Eskbank House and Moveable Collections

Item details


Name of item:	Eskbank House and Moveable Collections
Other name/s:	Esk Bank House; The Grange
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Residential buildings (private)
Category:	Homestead building
Location:	Lat: -33.479 Long: 150.1638
Primary address:	70 Inch Street, Lithgow, NSW 2790
Parish:	Lett
County:	Cook
Local govt. area:	Lithgow
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Bathurst
Hectares (approx):	1

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
LOT	1		DP	365772

Boundary:

A lozenge-shaped block on the corner of Inch Street and Bennett Street, Lithgow

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
70 Inch Street	Lithgow	Lithgow	Lett	Cook	Primary Address
Bennett Street	Lithgow	Lithgow			Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Lithgow City Council	Local Government

Statement of significance:


	Eskbank House, incorporating a principal dwelling, several outbuildings and garden, is of state heritage significance in demonstrating the manner in which Lithgow developed from an isolated, rural locality into a city influential in the social and economic development of NSW. It is also of state heritage significance for its strong association with the Eskbank Estate, a cradle of NSW industrial development and particularly that of iron and steel making. It is also of state heritage significance for its strong association with Thomas Brown, whose business activities provided the genesis of the City of Lithgow, and for its special association with industrialists James Rutherford; William Sandford; and George and Charles Hoskins, all of whom played important roles in the NSW iron and steel industries. Eskbank House is also of state heritage significance in demonstrating the manner in which nineteenth century NSW homestead complexes have been adapted to serve evolving social and economic requirements, including those associated with changing land use and the development of new industries. The complex is also of state heritage signficance for its aesthetic and architectural values, together with its demonstration of the high quality of materials and artisanship available to a well-connected NSW settler during its period of construction. The Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection is also of state heritage significance for its special association with the Lithgow iron and steel works, an enterprise of great importance in the industrialisation of NSW. It is also of state heritage significance for its ability to provide further information as to social and technical aspects of the NSW iron and steel industries of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as demonstrated by the three so-called Lithgow Black Roses, which are themselves items of great interest and artisanship. The Lithgow Pottery Collection is of state heritage significance for its special association with the Lithgow Valley Pottery Company, and in demonstrating the influence of the NSW pottery industry on the domestic tastes and everyday lives of the NSW working- and middle-classes in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. It is of state heritage significance as a fine collection of aesthetically interesting items of pottery produced by an enterprise important in the NSW industry, and also in providing benchmarks against which unprovenanced pottery items may be assessed. The Sir Joseph Cook Collection is of state heritage significance in demonstrating the influence on NSW of the Labor Movement, and particularly its ability to support the rise of an individual such as Sir Joseph Cook from coal miner to Prime Minister. It is also be of state heritage significance in providing information as to the life and career of Sir Joseph, especially in its incorporation of unique items such as the document commissioning him as Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
	Date significance updated: 14 Nov 17
	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:	Unknown
Builder/Maker:	Stonemason Alexander Binning, using convict labour
Construction years:	1841-1842
Physical description:	Setting and Landscape Eskbank House, situated north east of the Lithgow CBD, is located on a low rise overlooking portions of the Lithgow Valley. Views to and from the house will at first have taken in much of the Eskbank Estate, originally the property of Thomas Brown, the founder of Eskbank House. Many sight lines to and from the house remain extant, although some vistas to the north are slightly disrupted by plantings screening the light industrial estate to the north. They are obscured, also, by conifers addressing the boundary with Inch Street to the south. The eastern boundary adjoins a private home and a former milk delivery facility. The western boundary is characterised by ornamental plantings, giving way to regularly-spaced poplars on the Bennett Street footpath reflecting matching planting on the opposite side of the road, adjacent to the Lithgow harness racing, greyhound and football facility. The main vehicular entry is from Bennett Street. The house is set within grounds approximately one hectare in area. These are characterised by widely spaced trees, with more formal plantings on the street frontages. The ornamental gardens are considerably larger than they were in the nineteenth century. Plantings include Japanese Maple (Acer japonica); Box elder (Acer negundo); Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris); Ash (Fraxinus sp.); Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra); Flowering Prunus (Prunus sp.); Pin Oak, (Quercus palustris); False Acacia (Robinia sp.); Lilac (Syringa sp.); Elm (Ulums sp.); Wattles (Acacia sp.); Conifers; Eucalyptus sp.; Holly (Ilex sp.); Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerus); Chinese Elm (Ulnus parrifolia); Cotoneaster sp.; Lauristinus (Vibrunum tinus); and Eucalyptus. The original layout of the garden remains partially extant. Paths are narrower than at the time of their establishment. Eskbank House Eskbank House is a single-storey Victorian Georgian-style residence constructed in 1841-1842. Built of ashlar-coursed sandstone quarried nearby, the