Wilton Park, Wilton (New South Wales) facts for kids

Wilton Park is a very old farm in Wilton, Australia. It is located in the south-western part of Sydney. This special place is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register. This means it is an important historical site. The buildings you see there today were likely designed by Albert Bond and built around 1892.

A Look Back at Wilton Park's History

The main buildings at Wilton Park were built around 1892. They were made for Samuel Hordern. He was the grandson of the person who started the famous Hordern department store in Sydney. Samuel Hordern was a very successful businessman.

Wilton Park quickly became one of Australia's best places for breeding horses. It helped improve the quality of horses across the country. Many winning racehorses came from Wilton Park.

After Samuel Hordern passed away in 1909, his family owned Wilton Park for many years. They finally sold it in 1927.

What Wilton Park Looks Like

Wilton Park is built on gently sloping land. The buildings are arranged in a special way around a central grassy area. This area is called a quadrangle. It used to be covered in raked gravel.

The main buildings include stables, a coach-house, and a harness room. There are also underground water tanks and special stallion boxes. All these buildings show how important horse breeding was back then.

• The stables building faces north. It has twelve "loose boxes," which are individual stalls for horses.
• The stables are made of sandstock brick. They have a sloped roof with iron decorations.
• Inside, the floors are made of special planks or bricks.
• Another building faces east. It holds the coach house and a room for horse harnesses. It also has rooms for the grooms and for storing feed.
• Two underground water tanks are on the north side. They have low, sloped roofs.
• There are also two separate stallion boxes. They look similar to the stables.

One very special part of Wilton Park is the covered round yard. It is a large circular area about 30 feet (9 meters) across. It has wooden posts and a unique "parasol" roof. This roof is made of corrugated iron. The round yard is a great example of skilled timber work.

The buildings at Wilton Park are in good shape. They were carefully fixed up in the late 1970s to look like they did originally.

Why Wilton Park is Special

Wilton Park is important for many reasons. It shows us how successful Samuel Hordern was. He was a leader in breeding horses and a rich businessman. The stables were built when horses were very important in Australia. These buildings are great examples of farm architecture from that time. They were designed for the needs of the horse breeding industry.

The buildings also look very nice together. They are placed on a gentle slope around the central quadrangle. This creates a beautiful view from the old main entrance. Each building is a fine example of rural architecture. The covered round yard is especially unique. It shows amazing woodworking skills. It might have even been a model for another famous round yard nearby.

Wilton Park was officially listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on April 2, 1999.