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.

 

 

 

“It’s a knockdown,” according to one local.

I totally disagree, although I don’t doubt that the next purchaser will knock down the quintessential beach shack and build one of the sprawling contemporary mega-homes already adorning most of the plots that adjoin Forresters Beach.

I knew about this house, which is currently up for sale with offers sought over $1.55 million, as I grew up in the area. Its peeling paint, pretty front garden and unbeatable beachfront position render it the perfect holiday home, and the idea of building a new place on the land makes me sad. It’s the kind of vacationer I aspire to own … when I make all my riches, of course.

Forresters Beach is a Central Coast suburb wedged between Terrigal and The Entrance (it borders Wamberal and Bateau Bay). It is notable for having an unpatrolled beach, and for also having exclusive access to Spoon Bay, a lovely, secluded … well, bay … that will take you to Wamberal and Terrigal beaches if you keep walking along the sand. It is an interesting place – small enough to walk from one end of the suburb to another (if you can be bothered), built primarily on sand, yet accommodating a wide variety of housing styles and inhabitants.

The beach side of the suburb houses the most covetable real estate (and, well … people), while the northern end of the suburb contains mostly middle-of-the road suburbia brick and weatherboard places. A large portion of the houses were once weekenders, so the suburb has its fair share of small fibro cottages.

This house stands out as it has one of the suburb’s best positions (with direct access to the beach), yet retains its character. It’s a beach home through and through – the kind of place you look forward to travelling to in summer, its floorboards inescapably covered with sand, its floor-to-ceiling windows letting in the salty sea breeze.

Its private beach stairs

Forresters Beach, on an unfortunately gloomy day