building is symmetrical in plan, and features a slightly bellcast roof covered in galvanised iron in short, galvanised sheets. Joinery is of cedar. The rear wings are hipped-roofed, similarly covered. Three sides of the house are surrounded by a stone-flagged verandah. The northern elevation is characterised by matching bay windows which may or may not be original elements. The central hallway is entered via an arched main entry providing access to four flanking rooms, and subsequently to the rear wings. The dwelling contains a house museum, together with collections of items associated with the social and economic history of Lithgow. The former rear courtyard, now infilled, is used for art exhibitions. Stables and Coach House This structure is located east of the main dwelling, with which it is considered contemporaneous. Executed in ashlar-coursed sandstone and of simple design, the structure is galvanised iron-roofed and features an attic served by external, stone-built steps, the appearance of which suggests that they post-date the remainder of the structure. Stored within is a horse coach and a variety of domestic and trade tools. Worker's House Associated with the stables and coach house, and post-dating it, is a single-roomed structure, executed in ashlar-coursed sandstone and known as the 'Worker's House'. Its roof, of galvanised iron, is differently-pitched and lower than that of the stables and coach house. Blacksmith's Courtyard This space, L-shaped in plan, is produced by the intersection of three structures: the stables and coach house; a skillion-roofed element open on two sides; and a hipped-roofed structure. Roofed in galvanised iron, it accommodated the Eskbank Estate smithy, the functions of which are demonstrated by blacksmith's tools and the like. The entry is partly enclosed by projecting walls. Stored within are a Lithgow Co-operative Society delivery cart and blacksmiths' tools. Garden House This small but remarkable structure, thought to have been constructed in the 1860s, might best be described as a folly. It appears to have been built as a small museum, housing Thomas Brown's collection of geological, natural history, ethnolgraphic and historic items. Roofed in galvanised iron and situated between the main house and the stables, the building is hexagonal in plan and is executed in ashlar-laid sandstone with margined and rusticated quoins and similarly detailed single square-faced stones. It also features corner pinnacles strongly reminiscent of historic Scots ecclesiastical practice. The structure has lost its original stripe-painted iron roof, ball terminations to the pinnacles, and weathervane depicting a ship. Its entry is protected by a recently constructed, galvanised iron-roofed gabled timber portico with decorative bargeboards and a timber roof finial. Toilet Block This contemporary building, executed in conctrete blocks, and located near the north-eastern edge of the property, was built in 1969-1970 to provide for the needs of visitors. Three collections currently associated with Eskbank House may be of state heritage significance. These are the Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection; the Lithgow Pottery Collection; and the Sir Joseph Cook Collection. These have not been assessed, but may be of local heritage significance. Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection Housed within the main dwelling, this consists of items associated with the former Lithgow iron and steel works. It includes a reference supplied by Australian Iron and Steel to Mr Thomas Chalmers, its last Lithgow iron and steel works employee (employed between 1926 and 1932); a marble bust of William Sandford; a rectangular iron test piece; a triangular steel test piece; iron test pieces in the shape of a fish and a walking horse; an original photograph of Hoskins Lithgow Iron and Steel Works staff in 1909; two gentlemen's silver-backed grooming brushes presented by Charles Hoskins to his son Henry, who was later killed in an accident at the works; 'Possum', a steam shunting locomotive; and the three so-called Lithgow Black Roses crafted in 1876 by Joseph Hallam from the first iron produced by the first Lithgow blast furnace, the second to be erected in NSW. Of a very high standard of artisanship, the Black Roses are said to have been intended as lapel decorations, but, having proved too heavy for this purpose, they came to be regarded as commemmorative and decorative items. They were made by fusing together individual segments made on an anvil by a Mr C. Howell, a blacksmith, and were presented to a Mr Bladen, the father of Neville Bladen, who worked as a roller in the 10" rolling mill. The Manning, Wardle and Company saddle-tank steam locomotive engine known as 'Possum' (originally 'Cyclopes') has the 0-4-0 wheel arrangement typical of industrial locomotive of its era. Imported from the UK in 1912 and used at the Lithgow iron and steel works, where it regularly ran past Eskbank House. In 1928 it was transferred to A.I.S. Port Kembla, where it worked until 1967. In 1969 it was brought by rail to Lithgow and moved along a temporary siding onto the grounds of Eskbank House, where it is displayed on a short length of track. The collection is historically associated with Eskbank House by way of a commonality of ownership between the house and the entities involved in iron and steel making. Lithgow Pottery Collection Housed within an outbuilding constructed in 1993 to the south of the main dwelling, this is composed of pottery and other items associated with the former Lithgow Valley Pottery Company. Stone for the pottery display building was taken from the stables at Barton Park (formerly Wallerawang), the Walker family homestead demolished for the Wallerawang Power Station dam. Care was taken to ensure that the fabric of the building was complementary with that of the stables and house. The collection, of which many items have been donated by local residents, comprises domestic wares illustrating the everyday lives of working-class and middle-class people of its period. The collection includes Bristol-glazed stoneware and Rockingham-glazed, Majolica-glazed and cane-glazed items, and is said to demonstrate the full range of the Lithgow Pottery's catalogue. The simpler wares include teapots and a teapot ornament; bread trays; plates; water monkeys; bowls; mixing bowls; cheese covers and bases; jars; plant pots; tobacco barrels; pots; a Grecian pot and lid; saucers; a spirit drum; slip moulds; a storage pot; a milk churn; a table spittoon; a cake stand; a cake plate; a leaf platter; jelly moulds; flasks; pipkins; an ashtray; jars; a bedpan; a flour canister and lid; a Palace water filter and filter unit; flower pots; and garden edging. The collection also includes bricks; pottery moulds; sewerage and water pipes; flower pots; chimney pots; ledgers; moulds; bonding and shaping tools and a ceramic roller; and photographs and documents associated with the pottery. The collection is NSW's largest collection of items related to the Lithgow Pottery, rivalled only by that held by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. None of these items are known to be historically associated with Eskbank House. Sir Joseph Cook Collection This was donated to the Lithgow District Historical Society in 1994 by Peter Cook, grandson of Sir Joseph Cook, in connection with a lecture about Sir Joseph and his association with Lithgow, where he worked as a coal miner at the Vale of Clwydd Colliery. It includes an original, framed silver gelatine photograph of Sir Joseph and fellow Methodist lay preachers. This was presented to Sir Joseph's wife, Lady Mary Cook, by the Methodist Local Preachers' Association of NSW. It also includes a framed photograph of Sir Joseph; and a framed commission appointing him as Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, an office held by him between 1921 and 1927. The collection further includes an original, framed photograph of Sir Joseph, and also a framed display of 1972 postage stamps commemorating the anniversary of Sir Joseph's swearing-in as Prime Minister on 24 June 1913. None of these items are known to be historically associated with Eskbank House. Items within Eskbank House There are several other collections currently within Eskbank House. These have not been assessed, but may be of local heritage significance. These are the Bracey Collection, which includes items donated by the Bracey family for the furnishing of Eskbank House; the Eskbank Manufacturing Collection, which includes items associated with the industries of the Eskbank Estate; the Lithgow Social History Collection, which includes items associated with the social history of Lithgow; the Lithgow Valley Colliery Company Collection, which includes items associated with the Lithgow Valley Colliery Company; the Lithgow Co-operative Collection, which includes items donated by the Lithgow Co-operative to the Lithgow District Historical Society; the Lithgow Industries Collection, which includes items manufactured in Lithgow but not included in the other collections; and the so-called Other Collection and Props Collection, which include items not catalogued in other collections as well as duplicate items and items with no provenance. Items in the grounds These include a Buffalo Pits traction engine, a Barford and Perkins Pioneer road roller and 'Possum', a steam locomotive. Purchased in 1917 by the Neubeck brothers to haul coal from their Commonwealth Colliery, the traction engine was subsequently used at Neubeck's Lidsale sawmills until, in 1969, it was transferred to Eskbank House. The road roller, previously owned by Harry Rosen, was used in the demolition of the Lithgow Woollen Mills terrace houses. These items are of local heritage signficance. The locomotive is described elsewhere.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	The house and its associated historic outbuildings stand in good condition and are well maintained. Items enclosed within the grounds are in fair to good condition, although these, and in particular the locomotive, would benefit from increased protection against the elements. Items stored or displayed in association with the various collections housed within the dwelling and outbuildings vary in condition according to form and provenance. The items constituting the Lithgow Blast Furnace Collection, the Lithgow Pottery Collection and the Sir Joseph Cook Collection are in good condition, with the exception of the document commissioning Sir Jospeph as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom; this item requires attention from a conservator.
	Date condition updated:21 Sep 17
Modifications and dates:	1860s-1870s. Two symmetrical sandstone-built service wings with inward-facing verandahs were added at rear. These will have replaced the original outbuildings, which were presumably of slabs or rough-sawn boards. c.1925. William Henry Mortlock, at that time residing in the house, had the open courtyard fully roofed and timber-floored, and also added a fireplace. He also had the breakfast room enlarged. These modifications were sympathetic to the original fabric, and remain extant. At this time, too, an outdoor laundry was added. It may also have been at around this time that some chimneys were raised and chimney pots were fitted, presumably to improve draughting. 1940s. The house was converted into flats, primarily for the accommodation of armaments workers. This included the construction of unsympathetic, skillion-roofed additions. c.1960 - 1966. The roof was replaced, as was the timber flooring. The laundry was demolished, as were the skillion-roofed additions associated with the flats, inadvertently removing the original western verandah. c.1966. A new entry and car park were provided, with access via newly-formed Bennett Street, in association with the reuse of the house and outbuildings as a museum. 1986. Conservation works, associated with the National Estate Grants program, took place. These included the replacement of the north-western chimney. Three sash windows on the western elevation were replaced. 1993. A sandstone building, largely matching the stone of the existing buildings, was constructed in the grounds to house items associated with the Lithgow Pottery Company. The stone was reused from the demolished Barton Park stables.


Current use:	Museum, community resource centre, events
Former use:	Aboriginal land, Rural estate, Mine owner's residence; school; iron and steel works manager's residence; boarding house

History

Historical notes:

Aboriginal custodianship
While the Lithgow area lies within the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people, it appears that the valley itself was predominantly inhabited by the Wywandy (or Wallerawang) clan of the Gundungurra people. (Bent, p.11) European incursion after 1814 exerted substantial pressures on local Aboriginal people, who strove to maintain their way of life amidst the progressive dispossession of their lands.

Beginnings of European settlement
The Lithgow Valley was so named in 1827 by explorer Hamilton Hume in honour of William Lithgow, secretary to Governor Brisbane. The value of the Lithgow Valley was greatly accentuated by the presence of easily accessible coal, although in the absence of suitable transport links this resource could not be fully exploited. Still, it was suitable for local use, which was increased by the opening in 1837 of a substantial flour mill on Scottish-born Andrew Brown's Cooerwull Estate. (McKillop, pp. 25-27)

Thomas Brown of Esk Bank
It was to the Cooerwull Estate that another Scotsman, Thomas Brown, journeyed in the late 1830s. Brown, a native of Craigend, near Inverness, arrived in Sydney with his wife, Mary (nee Maxwell) and several of her relatives. Two months later he took a two-year lease over the Cooerwull Mill. While Andrew Brown and Thomas Brown were not related, Mary Brown was related to John Maxwell of 'Liddleton', via Hartley. Thomas is said to have supervised the construction of the initial element of the Cooerwull homestead, which became known as Cooerwull House. Brown, Mary, and some of Mary's relatives are thought to have lived during this time in a small cottage on the estate. (Brown, pp. 53-55; McKillop, pp. 26-27; Bent, p. 12) Thomas clearly understood the potential of the area, and in 1840 purchased 210 acres (85 hectares) adjoining Cooerwull. Over the next few years he added considerably to his holdings, circumventing the Lands Act 1861 (NSW). This he did through the use of a 'dummy', or proxy, a local carpenter named Robert Pitt. (McKillop, p.27) Brown named his lands the 'Esk Bank Estate' after a village on the River Esk, near his bithplace.

