HILLS REGIONAL HISTORY
The Hunting Lodge, Rouse Hill
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by Pam Wilson
When William Bligh arrived in Sydney on 6 August 1806, he received several land grants from Governor Philip Gidley King, including 240 acres at Camperdown, 105 acres near Parramatta and 1,000 acres near Rouse Hill on the Hawkesbury Road.
Bligh named his Rouse Hill property Copenhagen after the 1801 Battle of Copenhagen, a naval engagement in which he distinguished himself. The grant sat between his Parramatta property and land he owned on the Hawkesbury River, which he promoted as a model farm. Evidence suggests the Copenhagen property remained largely unoccupied during this period.
Following his conflict with John Macarthur and officers of the NSW Corps, Bligh was arrested during the Rum Rebellion in January 1808 and remained under confinement for more than a year. In February 1809 he travelled to Tasmania seeking support from Lieutenant Governor David Collins but failed to gain backing. After Governor Lachlan Macquarie arrived in January 1810, Bligh returned briefly to Sydney before sailing to England in May.
The construction of the new Windsor Road in 1810 left a strip of land between the Copenhagen grant and the new roadway. In 1811, Robert Campbell and Reverend Samuel Marsden, who were managing Bligh’ s affairs, offered the property for lease in small grazing allotments. The Sydney Gazette advertised the land on 23 November 1811 as:
“ Clearing Leases for Seven Years in Small Lots of 100 acres, the farm Copenhagen. The Grounds are capital for Cultivation or Grazing.”
Records from the period indicate that Bligh’ s various grants saw little cultivation or grazing activity.
Between 1813 and 1818, Richard Rouse built the grand Rouse Hill House on his neighbouring property. Across the Hawkesbury Road, Samuel Terry purchased Robert Fitz’ s 1,700-acre grant in 1819 and later built Box Hill House during the 1820s. While the 1822 Muster recorded Terry as a Sydney-based dealer, by 1825 he was listed as a landholder residing in Sydney.
Following Bligh’ s death in 1820, his six
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daughters struggled to manage his estate from overseas. Although Colonel Maurice O’ Connell claimed ownership of the Copenhagen Estate through his wife Mary’ s inheritance, the estate had not yet been fully settled because Bligh died without a will. Notices published in the Sydney Gazette suggest there were no resident tenants on the property at the time.
By 1834, part of Copenhagen was occupied and cultivated by Edward Cullen, who farmed both leased and vacant sections of the grant. The eventual sale of the Copenhagen Estate was finalised in May 1841. John Terry purchased the portion adjoining Box Hill Estate, but died later that year, leaving his eight-year-old son, Samuel Henry Terry, as heir.
Samuel Henry Terry acquired the land on which the Hunting Lodge now stands. From 1857 to 1872 he leased the property to stonemason Henry Montgomery, who is believed to have built the sandstone lodge. The property later passed through several tenants before reverting to Terry in the late 1870s.
Conservation architect Clive Lucas visited the Hunting Lodge in 1960 and recalled being told by Nina Terry( née Rouse) that the building was used extensively by the Terry family because of their involvement with the Sydney Hunt Club. Samuel Terry’ s brother, who lived at Eastwood, served as Master of the Hounds. In 1884, Samuel Henry Terry brought his Rouse Hill holdings under Torrens Title. The land was leased to numerous local farmers and graziers, and Terry became the registered owner on 11 October 1884.
Following Samuel Henry Terry’ s death in 1887, ownership eventually passed to his sons Charles, George and Richard Terry, along with solicitor William Wilkinson. George Terry became Master of the Sydney Hunt Club and the lodge became closely associated with hunting activities.
An Evening News report from 27 July 1895 described a Sydney Hunt Club event at Box Hill. Members, horses and hounds travelled by train to Riverstone before following an eight-mile drag hunt across paddocks, fences and creeks, finishing at the Hunting Lodge. A photograph of the occasion still hangs in Rouse Hill House today. The club’ s hunting hounds were later
The abandoned Hunting Lodge in 1993.
kennelled at Box Hill.
The surrounding Box Hill Estate was subdivided into small farms in 1919 and 1921, although much of the land remained unsold due to limited water supply and infrastructure.
Ownership of the Hunting Lodge changed hands several times during the twentieth century. From 1925 to 1928, surveyor and real estate agent Henry Halloran held the property as mortgagee in possession. Subsequent owners included Ivy Rumble, Edith Foley, Margaret Mason, Muriel Shipley, contractor Knud Ravn- Pedersen, Noel Machon, Charles Holdings Pty Ltd and, from 2014, Dallas Investments Pty Ltd. A Rare Heritage Treasure In 2014, heritage consultants MUSEcape Pty Ltd described the Hunting Lodge as a rare example of a small Victorian sandstone cottage featuring a cruciform floor plan and fine Gothic Revival detailing.
Located on Water Lane, west of Annangrove Road, the building features three projecting bay windows with diamond-pattern leadlight glass, sandstone walls and chimney, timber roof and floor structures, and a corrugated galvanised iron roof. Evidence suggests the original roof was slate.
The lodge contains four principal rooms arranged around the original cruciform design, with an additional room added during the 1920s. A ladder stair provides access to an attic within the roof space. Nearby stands a rare underground water cistern cut into the shale and lined with sandstone blocks.
Although no original joinery remains, physical evidence indicates the building was constructed during the 1850s by a highly skilled stonemason. The lodge has been unoccupied since 1989 and many of the later timber additions have deteriorated beyond repair.
Today, the Hunting Lodge enjoys both Local and State Heritage listing.
The Box Hill Growth Centre was rezoned in 2013 to accommodate approximately 9,600 dwellings across 974 hectares. The Hunting Lodge now sits within a two-lot heritage curtilage surrounded by modern residential development known as“ The Meadows”, near Edwards Road.
Three new streets Longmeadow Parkway, Limestone Road and Timbercrest Street now border the historic site.
Restoration work commenced in September 2017 under the supervision of MUSEcape heritage architects, including the installation of a new slate roof and galvanised guttering. However, little additional conservation work has been undertaken since then.
As new homes continue to rise around it, the Hunting Lodge remains a remarkable reminder of the district’ s colonial past and its connection to some of New South Wales’ most influential early families.
MUSEUM
OPEN 1st and 3rd Saturday February to November 12noon to 3.00pm or by appointment.
GROUP TOURS OF THE HILLS DISTRICT OR MUSEUM CAN BE ORGANISED
Guest Speaker meetings are held at the Museum on 4th Monday night each month from 7.30pm
William Thompson Masonic School, Balcombe Heights Estate, 92 Seven Hills Road, Baulkham Hills Enquiries to Secretary Pam Wilson 0474 204 080 or thehdhs @ gmail. com www. hillsdistricthistoricalsociety. com. au
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10 ISSUE 133 // JULY 2026 theindependentmagazine. com. au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT