by appointment .
Grantham Heritage Park BDHS Research Centre 71 Seven Hills Road South , Seven Hills NSW 2147 PO Box 500 Blacktown NSW 2148 Phone 02 9676 1198 www . blacktownhistory . org . au
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10 ISSUE 38 // MAY 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT