Berith Park, Wahroonga facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Berith Park |
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Berith_Park-2.jpg)
An undated photo of the house
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | House |
| Architectural style | Federation Queen Anne |
| Location | 19 Billyard Avenue, Wahroonga, Upper North Shore, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Completed | c. 1909 |
| Client | Alfred Smith |
| Owner | Karthika Gunalingam |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions |
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| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 1 |
| Floor area | 743 m2 (8,000 sq ft) |
| Grounds | 7,583 m2 (2 acres) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Francis Ernest Stowe |
| Other designers | Annie Wilkes (garden) |
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Invalid designation
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| Official name: Berith Park | |
| Type: | Ku-ring-gai Council local heritage (built) |
| Designated: | 4 November 1989 |
| Type: | House |
| Category: | Residential buildings (private) |
Berith Park is an historic house located in Wahroonga, an upper north shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Completed in the Federation Queen Anne style, the house was listed on the Ku-ring-gai Council local government heritage register in 2015 and is in a heritage conservation area.
History
Berith Park was designed by Francis Ernest Stowe for Alfred Smith, who came from Queensland. Smith acquired the land in 1897 and the house was finished around 1909. By 1914 the house was in the hands of Sir Arthur Rickard, the founder of the Dr Barnardos charity for children. Rickard made substantial changes to the house, putting in tennis courts, a swimming pool, a ballroom, an ornamental lake, cricket oval and gardens. The house was later bought by Alderman Stanley Crick, the Lord Mayor of Sydney and a founder of Fox Studios. Berith Park was used extensively as a location in a number of films. Crick later started selling off parts of the property. The Catholic Church bought the house in 1955 for use as a home for the Dominican Fathers and then Dominican Sisters. It was sold again in 1979 and extensive changes were made. In 2004 more subdivisions were made and an acre of the land was sold off.
Vivian and Wendy King purchased the house in 1990 for $5 million from retired bookmaker Bruce McHugh. The Kings sold the house in 2002 for $5.59 million. In December 2016 the house was sold by Warwick and Karen White to corporate lawyer Karthika Gunalingam for more than $11 million.
Description
Berith Park is a single-storey house with an area of over 743 square metres (8,000 sq ft). It is situated on 7,583 m2 (2 acres) of land, with tennis courts and a swimming pool added by owners in the early 20th century.
