Fairlight Homestead facts for kids

Fairlight Homestead is a very old house and property in Mulgoa, a suburb in western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was built between 1821 and 1890. This special place is also known as Fairlight Homestead & Barn. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 because of its important history.

A Look Back: The History of Fairlight Homestead

The Norton Family Arrives

The Norton family came from Sussex, England, where they owned a lot of land. In the early 1800s, some of the Norton family decided to move to Australia.

James Norton, a lawyer, arrived in 1818. The very next year, his father John, his brother Nathaniel (who was a navy officer), and three of his sisters came to Sydney. One of his sisters, Emma, married John Oxley, who was a famous explorer and the Surveyor General of NSW.

Land Grants and the First House

In 1821, the government gave three large pieces of land to the Norton family. James received "Northend," Nathaniel received "Fairlight," and their father John received "Grovers." These lands were all in the Bringelly area.

Soon after, a house was built at Fairlight, and the whole family moved in by late 1821. Nathaniel managed all three properties from Fairlight. The first house was quite simple, made of wood slabs covered with clay and whitewash. It had a shingle roof and small rooms.

Nathaniel, who was a navy officer, lived at Fairlight. He married Ellen Barber in 1841. After Nathaniel passed away in 1851, the property was sold.

New Owners and Big Changes

In 1863, William Arthur Helleyer, a lawyer from Sydney, bought Fairlight. His son later managed the property. The Helleyer family grew many kinds of fruit and even had two vineyards where they made wine.

Later, a businessman named William Jarret bought Fairlight. He saw its potential for making wine and spent a lot of money improving the property. He built a new, bigger house, large stables, and special rooms for drying fruit and storing meat. He also built a huge four-story building just for storing wine.

However, Mr. Jarret spent too much money, and he had to sell Fairlight. The current main house at Fairlight was built around 1876, when Jarret bought the property. Around 1890, the old homestead was replaced with a strong brick house. The barn was also changed to have a large workroom upstairs.

The Garden and Its Challenges

The garden at Fairlight has a mix of old and new plants. Some of the original trees, like the Port Jackson fig trees and cabbage-tree palms, are still there. Later owners, like Jarret, added trees such as carob, kurrajong, and turpentine.

In 2001, a big bushfire from the Blue Mountains reached Fairlight. The local fire brigade and the owners' sons managed to save the homestead, but parts of the garden were badly damaged or destroyed. Then, in 2003, a strong wind storm knocked down many trees that had been weakened by the fires. The garden has been slowly recovering since then.

What Fairlight Homestead Looks Like

Fairlight Homestead is on a very high spot. From here, you can see amazing views of the countryside, all the way to Sydney, the Nepean River gorge, and even to Camden and Mittagong.

The first house, built around 1821, was a simple single-story building. Behind it, a large two-story barn was built. The ground floor of the barn was used for a dairy and creamery, and it had living areas for workers. The upper floor was likely used for some kind of industry.

The house and barn you see today were built by William Jarret in the late 1860s. The garden has many old trees. The line of Chinese elms along the driveway shows where the original path used to be. There's also a rose walk that connects the house to the tennis court and pool.

The grand Port Jackson fig trees frame the view to the south, where you can find an orchard and vegetable garden. A dry stone wall has been extended on the western side of the garden. This wall was built by a local stonemason using traditional methods.

Even after the fires and storms, the garden is still a peaceful place with glimpses of the Blue Mountains.

Changes Over Time

• 1821: The first house was built. It was made of wood slabs, plastered with clay, and had a shingle roof. The rooms were about 2.4 meters (8 feet) high, and the doors were about 1.8 meters (6 feet) high.
• Around 1869: Fruit was grown, and wine was made on the property. There was a large stone wine cellar, which has since been taken down.
• 1869-1872: William Jarret built a new homestead, large stables, meat-curing rooms, fruit-drying lofts, and a big four-story building to store wine.
• Around 1912: A post windmill on the property was taken down.
• 1969: The property was divided into many smaller lots, which meant the house and barn ended up on different pieces of land.
• 1981: The owners bought the land next to them to protect the historic barn from being demolished. The barn was then restored.

Why Fairlight Homestead is Important

Fairlight Homestead is considered a very important historical site in New South Wales. It is one of the few large and well-built Victorian-era houses left in the Mulgoa Valley.

It's important because of its high location with beautiful views and its connection to the early land grants given by Governor Macquarie in 1821 to the Norton family. The original house and the large barn show how people lived and worked in the early days of the colony.

The property is also linked to later owners like William Helleyer and William Jarret, who used it for growing grapes, making wine, growing and drying fruit, and curing meat.

The old trees and garden features, like the Port Jackson figs and the Chinese elms, tell the story of how the garden has changed and grown over time.

Because of its rich history and unique features, Fairlight Homestead was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.