Moonby House

Moonby House
Moonby House
	Location of Moonby House in New South Wales
Location	New England Highway, Kootingal, Tamworth Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	31°02′34″S151°03′47″E / 31.0429°S 151.0630°E Coordinates: 31°02′34″S151°03′47″E / 31.0429°S 151.0630°E
Built	1895–1896
Architectural style(s)	Federation Filigree
Owner	Freemasons Institution of NSW
New South Wales Heritage Register
	Official name: Moonby House; Moonbi Retirement Homes
Type	State heritage (built)
Designated	2 April 1999
Reference no.	61
Type	House
Category	Residential buildings (private)

Last updated April 15, 2019

Moonby House is a heritage-listed colonial pastoral station and now retirement village located on the New England Highway in Kootingal in the Tamworth Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The house was built from 1895 to 1896. It is also known as Moonbi Retirement Homes. The property is owned by the Freemasons Institution of NSW and was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.^[1]

A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves; however, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socialization opportunities are often provided. Some of the characteristics typically are: the community must be age-restricted or age-qualified, residents must be partially or fully retired, and the community offers shared services or amenities.

The New England Highway is an 878-kilometre (546 mi) long highway in Australia running from Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end to Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, and forms part of the inland route between Brisbane and Sydney.

Kootingal is a town in New South Wales, Australia in the Tamworth Regional Council area. It is commonly called a satellite suburb of Tamworth because of its closeness and the fact that its residents use Tamworth's services. Founded as an Aboriginal mission, Kootingal traces its name roots to the local Aboriginal Kamilaroi language. At the 2016 census, Kootingal had a population of 2,126 people.

History

Through the process of "squatting" on Crown land, squatters had occupied most of the Peel Valley and adjacent Moonbi Ranges by the late 1830s.^[1]^[2]

Crown land, also known as royal domain or demesne, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realms such as Canada and Australia, crown land is considered public land and is apart from the monarch's private estate.

The Moonbi Range, a mountain range that is part of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.

By 1848 Henry Dangar had formed the "Moonbi" run of 10,240 hectares (25,300 acres). Henry Dangar was company surveyor for the Australian Agricultural Company and was the influencing factor in convincing Edward Parry (company agent for the Australian Agricultural Company) to exchange the coastal and mountainous lands at Port Stephens for the better pastoral lands of the Peel Valley.^[1]^[2]

Henry Dangar Henry Dangar was a surveyor and explorer of Australia, a successful pastoralist and businessman, and also served as a magistrate and politician.

Henry Dangar was a surveyor and explorer of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He became a successful pastoralist and businessman, and also served as a magistrate and politician. He was born on 18 November 1796 at St Neot, Cornwall, United Kingdom, and was the first of six brothers to emigrate as free settlers to New South Wales.

The Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) is an Australian company that, as at 2018, owns and operates feedlots and farms covering around 7 million hectares of land in Queensland and the Northern Territory, roughly 1% of Australia’s land mass. As of July 2008 AACo had a staff of 500 and operated 24 cattle stations and 2 feedlots, consisting of over 565,000 beef cattle.

Port Stephens, an open youthful tide dominated drowned valley estuary, is a large natural harbour of approximately 134 square kilometres (52 sq mi) located in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia.

Pastoral runs were open range country, with a head station that was the heart of the enterprise. Moonby House was erected by the Gill family, which had made their money both from mail contracting and from pastoralism. This was the expression of that wealth at the end of the nineteenth century. Robert Alfred Orvill Gill built the house during 1895-96, of double brick made near the river, on the property Tangelwood.^[1]^[2]

In 1970 Moonby House was restored by "Artificial Breeders Ltd." who made it the administrative headquarters of a cattle artificial insemination centre.^[1]^[2]

In 1977 the Masonic Lodge conceived to change it to a retirement village. In 1978 the Freemasons Benevolent Institution of NSW purchased the property to establish the Northern Inland Masonic Retirement Centre - as a residential aged care facility. At the time of the study Moonbi House was still being utilised for that purpose.^[1]^[2]

Description

It is well-sited with views across the countryside to the Moonbi Ranges.^[3] Moonby House is now located within a retirement village.^[2]^[1]

Moonby House has a long driveway leading onto Churchill Drive, included as part of its curtilage.^[1]

Moonby House, constructed between 1895 and 1896, is representative of the development of the pastoral expansion of the Parry Shire, and is also an outstanding example of a pastoral manor house in the Federation Filigree style. It is important to the local community as a landmark item and is associated with the historical figures Henry Dangar (original lease holder) and the Gill Family (original owners of the house). It is also developing additional social and cultural importance associated with its current use as a retirement village.^[2]^[1]

A substantial and well-detailed house featuring an interesting transitional architectural style.^[1]^[3]

Heritage listing

Moonby House was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.^[1]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Moonby House". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Office of Environment and Heritage. H00061. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 EJE Heritage P/L (2001). Parry Heritage Study.
1 2 NTA (NSW), 1974.

Bibliography

Objections made to the proposal to make a permanent conservation order in respect of the buildings (being the house and former stables), known as 'Moonby House'.
Ferry, J., (2001) (1988). Parry Shire Thematic History - The Changing Scenes of Kootingal ...to 1988.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
Magoffin & Deakin Pty Ltd. (2008). Conservation management plan for Moonby House, New England Highway, Kootingal.
EJE Heritage P/L (2001). Parry Heritage Study.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Moonby House , entry number 00061 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence , accessed on 1 June 2018.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[nswshr-61-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Moonby House". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Office of Environment and Heritage. H00061. Retrieved 1 June 2018.

[nswshr-61-713-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 EJE Heritage P/L (2001). Parry Heritage Study.

[nswshr-61-718-3] 1 2 NTA (NSW), 1974.