Lilianfels

Item details


Name of item:	Lilianfels
Type of item:	Complex / Group
Group/Collection:	Residential buildings (private)
Category:	Other - Residential Buildings (private)
Location:	Lat: -33.7294107962 Long: 150.3103917120
Primary address:	10-16 Panorama Drive, Katoomba, NSW 2780
Parish:	Megalong
County:	Cook
Local govt. area:	Blue Mountains
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Deerubbin

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
PART LOT	1278		DP	1160196

Boundary:

Lilianfels Avenue and Panorama Drive, Katoomba, comprising house, original kitchen block, cottage (The Kennels), shed between house and cottage and remains of original garden.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
10-16 Panorama Drive	Katoomba	Blue Mountains	Megalong	Cook	Primary Address
Lilianfels Avenue	Katoomba	Blue Mountains	Megalong	Cook	Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Lilianfels Blue Mountains Pty Ltd	Private	23 Mar 99

Statement of significance:


	Lilianfels has historic and social significance as the core remnant estate comprising a summer residence built for Sir Frederick Darley, Chief Justice, Lieutenant Governor of NSW and then Privy Counsellor, and Lady Darley. The house has aesthetic significance as a fine example of a late Victorian/ early Queen Anne house designed by Varney Parkes and remains substantially intact. Some of the original interior finishes remain and thus it is a good example of a house and lifestyle of the period. The site comprises the house, kitchen, cottage and extensive gardens, all of which provide an attractive setting and have high aesthetic value for a complex which demonstrates the the characteristics of a summer residence in the Blue Mountains. The gardens and grounds have historic significance as remnants of Chief Justice Darley's 1880s estate at Echo Point. The gardens and grounds of Lilianfels, although substantially altered, still contain some important elements of the original layout and demonstrate the key characteristics of the late 19th century summer estates developed in the Blue Mountains by wealthy and prominent citizens of Sydney. The exotic trees, hedges and vistas to Lilianfels house are important to the understanding of the historical development of Echo Point. The location and orientation of the house near Echo Point and overlooking the Jamison Valley and set within attractive gardens provides an outstanding aesthetic appeal for the house, setting, and locality. The remnant estate has been an important part of Katoomba for its historic and social associations. (Eric Martin & Associates, 2003, modified, Read, Stuart, 2004) An important late Victorian summer residence built for Sir Frederick Darley, Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales and lady Darley (Criterion H.1). The house is architecturally significant as the work of Varney Parkes, later government architect, in an early version of the Queen Anne style (Criterion F.1). The house, kitchen block, detached cottage, mature garden and the prospect over Jamison Valley are highly valued for their aesthetic qualities (Criterion F.1). The complex is important for the way it demonstrates the characteristics of summer residences built in the Blue Mountains in the late nineteenth century by prominent figures of New South Wales (NSW) society (Criterion D.2). It is valued by the community for its historic and social associations and for its later role as a popular guest house (Criterion G.1). (AHC)
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	Varney Parkes
Physical description:	Garden/grounds The current garden is an interpretation of the earlier 19th century garden determined by and functional requirements based on archival photographs. Edging tiles found on site have been utilised and additional tiles introduced as necessary. The former pinetum or area defined as 'ornamental trees and shrubs' consists of plantings of conifers, Strawberry tree (Arbutus sp.), azaleas (Rhododendron spp., cv's), camellias (C. spp., cv's), swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum) and Prunus. The cherry laurel hedge (Prunus laurocerasus) which features in a c. 1915 photograph, has been retained. A visible connection to the street and interpretation of the early entrance drive has been retained on the eastern side of the property. The gardens and grounds are largely overgrown. Remains of the driveway, paths and garden beds are discernible by edging tiles and changes of level. There are remains of brick drains, hedges, rock edging, steps and gates. The driveway is flanked by rhododendrons and laurels. Close to the house are plantings of hydrangeas and agapanthus. The grounds contain many exotic plants, dense groves of pine trees and an area once used as a tennis court. House The main house is a substantial timber framed weatherboard bungalow building on a red brick base, a rectangular hipped slate roof with brick chimneys punctuated by dormers on the front and rear, lighting attic bedrooms. Dormers facing towards the Jamison Valley have an unusual faceted configuration and small open spaces in front of them. Chimneys are tall and constructed out of brickwork that has been distinctively detailed with strapwork and also tuckpointed. The corners of the external walls have been unusually detailed with quoins. Several wide verandahs surround it; the main one along the front and the two sides feature turned timber posts with decorative timber fretwork valances and railings. The side verandah features a coloured leadlight window. The verandahs feature substantial turned posts, timber balustrading, turned valance joinery and exposed rafter ends. The treads of the steps up to the verandah have been formed from single pieces of slate, whilst risers have been tiled. The main entry is located beyond a gable roofed porch that projects beyond the verandah. Outbuildings The originally detached weatherboard kitchen block has been linked to the main house by an enclosed passageway. Its roofline follows the form of the main house roof. The detached cottage, The Kennels is built of weatherboard similarly to the main house, though it is not as elaborate. The shed is a simple rustic building of timber with a skillion roof. (AHC)


