Bella Vista (homestead) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bella Vista |
|
|---|---|
Bella Vista homestead, in September 2017
|
|
| Location | Elizabeth Macarthur Drive, Bella Vista, The Hills Shire, New South Wales, Australia |
| Built | 1830–1960 |
| Architectural style(s) |
|
| Owner | The Hills Shire Council |
| Official name: Bella Vista; Kings Langley; Stock Farm; Seven Hills Farm; Bella Vista Farm | |
| Type | State heritage (landscape) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 754 |
| Type | Historic Landscape |
| Category | Landscape - Cultural |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
Bella Vista is a special old home in Bella Vista, Australia. It's listed on the heritage register because it's very important to history. The main house and other buildings were built between 1830 and 1960.
This place has been known by a few names over time. These include Kings Langley, Stock Farm, and Seven Hills Farm. Today, it's owned by The Hills Shire Council. It was officially added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999.
Contents
Discovering Bella Vista's Past
First People of the Land
Long ago, Aboriginal people lived on the land where Bella Vista now stands. We know this because special Aboriginal sites have been found here. Learning about these sites helps us understand their history and importance.
Early Farm Owners (1799-1842)
The first European settler to get land here was Matthew Pearce in 1794. His property was called King's Langley. Later, in 1799, Joseph Foveaux and Charles Grimes received a large piece of land. This became known as Stock Farm.
Richard Richardson also got land nearby. This is where the main Bella Vista farm buildings would later be built. Over time, these lands were bought and sold. Richard Fitzgerald, an Irish former convict, bought Richardson's land.
Then, in 1801, John Macarthur and Elizabeth Macarthur bought Stock Farm. They also bought Fitzgerald's land. All these properties together became known as Seven Hills Farm. Elizabeth Macarthur was famous for breeding some of the first Merino sheep in Australia here.
In 1821, the Macarthurs gave Seven Hills Farm back to the government. New grants were given out. James Robertson received 500 acres, which is where Bella Vista is today. He grew fruit, which was more successful than sheep. In 1838, Isabella Acres bought the property. She sold it to William Pearce in 1842 when she returned to England.
The Pearce Family Era (1842-1949)
William Pearce owned Bella Vista from 1842 to 1865. We don't know much about what he built. But the first part of the Bella Vista homestead was likely built before he passed away in 1865. His son, Edward Pearce, inherited the farm.
Edward Pearce made many improvements to the property. He added a second storey to the homestead around 1865. While they still did mixed farming, growing fruit became very important. By the 1880s, Edward Pearce was a very successful fruit grower. He earned a lot of money from selling citrus fruit to Melbourne.
He also refurbished the homestead and built a family cemetery vault. Edward Pearce employed many workers, including Chinese labourers. They helped him grow over 400 fruit trees.
However, new irrigation areas in other parts of Australia started growing better oranges. So, around 1912, when Edward's son, Edward William Charles Archdall ('Toby') Pearce, took over, they brought sheep back to the farm. They even turned the old packing shed into a shearing shed.
Toby Pearce also bought new farm machines. He had a large, well-furnished home with a housekeeper and maids. By the 1920s, Toby started focusing on commercial dairying instead of sheep and orchards. After he died in 1933, his wife Nellie leased the farm. A new dairy building was constructed. The Pearce family decided to sell Bella Vista in 1949.
Recent History (Since 1950s)
In 1950, the North Sydney Brick and Tile Company bought Bella Vista. They started making bricks on the southern side of the property in 1956. The house and farm buildings were leased to a Mrs. Jones, who continued to run it as a dairy farm.
In 1974, the Metropolitan Water Board bought the land for possible water storage. The Jones family left the property in 1979.
Protecting Bella Vista's Heritage
In 1979, steps were taken to protect Bella Vista. A permanent protection order was put in place in 1997. Experts studied the history of the farm. They also worked to repair the buildings and care for the gardens.
Archaeologists from the University of Sydney helped clear old underground water tanks. By 1987, much of the surrounding land was being prepared for the Norwest Business Park.
In 1997, the property was given to Baulkham Hills Shire Council (now The Hills Shire Council). The Council has been working to restore the buildings. They have also opened parts of the farm for public use, with walking tracks and picnic areas.
Exploring Bella Vista Farm
What Bella Vista Looks Like
Bella Vista farm includes the main house, many old farm buildings, and parts of the original farm land. You can still see old timber fences and paddocks. There are also native trees and special planted trees like the Bunya pines along the entrance drive. The farm buildings are mostly made of timber slabs. It feels like a rural park, almost untouched from the 1800s.
The farm has native eucalypt trees, including Forest Red Gum and Narrow-leaved Ironbark. These trees are part of a special endangered woodland community called "Cumberland Plain Woodland."
Near the main house, you'll find planted trees. The Bunya pines form an avenue along the entrance drive. Other important trees include Moreton Bay fig, Chir pine, and Stone pine.
The Farm's Beautiful Landscape
Bella Vista farm has always had several ways to approach it. These were unsealed dirt roads.
- The southern approach, lined with Bunya pines, connected to other Pearce family properties. It probably dates back to when the Pearces first bought the farm around 1842.
- Other paths provided access to the house and farmyard.
The avenue of Bunya Pines is a well-known landmark. You can see it from far away, especially from Old Windsor Road.
Bella Vista once had huge pastures (fields for grazing animals). Today, some pasture land remains around the homestead. Most of the old pasture has been developed for houses and businesses. In the past, parts of these fields were used for orchards and crops.
The pastures are marked by traditional post-and-rail fences and timber gates. You can also see old cattle management items like a cattle crush. Water for the farm came from dams and cisterns (underground tanks). One old dam remains southeast of the house.