In 1841-1842, just east of what is now the Lithgow city centre, Brown built a well-capitalised homestead complex named Esk Bank House. Situated on a low rise, it consisted of an elegant single-storey sandstone ashlar-coursed dwelling and outbuildings. Its construction appears to have been supervised by Alexander Binning, a Scottish stonemason. (Rufus, p. 6; Bent, p. 16; McKillop, p. 27) The stone for Esk Bank House appears to have been quarried at Burton's Quarry, located on the eastern ridge of the Lithgow Valley. Construction was assisted by convict labour. (Rufus, p. 8) The homestead's water supply was by agency of a subterranean tank fed by roof water. The grounds of Esk Bank House were, at this time, characterised by a sweeping, wide, cicular gravelled carriageway, linked to the front and side verandahs by paths between ornamental garden beds. Fencing constrained the domestic livestock and protected extensive vegetable gardens, as well as ornamental garden beds, from intrusion. Plantings were characterised by English deciduous trees, as well as by evergreens such as conifers. (Paskin, pp. 4-12).

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 approporiated 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).

Brown's early prosperity is illustrated by his appointment in 1852 as a Bench Magistrate; three years later he became a Police Magistrate. Brown and Mary did not have children, although from 1864 until 1871 they cared for their ward, Isabella Lunn, whose parents had purchased 'Liddleton' from John Maxwell. (Bent, p. 24) Brown found diversion as an amateur geologist and naturalist. It may have been to house his 'fine museum' that Brown constructed at Esk Bank a stone outbuilding now known as the Garden House, a visually surprising building which, with its pinnacles, may owe something to Scottish ecclesiastical architecture. (Empire, 16 June 1865, p. 2; Bent, p. 19) Brown is known to have donated gems and fossils to the Australian Museum. These, stored in the Museum's space within the Garden Palace, Sydney, were lost when in 1882 that building was destroyed by fire. (Bent, p. 19) In 1872 Brown resigned from the bench. The next year he was elected to Parliament. (Brown p.55; Bent, p.23)

The coming of the railway
In 1869 the Great Western Railway opened as far as Bowenfels. Brown's Esk Bank Colliery greatly increased production after the installation of a railway siding named after Brown himself. Here, in 1874, a passenger platform, the genesis of Eskbank Railway Station, was constructed. (Langdon, p. 12) The coming of the railway was a spur to local development. In late 1874, again using Robert Pitt as a 'dummy', Brown won a tender for the supply of government locomotive coal. Yet success turned to disappointment when, in February 1876, the propriety of the tender was questioned in Parliament. (SMH, 25 February 1876, pp. 3-4) This ultimately resulted in Brown's disqualification as an MP; yet his business interests continued to burgeon.

Industrial and urban development
Brown's attitude to alienation of land was very conservative; but leasing of land allowed the development of local industries, including the pottery and brickworks of the Lithgow Valley Pottery Company; two other brickworks; two copper smelters; the refrigeration works of the NSW Fresh Food & Ice Co. Ltd; and, yet more ambitious, the iron works of the Lithgow Valley Iron Company Ltd. To all of these he supplied coal on an expensive monopoly basis. Brown also leased land for residential and commercial purposes. His sale to William Gray of six acres led to the foundation of a new township which came to be identified as Lithgow proper. (Langdon, p. 17) Eskbank and Lithgow became rivals, with Brown donating the sites of the local Church of England, Eskbank Railway Station and the first and second Lithgow public schools. He also endowed the Lithgow School of Arts and St. Mary's Presbyterian Church. (SMH, 14 April 1879, p. 3, 9 August 1879, 11 September 1879, p. 5, 18 March 1880, p. 5; Evening News, 21 January 1880, p. 3; Langdon, pp. 23-25)