Current use:	Luxury hotel restaurant
Former use:	Aboriginal land, timber-getting, periurban villa, holiday house

History

Historical notes:

Aboriginal Occupation
Prior to European settlement the Blue Mountains was the home of many autonomous Aboriginal groups who lived and moved around the region. There are six distinct tribal groups who have traditional rights and custodial responsibilities for the indigenous heritage of the region that are: the Darug, the Gandangurra, the Wanaruah, the Wiradjuri, the Darkinjung and the Tharawal.

Evidence of Aboriginal occupation and custodianship of the country within Blue Mountains National Park dates back to possibly 22,000 years B.P ((Stockton and Holland 1974; Williams et. al. 2012). The Blue Mountains contain a large number of significant sites which capture the relationship that Aboriginal people have had with country for thousands of generations.

The rich and varied evidence of traditional occupation of the reserves include archaeological deposits in open sites and rock shelters, stone implements, factory sites for tool production, axe grinding grooves and extensive art-work, including drawn, painted and stencilled images. Tracks and figurative motifs dominate the art sites (NPWS 1998). Motifs include anthropomorphic figures, animals, hand stencils and tracks of birds and kangaroos (NPWS 1998).

Colonial exploration and settlement:
Until 1813 the Blue Mountains proved a restriction to the expansion of settlement in Australia. In that year Gregory Blaxland, William Charles Wentworth and William Lawson made the first successful crossing and opened the vast interior of the country to settlement.

The construction of a road soon followed and in 1863 a railway was built as far as Penrith and extended as far as Mount Victoria by 1868. By the 1870s it had become fashionable for elite families to acquire mountain retreats with magnificent views where in summer the air was considerably cooler than Sydney. Villages such as Leura developed to serve these retreats which over time developed large European gardens.

Lilianfels:
NSW Chief Justice and Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Darley had the homestead built in 1889 and named it after one of his daughters, Lilian, who died of typhoid at the age of 22.

The term 'villa' was first used in England in the 17th century, partly from the Latin and Italian 'country house, farm', perhaps derived from the stem of vicus (village). The villa was a country mansion or residence, together with a farm, farm-buildings, or other house attached, built or occupied by a person of some position and wealth. It was taken to include a country seat or estate and later a residence in the country or in the neighbourhood of a town, usually standing in its own grounds. From this is was appropriated by the middleof the 18th century to mean a residence of a superior type, in the suburbs of a town or in a residential district, such as that occupied by a person of the middle class, and also a small, better-class dwelling house, usually detached or semi-detached. The term 'villa garden' was used in the context of Hobart and Sydney residences in the 1830s, and if near the coast or harbour, the appellation 'marine villa' was often applied. Australian origins probably date from the grant conditions applied to Sydney's Woolloomooloo Hill (1827, under Governor Darling), which obligated the construction of villas fulfilling certain conditions... 'with garden like domain, and external offices for stables and domestic economy' (John Buonarotti Papworth, 1825, quoted in James Broadbent's 1997 book, 'The Australian Colonial House'). Many gardens of 19th century villas followed Gardenesque conventions, with garden ornaments often complementing the architecture of the house. The term had acquired such widespread usage by the 1850s that when Jane Loudon issued a new editiion of her husband (John Claudius Loudon)'s 'Suburban Gardener and Villa Companion' (1838) she merely entitled the revised work 'The Villa Gardener' (1850). This coincided with a growing period of suburbanisation in Australia with consequent fostering of the nursery trade... By the 1880s, descriptions of Australian villas implied sufficient room for a lawn on two or three fronts of the residence...(Aitken, 2002, 619-20).