A few citrus trees still grow in the kitchen and front gardens. These are the only remaining citrus trees on the farm. Bella Vista was once one of the biggest citrus orchards in the state!
The farm's fences are made from split timber posts and rails. This type of fencing was common in New South Wales by 1834. It was strong and durable.
Water for the farm came from dams, wells, and cisterns. The main house is on a ridge, and creeks flowed in three directions from it. The largest creek is to the northeast. There's also an old dam southeast of the house, which is now very silty. Near this dam, there's evidence of an old brick-making site.
Farmyards and Gardens
The farm has different areas for different activities:
- Inner Farmyard: This area is near the main house. It's surrounded by buildings like the barn, stables, and implement shed. Large Moreton Bay fig trees grow here. This yard was used for working with animals and storing tools. It also had pigsties and a blacksmith's hut, which are now mostly ruins.
- Outer Farmyard: This area was connected to the Packing Shed and later the dairy. It was used for herding livestock. It has many small yards with split rail fences. An old galvanised iron drinking trough is still there. This area also contained the killing yards.
- Homestead Courtyard: This is the area north of the main house, surrounded by the house, kitchen block, coach house, and shop. It was used for service functions for the house and farm. Three underground water tanks are here.
- Front Garden: This garden is in front of the main house. It had a semi-circular design with paths and a picket fence. Some old plants like may bush, cape honeysuckle, and roses still survive.
- Kitchen Garden: Located west of the main house, this garden still has mature fruit trees, including a fig tree and some citrus trees. This shows how important it was to grow food for the family. It was fenced, but not as fancy as the front garden.
The Main House (Homestead)
The main house is a two-storey brick building. It has a pitched roof with terracotta tiles. There are verandahs on the north and south sides with iron columns. The south side also has an upper balcony with decorative ironwork.
The earliest part of the house was a single-storey cottage, probably built around 1835. The separate kitchen block was also built around this time. The cottage was changed around 1890, when the second storey was added. The verandah was also extended.
The kitchen wing is a separate building northwest of the main house. It's a single-storey brick building with a gabled roof. It has a large chimney and a bread oven. This building is in the Colonial Georgian style.
Other Important Buildings
- The Shop and Aviary: Northeast of the main house, this was a timber cottage that was extended over time. It might have originally been two separate buildings.
- Blacksmith's Hut: East of the shop, this small timber slab structure was where the blacksmith worked. It's now mostly collapsed.
- Pigsties: The remains of these are under the fig trees. They were low timber slab walls with posts for a roof.
- Fitzgerald's Cottage / Coach House: This building north of the main house might be the oldest on the site. It was originally a simple timber slab cottage, possibly used by shepherds. Later, rooms were added, and it became a coach house, then a garage.
- Barn: This is one of three slab buildings in the inner farmyard. It has a central weatherboard gable and slab walls. It was originally shingled and later covered with corrugated iron.
- Implement Shed: Another slab building in the inner farmyard. It was built in stages and used for storing tools. It also shows signs of being used as a fowl house later.
- Stables and Feed Shed: This gabled shed also has slab walls and was originally shingled. It has unusual timber stump floors.
- Cow Shed and Cow Bails: These were built in the 1920s for dairy farming. The cow shed was made of timber logs. The cow bails were a long structure for feeding cows.
- New Dairy: A purpose-built dairy with milking bails was built in the 1930s. This building has since been demolished, but its concrete base remains.
- Packing and Wool Shed: This large timber slab building was used for packing fruit and storing wool. It has a corrugated iron roof and massive timber posts inside. It was later converted into stables.
Many of these old buildings show how people used to build things with materials found on the farm, like split timbers and saplings. Later, they started using factory-made materials like corrugated iron.
What Has Changed Over Time
Bella Vista has seen many changes and repairs over the years:
- The main house had additions in 1864, 1887, and around 1890.
- The Kitchen Wing had a verandah added around 1880 and other additions in the 1950s.
- The Coach House, possibly the oldest building, had additions in the mid-to-late 1800s and early 1900s.
- Many buildings, like the Barn, Implement Shed, and Stables, were built in the late 1860s to 1890s and had later additions.
- In the 1990s and 2000s, major conservation work was done. This included fixing roofs, improving drainage, and stabilising old timber buildings. Some newer additions that didn't fit the historical look were removed.
Why Bella Vista is Important
Bella Vista is very important to the history of New South Wales for many reasons:
- It's a rare example of an old farm landscape that has been used for grazing animals since the 1790s. You can still see old field patterns, fences, and farm buildings.
- It shows how farming changed over 200 years, from early sheep grazing to fruit growing and dairying.
- The farm's location on a hilltop offers amazing views. It also looks beautiful with its old buildings and planted trees.
- It shows how homes developed, from a simple slab hut to a cottage, and then a large house.
- It has rare native woodland trees, which are part of an endangered plant community.
- It tells the story of early settlers like the Macarthur family and the Pearce family, who owned the farm for over 100 years.
- The old timber slab buildings are rare examples of how people built things using local materials in the past.
- It shows how architectural styles changed over time, from simple colonial designs to more elaborate Victorian styles.
- The Bunya pines are a well-known local landmark and show fashionable garden design from the late 1800s.
- It provides information about the daily lives of farm workers and the local Chinese community who worked there.
- Archaeological digs at Bella Vista have found important information, including a rare sheep dip. These findings help us understand the history of the area.
- Aboriginal stone tools found here show that Aboriginal people lived on this land before Europeans arrived.
Bella Vista is a special place that helps us understand the history of farming, building, and life in New South Wales. It's a valuable part of our heritage.