Ironmaking: inception at Lithgow
Perhaps the most remarkable of the industrial undertakings on the Esk Bank Estate was that of the Lithgow Valley Iron Company Ltd, trading as the Esk Bank Iron Company. The six subscribing partners included Scots-born John Sutherland, Henry Parkes' Secretary for Public Works; Thomas Denny; Daniel Williams, an English-born railway contractor; James Rutherford, American-born and a principal of Cobb & Co.; James Phillips; and Robert Kelly. These were advised by the enigmatic Enoch Hughes, an English-born ironsmith who had erected the blast furnace of the Fitz Roy iron works near Mittagong. (Jack and Cremin, p. 19; Johnston-Likk et. al, p. 57-58) Shares were taken by William Whitney, and also by Thomas Brown himself. In 1875 the company began to construct a blast furnace and ancillary plant. (Johnston-Liik et. al., p. 58) The blast furnace was in many respects similar to that of the earlier Fitz Roy iron works near Mittagong; but it was small, and of an outdated pattern. The first pig iron was successfully run out in late 1875, yet profitability proved elusive. In an attempt to overcome Lithgow's isolation from the seaboard that Sutherland used his Parliamentary position to secure freight rates favourable to the enterprise. (Johnston-Liik et. al., pp. 59, 61-62; McKillop, pp. 36, 49, 61) Yet it was Daniel Williams who 'laid the foundations for Australia's modern iron and steel industry', and maintained his efforts until stress and illness forced his departure for England, where he was to die an untimely death. (McKillop, pp. 60-64)

The Lithgow Valley Pottery
The growth of Lithgow brick and pottery manufactures in some ways paralled that of the local iron industry. It was realised that brick and pottery manufacture was the best way to use otherwise worthless slack coal and waste clay generated by the Lithgow Valley Colliery. To this end the Lithgow Valley Pottery was established. In 1878 the works, located directly opposite the colliery, commenced production of pipes and pavers. (Evans, pp. 9-10) During the following year, brickmaker James Silcock, a skilled Derbyshire potter, demonstrated pottery techniques to his employers, enouraging them to venture into pottery manufacture. Silcock later departed for Fieldsend's pottery at East Maitland and later still purchased a pottery near Newcastle. A wide variety of wares, extending from cups and saucers to spittoons, was produced in the Lithgow bottle kilns, although the pottery served a working- and middle-class market and produced only a few limited-edition pieces. (Evans, pp. 12-15) Competition from imports gradually affected profitability, leading to the closure of the pottery in 1896, although brick and pipe production continued into the 1940s. In 1905 industrialist Arthur Brownfield reopened the facility as the Australasian Brownfield's Pottery Ltd; yet this failed two years later. (Evans, pp. 144-152) The fate of the pottery could only reinforce Lithgow's dependence on coal mining and iron making.

Ironmaking: the Rutherford era
James Rutherford, who by this time had become the leading director of the iron company, continued to believe in the potential of the iron works. So it was that, in 1881, he offered to purchase the Esk Bank Estate, as well as Brown's shares, using Cobb & Co. capital. In the event, Rutherford had to raise the 45,000 pounds himself. By now a widower, Brown abandoned his home of four decades and moved to St. Leonards, where he was to die in 1889. Rutherford leased Eskbank House, which became known as 'The Grange', to a local businessman Robert Crawford, who lived there with his wife Rosina. The house appears, also, to have been leased by a Mrs Cabot, under whom the property became a girls' finishing school. (McKillop, pp. 27, 67-68; Bent, pp. 23, 29) During this period, the grounds of the house were little changed, but much of the valley floor in the vicinity of the house was cleared. (Paskin, p. 10)

Identifying a need for workers' housing, Rutherford proceeded to subdivide part of the Esk Bank Estate; but sales were disappointing. He then tried to increase the profitability of the ironworks by means of a workers' cooperative. (Johnston-Likk et. al., p. 65-66; McKillop, pp. 68, 71-79) Rutherford, however, soon fell into despair, and had the blast furnace demolished. (Johnston-Likk et. al., pp. 64-65; Brown, p.67) The works continued to re-roll iron rails, yet the increasing government preference for steel rails made this activity unviable. In 1886 Rutherford accepted the offer of English- born William Sandford, a former lessee of the Fitz Roy rolling mills, to lease the plant. (McKillop, p. 71-79)

