Kirribilli House

Last updated

Kirribilli House
Kirribilli House (2019).jpg
Kirribilli House, pictured in 2019
Kirribilli House
General information
Architectural style Cottage ornée
Address109 Kirribilli Avenue, Kirribilli, New South Wales
CountryAustralia
Coordinates 33°51′05″S151°13′09″E / 33.851286°S 151.21915°E / -33.851286; 151.21915
Current tenantsNot occupied
Completed1855
Design and construction
Architect(s)Adolphus Frederic Feez
Official nameKirribilli House; Kirribilli House Garden & Grounds
TypeHistoric
Criteria a., b., d., e., g., h.
Designated22 June 2004
Reference no.105451 & 105589
References
[1] [2]

Kirribilli House is the secondary official residence of the prime minister of Australia. Located in the Northern Sydney suburb of Kirribilli, New South Wales, the cottage and its associated grounds are located at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue. It is one of two official prime ministerial residences, the primary official residence being The Lodge in Canberra. The house, gardens and grounds are on the Commonwealth Heritage List. [1] [2]

Contents

Although Kirribilli was never intended to be the Prime Minister's official primary place of residence,[ citation needed ] John Howard, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison have used the house as such. [3]

Overview

In 1854, merchant Adolphus Frederic Feez purchased a 0.40-hectare (1-acre) parcel of land at the tip of Kirribilli Point for £200. [4] The land had been sliced off the grounds of adjacent Wotonga House, which now forms part of Admiralty House, but was then in private ownership. Feez built the picturesque Gothic-style structure now known as Kirribilli House – a twin-gabled dwelling or cottage ornée – on the land's highest spot. The house features steeply pitched roofs, fretwork, bargeboards and bay windows. It passed through many private hands until it was purchased in 1919 for £10,000 by Arthur Wigram Allen. Allen planned to subdivide the land but after much public agitation the then Prime Minister of Australia, Billy Hughes, resumed the property for Government purposes in 1920.

The property was used by the staff of the Governor-General of Australia (who occupied neighbouring Admiralty House) until 1930, when it was leased to tenants. In 1956 Kirribilli House was set aside as a residence for the use of Australia's Prime Ministers, when they need to perform public duties and extend official hospitality on behalf of the government during stays in Sydney; the official Prime Ministerial residence is The Lodge in Canberra. Kirribilli House is situated on the North Shore of Sydney Harbour, in the suburb of Kirribilli. It commands impressive views across to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House and has been visited over the years by many important international dignitaries.

Kirribilli House is open to the public on one day a year, courtesy of The Australiana Fund. [5]

History

Adolphus Frederic Feez

Adolphus Frederic Feez, who built Kirribilli House in 1855, was born in Germany in 1826. [6] He went first to London in 1849 and is listed on the Certificate of Arrival as being a merchant and an architect. In 1851 he immigrated to Sydney on the ship Envelope. He established himself as a successful merchant and was a partner in the trading company called Rabone, Feez and Co. His brother was Albrecht Feez, [7] who later became a prominent citizen in Rockhampton.

Feez lived in Kirribilli House for several years which was then called Sophienberg. [8] He then moved to Balmain. [9] He married Frederica and had two children while living in Sydney. [10] While on a business trip to Fiji he died in 1869 at the age of only 43. [11] Frederica returned with her children to live in Germany.

The Lawry family

Kirribilli House in 1920 just before it was resumed by the Australian Government Kirribilli House 1920 2.jpg
Kirribilli House in 1920 just before it was resumed by the Australian Government
Map of Kirribilli Point, 1909 Map Kirribilli Point 1909.jpg
Map of Kirribilli Point, 1909
Advertisement for sale of Kirribilli House, 1919 Sale of Kirribilli House 1919.jpg
Advertisement for sale of Kirribilli House, 1919

The next residents of Kirribilli House from about 1858 were Thomas and Esther Lawry. Thomas Lawry was born in 1821. He was employed by the Ordnance Department in Sydney at a young age, [12] and remained there for the rest of his life. He was also appointed as a magistrate by the Governor. [13] He married Esther Hughes in 1858 and the couple had two children. In 1859, the birth of a daughter at Sophienberg was recorded in the newspaper [14] so it appears that the house continued to be called by this name after the Lawrys purchased it.

Esther Lawry’s maiden name was Esther Matilda Hosking Hughes and she was the step granddaughter of Samuel Terry, the very wealthy convict entrepreneur. In 1858, Esther inherited a considerable amount of money from her grandmother Rosetta Terry. [15]

In 1865, Thomas Lawry died at the age of 44. [16] The death notice records that the name of the house was still Sophienberg. [16] Two years later in 1867, Esther married James Taylor, [17] who was the Commissary-General of Ordnance. This couple then lived in the house with Esther’s two children, one of whom was Thomas Terry Trewyn Lawry. In 1891, James Taylor died. [18] By this time the house had been named "Kirribilli" and was located in Campbell Street as the map on the left shows. In 1900, Esther died, [19] and the house was left to her son Thomas Terry Trewyn Lawry.

