| Historical notes: | STATEMENT OF COUNTRY
Box Hill House in grounds of McCall gardens lies on the traditional lands of the Darug people (AIATSIS, 1996), whose Country extends from the Hawkesbury River, known in the Darug and Gundugurra languages as Dyarubbin, in the north to Appin in the south and across the Cumberland Plain into the foothills of the Blue Mountains.
At the time of British invasion, this area fell within the hinterland dialect region of the Darug language, distinguished from the coastal dialect spoken closer to Sydney Harbour. The hinterland groups of the Darug peoples maintained distinct patterns of resource use, material and cultural practices that were shaped by the Cumberland Plain. For countless generations, the Darug people of this region have sustained deep cultural relationships with this Country. Their cultural expression across the landscape shows in the engraved art on sandstone platforms, paintings in rock shelters and remnants of the basalt ground edge axes for which the Hawkesbury region is well known.
SAMUEL TERRY, 'BOTANY BAY'S ROTHSCHILD'
Samuel Terry (1776-1838) was a labourer in Manchester who was charged with theft and sentenced to seven years transportation to NSW (Dow, 1967).
He arrived in NSW in June 1801 and worked for Reverend Samuel Marsden in a stonemason's gang on the Parramatta Female Factory and Gaol. He was known to take initiative and be hard working, and became a private soldier, a stonemason and ran a shop in Parramatta. In 1809, only two years after his sentence had expired, Terry had his own farm on the Hawkesbury River and was listed as a favoured recipient of government cattle, , which was a rapid rise in fortune in the early colony (Lampard, 2017: Dow, 1967).
This rise continued when, in 1810, he managed to obtain one of the very few liquor licences available in NSW. He married Rosetta Madden, a fellow innkeeper, and together their wealth continued to rise to a level where Terry was able to invest in city and pastoral properties. With diverse financial interests, the couple became important supplies of flour and fresh meat to the Government Stores (Dow, 1967).
Between 1817 and 1820, Terry held over one fifth of the total mortgages registered in NSW and Commissioner John Bridge reported in 1820 that he had 1450 cattle, 3800 sheep and 19,000 acres (Dow, 1967). At this time Terry held almost exactly half of the land owned by former convicts in NSW. He was also major shareholder in the Bank of New South Wales, with a personal fortune larger than the reserves held by the bank (Niche, 2016). It was during this period that he became known as 'Botany Bay's Rothschild,' in the contemporary press. Despite this incredible financial success, he was refused a seat on the Bank's Board of Directors, due to his past as a convict (Daily Mirror, 1955: Dow, 1967).
BOX HILL ESTATE
In 1819, Terry acquired Box Hill from Robert Fitz, who transferred the land to Terry after falling into financial trouble (Lampard, 2017). Terry used Box Hill Estate as his 'country seat' and private family dwelling (Proudfoot, 1987). He also had property in Pitt St, Sydney on the Nepean River and in the Illawarra.
After Samuel Terry's death, his family continued to expand their holdings in the area, and Samuel Terry's son John purchased lots adjacent to Box Hill. In 1831 John Terry married Eleanor Rouse, daughter of Richard Rouse of Rouse Hill Estate, beginning the continuing connection between these two families and their properties.
The placement of Box Hill House and Rouse Hill House (SHR 00002) on the top of neighbouring hill meant one estate could be viewed from the other. The Rouse and Terry families and their houses evolved side by side and their later interfamily marriages meant they would continue to be connected for generations. The Rouse family were early free settles with a contrasting history to the emancipist Terry but both participated in consolidating land, status and regional influence (Parsons, in ADB vol. 1, 1966, Lampard, 2017).
John and Eleanor lived at Box Hill House and it is likely they built the sandstone stables (now Nelson Hall) as well some kitchen buildings which have since been demolished. John Terry died in 1842 and left the estate to Eleanor. Their eldest son, Samuel Henry Terry, took over administration of the Estate and continued to buy land on both sides of Windsor Road to consolidate the Terry holdings in Box Hill (Mackay, Dunn, 2020).
In 1895, the Rouse and Terry family connection was further strengthened with the marriage of George Terry, Samuel Terry's great grandson, and Nina Rouse, who then lived at Rouse Hill for a year after their marriage. George borrowed heavily to undertake many works to the Box Hill estate and as a result had to mortgage his properties. His financial difficulties led to the subdivision of a portion of the Box Hill Estate with photos from the time of the auction showing the area cleared as farm land. The cadastral boundaries established in 1919 are still evident today. George, Nina and their five sons continued to live at Box Hill, until approximately 1924, by which time both George and Nina had been declared bankrupt. They moved to Rouse Hill House, where they continued to live until their deaths (Lampard, 2017).
The estate was passed through various ownership over subsequent years (Lampard, 2017).