Ironmaking: the Sandford era
Sandford, a former employee of John Lysaght Ltd of Bristol, was fortunate that the colonial investment boom of the 1880s increased the demand for iron. (McKillop, pp. 82-85) In 1890 he offered to purchase the Eskbank Estate, as the property was now generally described. The offer included the iron works, two collieries, and The Grange. Settlement occurred in October 1892. Sandford established a combined plate and sheet mill for the production of corrogated iron. This was the first in Australia to sheet, corrugate and galvanise in the one location. The consequent upsurge in employment, together with a social conscience, encouraged Sandford to prepare plans for a model township of the Eskbank Estate, and to assist his workers to build cottages to his own designs. (McKillop, pp. 86-91) It has been suggested that Lithgow was 'for most of its life a worktown and a man's town, where women and children had literally no place'. (Cremin, pp. 35-37) If this is so, Sandford's social attitudes were atypical. Encouraged by the success of his ironworks, Sandford decided to venture into steelmaking, an activity until then restricted to some by-then closed works in Victoria. (Johnston-Liik, p. 75-76) In 1898 he selected as the basis of his venture two 4.5 ton-capacity Siemens-Martin New Form open hearth furnaces. (McKillop, pp. 93-99).

Steelmaking: beginnings and development
By April 1900 the first open hearth furnace had been installed, although the first steel was not produced until later that month. In addressing a celebratory banquet, Joseph Cook MLA, an erstwhile Lithgow coal miner and a future Prime Minister of Australia, ascribed Sandford's success not to protection from imports but to his 'industry, energy, and business capacity'. (SMH, 26 April 1900, p.5; Jack and Cremin, p.97; McKillop, p. 99) It was fitting that Sandford's successful production of the metal considered the very basis of naval and military might should have occurred on the eve of Federation, itself a movement largely induced by anxieties as to the protection of Australian and Imperial geopolitical interests. (Johnston-Liik et al., pp. 82-83)

The Grange was successfully leased to a succession of specialists in close contact with local industry: a Mr Blakemore, of the Great Cobar mining and smelting syndicate; a Mr Holdship, of the Lithgow Supply Company; and a Mr Blackwell, Manager of the Vale of Clwydd Colliery. During this period the grounds were characterised by a now-mature garden; mature conifers; and what may have been Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata). (Paskin, p. 12)

Sandford went on to form the firm of William Sandford Ltd. His notebooks record his secret payment of money by which to win a NSW government tender for the supply of steel. Payments are ascribed to three MPs, including William Holman, the deputy leader of the Opposition. On the strength of these, Sandford constructed a new blast furnace, which was blown in on 13 May 1907. (McKillop, pp. 100-117; Johnston-Liik et. al., pp. 79-80) The plant dominated the town of Lithgow, but Sandford had overreached his resources. He increased his overdraft, but had to sell his remaining Eskbank Estate holdings to William Sandford Ltd. When the bank foreclosed, the shutting down of the works threw 700 hands into unemployment. (Lithgow Mercury, 9 December 1907; McKillop, pp.125-127) The assets, including The Grange, were purchased by Sydney industrialists George and Charles Hoskins. Sandford retired to Sydney's Darling Point an embittered man, but one to whom his erstwhile employees and their families remained grateful. (McKillop, pp. 126-127; Brown, p74).