Thomas Terry Trewyn Lawry was born in 1864. He seemed to have rather poor health and did not marry. In 1907, at the age of only 42 he died of heart failure. [20] As he had no children he left his property to relatives and others. He made a very complex will leaving Kirribilli house to several people one of whom was Laura Lamotte. [21] Laura married William Donald McCrea in 1909. Laura and William lived in the house for some time [22] but she then wanted to sell the property. There was some disagreement about the sale with the other beneficiaries and the matter was taken to the Equity Court. [23] The Court resolved that the property should be sold and it was put on the market in 1919. The House was bought by Arthur Wigram Allen who planned to subdivide the land. In 1920, he produced a brochure with a photo of the house and the planned subdivision.

There was public outcry about the sale of the house and the Government under the then Prime Minister Billy Hughes decided to resume it. The property has remained in Government ownership since then.

House entrance (1)Kirribilli House Kirribilli.jpg
House entrance

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lodge, Australia</span> Official residence of the prime minister of Australia

The Lodge is the primary official residence of the prime minister of Australia. Located at 5 Adelaide Avenue in the Canberra suburb of Deakin, it is situated a short distance away from Parliament House. The Lodge is one of two official prime ministerial residences, the secondary official residence being Kirribilli House in Sydney. The building was completed in 1927 in the Georgian revival style, since then twenty-three people have served as prime minister, six of whom chose to live elsewhere either full- or part-time during their tenure, and two who chose to live at Kirribilli House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiralty House, Sydney</span> Official residence of the Governor-General of Australia in Kirribilli, Sydney

Admiralty House is the official residence of the governor-general of Australia in Sydney. It is located in the suburb of Kirribilli, on the northern foreshore of Sydney Harbour, and adjacent to Kirribilli House, which serves as the Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister. The large Victorian Regency and Italianate sandstone manor, completed in stages based on designs by James Barnet and Walter Liberty Vernon, occupies the tip of Kirribilli Point. Once known as "Wotonga", it has commanding views across Sydney Harbour to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Admiralty House is regarded as the secondary residence of the governor-general, the main residence being Government House in Canberra, also known as Yarralumla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirribilli, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Kirribilli is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. One of the city's most established and affluent neighbourhoods, it is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area administered by North Sydney Council. Kirribilli is a harbourside suburb, sitting on the Lower North Shore of Sydney Harbour. Kirribilli House is one of the two official residences of the Prime Minister of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Sydney Council</span> Local government area in New South Wales, Australia

North Sydney Council is a local government area on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, established on 29 July 1890 through the amalgamation of three boroughs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Hartigan</span> Australian tennis player

Joan Marcia Bathurst was an Australian Champion tennis player who was active from the early 1930s until the late 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney County Council</span>

The Sydney County Council (SCC) was formed in 1935 to produce electricity and operate the electricity network in a number of municipalities in metropolitan Sydney. Unlike other New South Wales county councils, which were voluntary associations of local councils to undertake local government activities permitted or required of them by the Local Government Act 1919, Sydney County Council was established under a separate piece of legislation by the state government to perform the electricity distribution and streetlighting operations of the local government areas concerned. On its establishment it assumed control of the Electricity Department of the Sydney City Council, which was already supplying electricity to other municipalities. In 1952, the SCC lost most its electricity generation functions to the Electricity Commission of New South Wales and retained only its distribution functions. The SCC was merged with other municipal county councils in 1990 to form Sydney Electricity.

<i>Cranbrook</i>, Bellevue Hill Mansion

Cranbrook is a large house built at Rose Bay in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Built in 1859 as a private residence, the house was used as an official residence for the Governor of New South Wales and Governor-General of Australia, it is now part of Cranbrook School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Street</span> Street in Sydney, Australia

Jeffrey Street or Jeffreys Street is a street located in Kirribilli, famous for being one of the most popular vantage points for views of the city skyline of Sydney, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. The street is located on the Lower North Shore of Sydney Harbour, directly across the harbour from Circular Quay and is a popular destination for tourists, particularly on Australia Day and New Year's Eve. The street leads uphill from the harbour in a northerly direction to the small shopping village of Kirribilli. For many years the area was called the North Shore and the original land grant changed hands a number of times. Over the past 200 years the area has also been called Huntershill, St Leonards, North Sydney, "Kiarabilli", Milsons Point and "Kirribilli Point". The modern spelling Kirribilli was first used in 1853 and the use of Kirribilli as a locality is more recent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John George Nathaniel Gibbes</span> British Army officer

Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes was a British army officer who emigrated to Australia in 1834 on his appointment as Collector of Customs for the Colony of New South Wales, an appointment which gave him a seat on the New South Wales Legislative Council and which he held for 25 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Shaw (public servant)</span> Australian engineer and public servant (1902–1983)

John Alexander Lachlan Shaw, was an Australian civil engineer, soldier and New South Wales public servant, who served as the NSW Commissioner for Main Roads from 1962 to 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloncorrick, Darling Point</span> House in New South Wales, Australia