SUB-NORMAL CHILDREN'S WELFARE ASSOCIATION (LATER THE MCCALL FOUNDATION)
Early mental health care in NSW offered little for people with intellectual disabilities, routinely placing them in State institutions such as the 1811 Castle Hill Lunatic Asylum, which were former barracks used to confine those labelled 'lunatics'. At this time, people with cognitive or developmental disabilities were not distinguished from those with mental illness and were often regarded as burdens to be hidden from society, leading to treatment that was clinical and aimed at removing people from public view. In the early 20th century, parents of children with intellectual disabilities became increasingly determined to find more humane, long term alternatives (Lampard, 2017).
A parent run association named Sub-normal Children's Welfare Association (SCWA) was founded in NSW in 1946, focusing on the care and treatment of young boys. This association represents a major shift in the way children and young adults with intellectual disabilities would be cared for and treated. By 1950, the SCWA worked with around 24 families. By the 1970s, it was one of the largest and most influential charitable organisations in NSW. It was at the forefront of public debate about the treatment of intellectually disabled people in the state (Mackay, Dunn, 2020).
MCCALL GARDEN COLONY / MCCALL SERVICES
In the early 1950s, the SCWA established its first residential facility for young boys at Crowle House in Ryde and soon sought a companion site where boys over 16 could continue to receive long-term, nurturing care (Lampard, 2017). With this aim, the SCWA approached the then owner of Box Hill House, William McCall (former Member of Australian Parliament 1931-1943), who initially agreed to sell Box Hill House and 40 acres, but ultimately donated it. Subsequent fundraising enabled the purchase of an additional 88 acres, creating a 131 acre estate. Although the house had fallen into disrepair, volunteers and parents restored it, added essential facilities, and by 1957 welcomed the first six boys under the supervision of resident carers. The home was officially opened on 27 September 1958, at which time McCall formally handed the property over to the Box Hill Branch of the SCWA (Mackay, Dunn, 2020: Earl 2007: Challenge Foundation 1987).
In 1961, the SCWA received licenses from the NSW Health Department and Commonwealth Department of Health to operate as a private hospital and as a convalescent home by the marking a significant recognition of the organisation's growing professionalism and innovative approach at a time when large State institutions still dominated the sector. This demonstrated the government confidence in a parent run organisation's ability to deliver regulated and long term residential care, reinforcing the SCWA as a leading example of non government innovation in disability services in NSW.
To remain financially viable and meet growing demand, the SCWA undertook a series of expansions beginning in 1961-62, converting the former barn into 'Nelson Hall' to accommodate seven residents upstairs and staff quarters below, while the original homestead became known as 'Terry House'. They also introduced two converted tram carriages as a handicraft centre (since removed). As admissions continued to rise, three prefabricated huts from the Richmond RAAF base were purchased and rebuilt on site in 1963 to form the Ross Wing, increasing capacity to 40 residents and accompanied by the installation of a swimming pool to support residents' health. In 1972, new regulatory standards and government encouragement to expand led the SCWA to secure a $160,000 subsidy under the Mental Health and Related Services Assistance Act, enabling further compliant residential development (Challenge Foundation 1987: Mackay, Dunn, 2020).
In 1975, the former RAAF huts were replaced with a purpose-built brick facility that met the new regulatory standards, providing 44 beds and increasing McCall Gardens' total capacity to 66 residents. By 1983, an extension to the Ross Wing consolidated all residents under one roof and expanded capacity to 74, coinciding with the organisation's renaming as the Challenge Foundation of NSW in 1984 (later the independent McCall Foundation in the early 1990s). These upgrades introduced improved living conditions, including central heating and personal storage for each resident, and enabled the relocation of residents from Terry House, which was subsequently adapted for offices, meeting rooms, a doctor's consulting space, and staff accommodation (Mackay, Dunn, 2020: Challenge Foundation 1987).
TRANSFORMATION FROM RESIDENCE TO ALLIED SERVICES
In the 1980s and 1990s attitudes towards disability care changed and came under increased scrutiny. In 1986, the Australian Human Rights Commission was established and in 1992 the Australian Parliament passed the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. One of the outcomes of this Act was that large residential care facilities, such as McCall Gardens, were no longer considered suitable and became unlawful. The McCall Foundation prepared for their residents to leave Box Hill and move into more appropriate accommodation, which took almost a decade. As this was happening, the McCall Foundation constructed purpose built group homes in the region, which still operate today (Mackay, Dunn, 2020).
Today, Box Hill House is currently used for day services to a wide range of people across Western Sydney. Changes at the Box Hill facility illustrate the changing attitudes towards the care of people with an intellectual disability. In 2026, the Box Hill site is being adapted again to be used to incorporate the McCall Foundation head office, allied healthcare, community participation program spaces and larger community spaces (McCall Gardens, accessed 2026). |