Dunmore House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dunmore House |
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Heritage boundaries
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| Location | 557 Paterson Road, Bolwarra Heights, City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia |
| Built | 1830–1833 |
| Official name: Dunmore House | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 16 August 2012 |
| Reference no. | 1887 |
| Type | Homestead building |
| Category | Residential buildings (private) |
| Builders | William and Andrew Lang |
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Dunmore House is a special old home located at 557 Paterson Road, Bolwarra Heights, City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. It was built between 1830 and 1833 by William and Andrew Lang. This important house was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 16 August 2012, meaning it's protected for its historical value.
Contents
A Family's Journey to Australia
The Lang Family Moves to New South Wales
The story of Dunmore House begins with the Lang family from Scotland. William Lang was a wood merchant, which means he worked with timber. He and his wife, Mary Dunmore, had four children:
- John Dunmore, born in 1799.
- George Dunmore, born in 1801.
- Andrew, born in 1804.
- Isabella Ninian, born in 1806.
In 1806, William retired and moved to a farm in Scotland. Later, two of his sons, John and George, decided to move to the new colony of New South Wales in Australia. John became the first Presbyterian minister in the colony. George worked in government departments.
Because their older brothers were so far away, the rest of the Lang family decided to join them. In 1823, William and Mary, along with their children Andrew and Isabella, sailed to Australia. When they arrived, they were welcomed by their sons and the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Brisbane. William was given a large piece of land and agreed to take on 20 convicts to help work it. William and Andrew, following their father's trade, started working as builders in Sydney.
Building Dunmore Estate
George Lang received a grant of 1000 acres (about 424 hectares) of land from Governor Macquarie. He chose a spot between the future towns of Largs and Paterson. He later bought more land, making his property much larger, and named it Dunmore. The name "Dunmore" came from his mother's maiden name, Mary Dunmore.
Sadly, George Lang died in 1825 when he was only 23. His older brother, John Dunmore Lang, inherited the property. However, John was busy with his church duties, so the estate passed to their younger brother, Andrew.
Andrew and his father, William, started building Dunmore House. It might have begun in 1827 and was finished by 1830, though some records say it was completed in 1833. Andrew took charge of the land in 1826.
Andrew worked hard to get more land for Dunmore. He wrote to Governor Bourke, explaining that his brother George had been promised more land but died before he could claim it. Andrew wanted to claim it as his brother's heir. After some discussion, Andrew was able to buy more land, making Dunmore a very large and valuable estate with a long river frontage.
Life at Dunmore House
Settling the Land
In 1825, Andrew and William Lang took possession of the property. They didn't fully settle there until 1826. The family had invested a lot of their money into building the Scots Church in Sydney. This meant Andrew had less money to start developing his land.
Andrew was a careful and sensible man. Unlike other landowners who borrowed money to buy many sheep and cattle, he preferred to work with what he had and only buy more when he could pay for it. He believed in developing the land first before building a grand house.
By 1827, a simple wooden dwelling was built at Dunmore. It had three rooms and a separate kitchen. This was a temporary home for the family for a few years.
By 1830, with the help of convict workers, they built two stone buildings. These were used as a barn, granary, dairy, kitchen, and store. These stone buildings were later used as outbuildings once the main two-storey stone house was finished. The original wooden buildings were then given to the farm overseer.
The main Dunmore House was built on a high spot between two lagoons, about half a mile from the river. It's a two-storey house made of cut stone, with a covered verandah all around it. The stone buildings that were built earlier were given a similar look to match the new main house.
The Midlothian Immigrants
One important part of Dunmore's history involves the Scottish immigrants who arrived on a ship called the Midlothian in 1837. Dr. John Dunmore Lang started a special program to bring carefully chosen Scottish and some Irish families to Australia. This program helped many people get to Australia and greatly influenced the colony's society and religious values.
Many of these Scottish settlers, especially from the Isle of Skye, were refugees from the "Highland Clearances" in Scotland, where people were forced off their land. When the Midlothian arrived in Sydney, the passengers wanted to settle together as a community, not be split up. They asked the government for help to do this.
The government agreed, and Andrew Lang, John's brother, offered to let them settle on his Dunmore property. This allowed about twenty families to become tenant farmers on the estate. A village started to form there, which was first called Dunmore, but later changed to Largs.
A school and church were built in 1838 on land provided by the Langs. This was for the children of the tenant farmers and also served as a Presbyterian church on Sundays.
What Dunmore Produced
Dunmore Estate was a busy and productive farm. It was about 70 miles north of Sydney. John Dunmore Lang described it as having 1500 acres of rich land. About 300 acres were used for growing wheat, worked by 40 convicts. The land was also rented out in smaller farms to tenant farmers.
About 300 people lived and worked on the property. Dunmore had a flour mill, the Presbyterian Church, and a school with many students. The farm grew grain for the Sydney market. They also grew tobacco and were encouraged to grow cotton and grapes. German immigrant vinedressers were brought to Dunmore in the 1840s to help with the vineyards.
In 1849, the grape crop produced 1800 gallons of wine! Dunmore was famous for its vineyards. Grapes still grow in the southern courtyard today.
Andrew also started a small dairy farm. A tenant family managed it, and they sent dairy products like butter and cheese to Sydney to be sold. Convict workers helped clear the land, plant crops, and harvest them. About 150 acres of heavily wooded land were cleared and farmed.
In 1832, Dunmore had about 80 acres of wheat and 80 acres of maize. The wheat was ground into flour and sold in Maitland. The maize was sent to Sydney or used to feed horses, pigs, and poultry on the farm. Potatoes and tobacco were also grown for sale and for the farm's use.
During summer, they made cheese, which was sold in Sydney. For the rest of the year, they produced butter, shipping about 70 to 100 pounds of fresh butter to Sydney every week by steamboat.