The family of Ebenezer Vickery, a well-known industrialist, farmer, merchant and benefactor, owned Lilianfels (Johnson, 2012).

The homestead now houses a restaurant 'Darley's'. 85 guest rooms were opened in an adjacent hotel in 1992 (Goldberg, 2008, 20).

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Gardens-
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Other open space-
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Introduce cultural planting-
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Changing the environment-
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Modification of terrain-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes and gardens of domestic accommodation-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes and countryside of rural charm-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes demonstrating styles in landscape design-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes and parklands of distinctive styles-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes of scenic beauty-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Building settlements, towns and cities-National Theme 4
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Country Homes-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Housing famous families-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Building for seclusion-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Accommodating travellers and tourists-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Gentlemens Mansions-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Country Villa-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Land tenure-Activities and processes for identifying forms of ownership and occupancy of land and water, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal	Changing land uses - from rural to suburban-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Land tenure-Activities and processes for identifying forms of ownership and occupancy of land and water, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal	Sub-division of large estates-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Creating landmark structures and places in regional settings-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Rural orchards-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Developing towns in response to topography-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Beautifying towns and villages-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Creative endeavour-Activities associated with the production and performance of literary, artistic, architectural and other imaginative, interpretive or inventive works; and/or associated with the production and expression of cultural phenomena; and/or environments that have inspired such creative activities.	Architectural styles and periods - Federation Arts and Crafts-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Creative endeavour-Activities associated with the production and performance of literary, artistic, architectural and other imaginative, interpretive or inventive works; and/or associated with the production and expression of cultural phenomena; and/or environments that have inspired such creative activities.	Landscaping - Federation period-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Visiting lookouts and places of natural beauty-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with Lt.-General Sir Frederick Darley, Chief Justice-

Recommended management:

Recommendations

Management Category	Description	Date Updated
Recommended Management	Review a Conservation Management Plan (CMP)
Recommended Management	Prepare a maintenance schedule or guidelines
Recommended Management	Carry out interpretation, promotion and/or education

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) OF THE HERITAGE ACT 1977 Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977. I, the Hon James Griffin MP, Minister for Environment and Heritage, pursuant to subsection 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales do by this Order, effective at the time of publication in the New South Wales Government Gazette: 1. revoke the order made on 9 November 2020 and published in the Government Gazette Number 318 of 13 November 2020; and 2. grant the exemptions from subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 that are described in the attached Schedule. The Hon James Griffin MP Minister for Environment and Heritage Signed this 2nd day of June 2022. To view the standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 click on the link below.	Jun 17 2022

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		00431	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former		00431	24 Apr 86	66	1828

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	Aitken, Richard	2002	'Villa Garden' (entry)	View detail
Tourism	Attraction Homepage	2007	Lilianfels	View detail
Written	Eric Martin & Associates	2003	Lilianfels Blue Moutains - conservation and management plan
Written	Goldberg, Dan	2008	Rhapsody in Blue
Written	Graham Edds & Associates	1988	Conservation plan : "Lilianfels" Lilianfels Avenue, Katoomba NSW
Written	Johnson, Ron	2012	'Hampden Street, Paddington', Research Papers & Feature Articles
Tourism	Tourism NSW	2007	Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa	View detail

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5045264
File number:	S90/04647 & HC 33120

Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the Database Manager.

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