Cloncorrick is a heritage-listed house located in Darling Point, a suburb of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1884 for Sir George Bowen Simpson to a design by John Horbury Hunt in the Victorian Free Gothic style. Simpson named the house after Cloncorrick Castle in Ireland, where his grandfather once lived. The home was the residence of several notable Australians and is considered to be a house of local historic significance. It has been converted into two apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Pollard Sampson</span> Australian architect

Thomas Pollard Sampson was a Tasmanian-born Australian architect active in New South Wales during the first forty years of the 20th century. His work encompassed the styles of the Federation Arts and Crafts and Bungalow through to the Inter-War Styles. In 1912 he designed an octagonal roofed stadium at Rushcutters Bay that seated up to 12,000 spectators. At the time, the Sydney Stadium was said to be "the largest roofed-in structure in the world." In the 1920s and 1930s, as a golfer and member of Concord Golf Club and Pennant Hills Golf Club, he designed the clubhouses at both courses. The buildings of both these well known Sydney clubs are still in use in 2023.

<i>Koree</i>

Koree was a "K-class" ferry on Sydney Harbour. Launched in 1902, the timber-hulled steamer was built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the boom in cross-harbour ferry travel prior to the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

<i>Kurraba</i> and <i>Kirribilli</i> Steamers for SYDNEY HARBOUR

Kurraba and Kirribilli were two similar "K-class" ferries on Sydney Harbour. Launched in 1899 and 1900 respectively, the two timber-hulled steamers were built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the boom in cross-harbour ferry travel prior to the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Rev. William Henry Savigny MA was an Australian academic, born in England. His elder son, also named William Henry Savigny was a longtime master at Sydney Grammar School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. J. Holloway</span> Australian actor and stage manager

William James Holloway, known professionally as W. J. Holloway, was an Australian actor and stage manager who after some successes moved to London, from where he made several tours of South Africa. He married twice; and recognising the talent of his second wife's daughter, developed it to the full and drove her, as Essie Jenyns, to fame and exhaustion. He also made competent actors of his own children; he was an excellent teacher.

William Dind was an hotelier and theatre manager in Sydney, Australia, where he was the longtime lessee of the Royal Victoria, and Prince of Wales theatres. He settled on Sydney's North Shore, where he was active in local government, and he and his son William Forster Dind, aka W. Forster Dind or William Dind jun, ran hotels which were popular with theatrical people.

Arthur Herman Henry Milford Feez was a lawyer in Brisbane, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Sly</span> Australian lawyer and judge (1849–1929)

Richard Meares Sly was an Australian lawyer, judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1908 to 1919.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kirribilli House, 111 Kirribilli Av, Kirribilli, NSW, Australia (Place ID 105451)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government . Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Kirribilli House Garden & Grounds, 111 Kirribilli Av, Kirribilli, NSW, Australia (Place ID 105589)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government . Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  3. ↑ Trembath, Murray (24 September 2018). "Updated | 'The shire's still our home' says Scott Morrison". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "Kirribilli House". memim.com. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Open House at Admiralty & Kirribilli Houses". Archived from the original on 23 March 2012.
  6. ↑ New South Wales Certificate of Naturalisation, No. 39 1854.
  7. ↑ "Family notices: DEATH". Rockhampton Bulletin and Central Queensland Advertiser (Qld). 20 November 1869. p. 3 – via Trove, National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "Advertising". Empire . Sydney. 27 September 1856. p. 7.
  9. ↑ Sands Directory
  10. ↑ New South Wales Birth Certificates 1867/ 2760 and 1870/2940
  11. ↑ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1881, page 31.
  12. ↑ "Domestic Intelligence. The Queen's Birthday". The Sydney Herald . Vol. XIII, no. 1565. New South Wales, Australia. 25 May 1842. p. 2. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "The Government Gazette". The Sydney Morning Herald . Vol. L, no. 8223. New South Wales, Australia. 15 October 1864. p. 4. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald . Vol. XL, no. 6712. New South Wales, Australia. 12 December 1859. p. 1. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  15. ↑ The Will of Rosetta Terry 1858. Online reference "Transcript of will of Rosetta Terry 1856". Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  16. 1 2 "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald . Vol. LII, no. 8508. New South Wales, Australia. 30 August 1865. p. 1. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  17. ↑ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald . Vol. LV, no. 8997. New South Wales, Australia. 23 March 1867. p. 7. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  18. ↑ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 16, 469. New South Wales, Australia. 5 January 1891. p. 1. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  19. ↑ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 19, 528. New South Wales, Australia. 13 October 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  20. ↑ "Personal". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 21, 726. New South Wales, Australia. 5 September 1907. p. 6. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  21. ↑ "Wills". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 21748. New South Wales, Australia. 1 October 1907. p. 6. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  22. ↑ "Scottish Terrier Club's Show". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 23, 133. New South Wales, Australia. 4 March 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  23. ↑ "In Equity". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 25, 262. New South Wales, Australia. 23 December 1918. p. 5. Retrieved 24 April 2021– via National Library of Australia.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.