| Historical notes: | Most of the suburb of Annandale, 290 acres, was granted in 1799 to Major, later Colonel, George Johnston, a marine officer of the First Fleet who commanded the military forces of the colony and named the area after his home town in Scotland. Johnston constructed Annandale House on his grant which was also associated with the introduction of brick-making in the colony, the first batch of bricks being manufactured on the banks of White’s Creek. The house was located on the southern side of the main road, (Parramatta Road) nearly opposite Johnston Street. It was largely constructed of local cedar in the Georgian style. The family occupied the house from 1800 and despite development closing in on all sides the Annandale Estate remained intact into the 1870s. Annandale House was demolished c.1912.
Johnston was succeeded by his son, Captain Robert Johnston, who had been a naval commander. He leased portions of the estate to industry and oversaw the first subdivision of the estate, known as North Annandale Estate in 1874 and 1875. However sales of the large allotments did not proceed well. A subsequent subdivision in 1876, comprising the land bounded by Parramatta Road, Johnston Street, Collins and Nelson Streets was transferred to Robert’s son, George Johnston, who inturn sold the 75 lots to John Young. Young subsequently purchased the remaining land from Johnston in 1877. John Young, prominent building contractor in the late 19th century and Mayor of Leichhardt (1879-80 and 1884-86), in turn resold the 280 acre estate to the Sydney Freehold Land, Building and Investment Company Ltd which he formed in 1878 and which proceeded to subdivide and sell smaller allotments over a period of over 30 years.
Architect and Surveyor Ferdinand Reuss won the competition organised by the Company for the best design and subdivision layout for Annandale. He created the 100ft wide boulevard along the main ridge, Johnston Street, which was intended to be the finest street in the Colony and encouraged the symmetrical street grid pattern. Annandale Street was also a wide 80 ft street whilst Trafalgar, Nelson and Young Street were designed with 66ft width. The four cross streets, Collins, Booth, Piper and Rose Streets were also designed with the 66ft width.
John Young was the main purchaser of land in the Annandale area and one of the biggest building contractors as well as a prominent citizen. He became a dominant personality in the development of Annandale as a suburb. He decided on the street pattern, including the very wide Johnston Street, intended to be the finest street in the area. John Young lived at Kentville, a house built on a three-hectare garden setting that stretched from the Abbey to the bay. The home was surrounded by landscaped areas including the earliest bowling greens in Australia. Young died in 1907 and the whole site was cleared and subdivided into about 90 allotments.
The Abbey’s site was not owned by Young until January 1882 when he bought it off his neighbour, C.H. Blackmann, who built Oybin in 1880. A small building was originally built on the site which was retained to become the kitchen and the servants quarters and was incorporated into the new house.
It is believed that Young built the Abbey in 1881-1882 for a few reasons. One is that he wanted to induce his wife to return to Australia and that building a grand house would do this, but she never returned. Another reason is that Young was a freemason and the Abbey may have been built as a lodge. The Abbey is rich in Masonic symbols, having a layout similar to a typical lodge. Overlooking Kentville, it was ideally placed as a retreat for Young and his friends, almost as an exclusive and private club.
There is no evidence that Young lived at the Abbey. At the turn of the century the Abbey was used as a superior boarding house, while the mezzanine above the stables was used to accommodate one of Sydney’s many private schools. In 1901 Maurice Aron and Parnell Johnson lived there.
After John Young died the property was passed to his son Frederick and son-in-law Sylvanus Patridge Reynolds, trustees for the Estate. They arranged a series of tenancies, subdividing some of the spaces and adding sanitary facilities in the process. In 1916 the tenants were Sarah O’Brien and her married daughters and offspring. From 1924-1931 Ernest Warren and his wife lived there until the death of his wife in a tragic car accident. Warren then installed two flats in the ‘ballroom’ and had the rest of the building converted into flats and flatettes. Lancelot Davis purchased the property in 1959 for his son Dr Geoffrey Davis who moved into one unit in the rear of the west wing and slowly occupied the house as tenants moved out or passed away. Mr Davis began restoration in 1983, teaching and working with his son William from age 11. In September 2006 work was put on hold. The property has since been sold, in 2009, and the owners plan to continue with the restoration. |