This week doesn’t concentrate on one particular home – instead, I present to you a (dizzying, quite frankly) array (or smattering, if you like) of houses lining the streets of Sydney’s Harris Park. Yes, Harris Park. The wild, wild west. No, it isn’t lame to say that.

I adore this house. The garden and the splashes of pink and blue on its ornate terrace make it one of the suburb's prettiest cottages.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the west, Harris Park, as I have learnt, has two primary features of significance: it is towered over by Parramatta’s growing CBD (and is walking distance to all that it holds), and it has an amazing collection of heritage homes. It is a sexy colonial paradise. If such a thing exists.  It is kind of a colonial housing/subcontinent mash-up (in 2006, 23.4% of its population had been born in India – to put this in context, 25.9% of its population was Australian-born).

For every house kept in beautiful ornamental condition in the suburb, there are probably three that have been left to deteriorate. Notably, these tend to still be lived in – sad in some respects, but I’m intrigued imagining the stories, and I have an eternal appreciation for the character presented by an old house that’s been left untouched.

Yes, Harris Park has terraces (!).

Harris Park is different from other suburbs. It is not trendy (yet – it might get there). But if you’re genuinely keen on interesting houses and our architectural heritage, it pays to spread your wings and venture outside of Balmain, Neutral Bay and Surry Hills – Harris Park is an untapped goldmine of architectural goodness. There is also a historic walk that covers a number of preserved heritage properties – including the Historic Houses Trust’s Elizabeth Farm, which I have blogged about previously. So go there. Be surprised. Appreciate an untouched gem. And afterwards you can walk to Max Brenner and hit the yum cha at Parramatta’s Sky Phoenix. Wins all ’round.

Absolutely gorgeous home in immaculate condition near the railway station.

A spectacular homestead.

Dinosaurs!

I would love to know how the dinosaur motif came to bless this otherwise unassuming structure. I'm guessing it was done at the bidding of a '70s child with cool parents.

This house is haunting, particularly as it's lived in. It doesn't take much imagination to picture how perfect it would look spruced up. But it does a fine job of grabbing you now, just as it is.

One of the main house's verandahs.

 

 

  

My favourite element of the house is its sunrooms, which sit off the drawing room and what seems to have been the formal living or dining room. The house is split into two wings, which is interesting. Unfortunately, the bedrooms are quite dark, and aside from the high ceilings and floorboards, don’t offer much visual appeal.

One of the house's sunrooms.

 

The house’s owners – Elizabeth and John Macarthur – came to Australia in the Second Fleet. Macarthur, who is lauded for his furtherance of Australia’s pastoral industry, was granted 100 acres in the area. He was a pretty wiley guy, and in his time managed to secure a landholding of almost 1,300, with Elizabeth Farm comprising 300 of them. He cultivated the land while still acting as inspector of public works, and on his resignation, some authorities were taken aback that he had been engaging in such large-scale farming while still on duty.

Ceiling in servants' quarters

Macarthur was arrested at one point for injuring the Lieutenant-General in a duel, which I feel provides some insight into his character. Much more dramatic than your average 18th century colonial home tale!

The house was remodelled in 1826, but didn’t reach completion by the time of Macarthur’s death. In his later years, he succumbed to insanity, making renovations frenetic.  Without delving into its complete history (which, while interesting, is lengthy), the house was saved from demolition in the 1970s. People had been trying to preserve the house since 1968, when it was in a state of dereliction. The dilapidated room that remains in the house acts as evidence of its ruinous state.

In 1977, it became NSW’s first property to be protected by a conservation order. Unfortunately, a heritage listing cannot always save an important home, as one recent incident demonstrates. The Heritage House has pieced together aspects of the house’s history through photographs, intending the interior of the house to look like it did at the time it was lived in.

Lovely (and historic!) toy.

Foyer.

 

 

I couldn't resist uploading this. What a strapping young man.

 

 

As you would expect from a farm, the property has a big overgrown vegetable patch. The land size is still large (although certainly not 300 acres – I think you’d be hard-pressed to find any 300 acre blocks anywhere near the Sydney metropolitan area). This house, more than any I’ve viewed, presents a queer contrast – it sits awkwardly in a suburb that seems to be trying to move on from its rich historical underpinnings. That’s one of the things that makes the house so attractive; it’s not surrounded on either side by similar homes. It stands apart, and acts as a little historical breakaway – something that stands out from the rest of the street.