By 1832, Andrew's cattle herd grew to 3400. He also bought a flock of fine wool sheep. These animals were sent to another property about 30 miles away to be managed by an overseer.
The Lang Family's Later Years
William Lang, the father, sadly drowned in 1840 while traveling from Newcastle to Sydney. Mary Dunmore Lang, his wife, passed away in 1844 at Dunmore.
Andrew Lang married Emily Caswell in 1849. She was 23, and he was 45. They had one child, a son, who died at birth in 1851. After this, Andrew and Emily moved to England. Andrew later returned to sell Dunmore and his other properties before going back to England, where he died in 1874. Emily died in England in 1889.
Isabella Ninian Muir, Andrew's sister, died in 1847 after childbirth, leaving a baby son, John Sibbald Muir. Her husband, Robert Muir, died in 1851, leaving John an orphan. John died unmarried in 1874 at age 27.
The Reverend Doctor John Dunmore Lang, the founder of Scots Church Sydney, passed away in 1878 at the age of 79.
A tomb on the property to the east of Dunmore holds the remains of Mary Dunmore Lang, Isabella Ninian Muir, Robert Muir, and the infant child of Emily and Andrew Lang.
Later Owners of Dunmore
After the Lang family, Dunmore House had several owners:
- Joseph Pearce bought Dunmore in 1872. He divided the large property into smaller farms but kept the house on a six-hectare block.
- Henry Trenchard, a bank manager, bought the property in 1886.
- The Warden family, Arthur and Amy, purchased Dunmore House in 1892 and lived there for 18 years.
- John Graham, who was born in the kitchen of Dunmore House in 1843, bought the property in 1910. He died there in 1932, and the property passed to his son, William.
- In 1954, William's eldest son, Malcolm Graham, bought out his brother's share and renovated the house. He and his wife, Elizabeth, lived there until Elizabeth's death in 1999. The Graham family owned Dunmore for 90 years.
- In 2000, Paris and Mittie Osborne bought Dunmore. They have done a lot of work to repair and rebuild the two stone outbuildings behind the main house, which were in poor condition. These buildings are now in excellent shape and can be used as guest rooms or for events.
Dunmore House Today
Dunmore House and its buildings are located on a ridge, offering great views of the Paterson River and Dunmore Bridge. You can easily spot the group of buildings from different directions. A prominent stand of giant bamboo marks the historical entry point to the property.
The main house is a large two-storey building, built between 1830 and 1833. It shows the balanced design of a classical Georgian style. It has a flagged verandah that goes around all four sides. Inside, there are four rooms on two levels, with beautiful cedar woodwork and an original stone staircase.
Behind the main house, forming a courtyard, are two single-storey stone outbuildings. These were built even before the main house, in the 1820s. The eastern building was once a stable, with a wine cellar and pantry. The western building was a bakehouse, kitchen, and laundry. The Langs used these stone buildings as a temporary home while the main house was being built.
Condition and Changes
The two southern stone outbuildings were in bad shape, but major repairs and reconstruction started in 2002. Their stonework was rebuilt, and they are now in excellent condition, used as guest rooms and an entertainment area. The main two-storey house has also been well-maintained.
Some trees close to the house that could cause damage were removed. After an earthquake in 1989, the chimneys were rebuilt with brick.
Over the years, Dunmore House has seen several changes:
- Around 1827, the first temporary wooden dwelling was built.
- Around 1829, the two stone outbuildings were constructed.
- In 1830, construction of the main two-storey stone residence began, finishing by 1833.
- Around 1890, additions were made to the kitchen in the western outbuilding.
Why Dunmore House is Important
Dunmore House is a great example of an early Australian homestead built by convicts around 1833. It shows how the Hunter region was settled and farmed in the early days of the New South Wales colony. It also connects to the early Presbyterian Church, religious beliefs, Scotland, and Scottish immigration.
Dunmore House is strongly linked to the colony's first Presbyterian Minister, Reverend John Dunmore Lang. The land was granted to his brother, and the house was built for his family. John Dunmore Lang was very active in improving the colony and was a Member of Parliament. He helped establish the Presbyterian Church and education in the colony. The Scots Church in Sydney was largely funded by the Lang family using money from this estate.
The house is also important because of John Dunmore Lang's efforts to bring Scottish immigrants to the colony in the early to mid-1800s. His "Bounty Scheme" helped many Scottish, German, and Irish settlers come to Australia. Dunmore House was a key destination for many of these migrants, where they settled and worked for the Lang family.
Dunmore House shows two ways early colonial settlements were formed:
- It used convict labor to build the buildings and farm the land.
- It also brought in skilled free settlers, mostly from Scotland and Germany, to farm the estate and help build a society.
The house is likely important to members of the Scots Church in Sydney, the Presbyterian community, and the descendants of the early German, Scottish, and Irish settlers who came to the colony through Lang's scheme and worked at Dunmore House. Many of these Scottish migrants were from the Isle of Skye, seeking refuge from the Highland Clearances.
Dunmore House is also a very early example of a large European home and farm in the Hunter Region, built even before other famous homesteads like Tocal Homestead. It shows how properties grew over time and how a family developed their land using cash instead of loans.
The group of buildings at Dunmore still stands out in the landscape. In the past, large properties like Dunmore were important for warning people downstream about floods. Dunmore was a big farm, producing wheat, maize, tobacco, dairy products (milk, butter, cheese), fruit, and wine. German vinedressers were brought specifically to care for the vineyards.
Dunmore supplied the Sydney markets by steam ferries that traveled the Paterson and Hunter Rivers. The remaining buildings show the core facilities that helped produce these goods. The property supported about 300 people, including tenant farmers and laborers. Even though the property is smaller now, Dunmore still has its beautiful river views.