Steelmaking: the Hoskins era
Charles Hoskins, the dominant figure of G. & C. Hoskins Ltd, installed new plant and augmented the existing blast furnace. (Johnston-Likk et. al., p. 116) In August 1911 a series of industrial disputes culminated in the the storming of the works by its employees. Hoskins, his sons and some strike-breakers were confined in an office, guarded by some very nervous police with drawn revolvers. (McKillop, pp.129-141) By 1911 market prospects had improved, not least due to the commencement of work on the Commonwealth Government's Small Arms Factory, in the establishment of which Sir Joseph Cook was instrumental. It was against this background that Hoskins constructed a No. 2 Blast Furnace, which was blown in in November 1913. (Johnston-Liik et. al., p. 146) With the opening in 1914 of a railway connecting the iron works and the steelmaking department, Hoskins had at last suceeded in creating an integrated iron and steel plant. (McKillop, pp. 149-159)

During this period, The Grange was given over to senior employees. Chief among these was William Mortlock, who, with his 1916 appointment as manager of the blast furnace department, moved into the house with his family. (McKillop, p. 149) When in 1920 Charles Hoskins formed Hoskins Iron and Steel Ltd, Mortock was not only made a director of the firm, but was appointed Executive Officer in charge of the Lithgow works. During this period, the formal front entry to the house was rarely used, with family and guest coming and going via the rear door, the paddock north of the house having become the Lithgow sportsground and showground. (Paskin, pp. 15-18, 24) Much of the surrounding area was denuded of significant vegatation, while a large spoil heap stood to the north-east of the house. The Mortlocks found the house cold and impracticable, to ameliorate which William infilled the courtyard and constructed a gable-roofed addition providing an area more easily kept warm during the Lithgow winter. The Grange was the centre of a lively family and social life, including 'smokos' and concerts, for which the former courtyard was most suitable. (Bent, pp. 43-51; Paskin, Appendix, 5.2)

During the Great War, Charles Hoskins had realised that he could not successfully compete with BHP's Newcastle works, opened in 1915. He therefore devised a plan to construct a new iron and steel works at Port Kembla, after which the Lithgow works would be closed. (Johnston-Liik et. al., pp. 284-285) This plan was implemented not by Charles, who died in 1926, but by his sons, who in 1928 joined with UK and Australian interests to establish Australian Iron and Steel Ltd (A.I.S.). Charles Hoskins's life at Lithgow is commemorated not only by the Hoskins Memorial Church, endowed in memory of children who had predeceased him, but also in the Lithgow Literary Institute. (McKillop, pp. 162-169) During this time, The Grange did not site idle, although in 1926 Mortock was transferred to Hoskins' Wattle Street, Sydney, works. The house was thereafter occupied by his brother, Valentine (Val) and Val's wife, Norma, who had two children. (Paskin, Appendix, 5.2) The house was later home to various managers of A.I.S. Lithgow collieries, which despite the cessation of all activities at the Lithgow works in December 1931 remained in production. The closure of the Lithgow iron and steel works caused lasting bitterness in a city which had hoped to become an Antipodean Birmingham or Pittsburgh. (McKillop, pp. 176-177, 266; Christison, in McKillop, p.265; Jonston-Liik et. al., pp. 302-303)

Eskbank House: WWII era
The wartime need for steaming coal, together with the emergency expansion of the Lithgow Small Arms Factory, greatly increased Lithgow's need for workers and stimulated a local housing boom. (Brown, p.86; Paskin, p. 20) During this period, The Grange was leased by the Paterson family, who operated it as a boarding house. Most of the boarders, cared for by a cook-cum-housekeeper, worked at the Small Arms Factory. (Bent, p. 55; McKillop, p.266)

Eskbank House: the post-War era
After the Second World War, Eric Bracey, a local businessman and member of the Lithgow District Historical Society, provided the capital to purchase The Grange and tranfer it to Lithgow Council. (Bent, p. 57) Led by Bracey, who was inspired by Vaucluse House, the Society undertook to restore the property in the 'taste of the late 1800's', including the purchase of furnishings. (Rufus, p. 46) From 1949 to 1969 the house was tenanted by Mick and Helen Blagojevich. The former, from Yugoslavia, had during WWII been a prisoner of war, while the latter, from Poland, had been a concentration camp inmate. During this time, sheep and goats ranged freely across the grounds. (Bent, p. 62; Paskin, p. 26) Bracey replanted the grounds in a 1950s parkland style, using mainly North American conifers and deciduous trees. Garden beds were made and tended by a tenant caretaker. Roses were extensively planted along the verandahs and the so-called Rose Walk, a long bed leading away from the eastern side of the house. The Historical Society went on thoroughly to renovate the house and outbuildings, undertaking repairs but unnecessarily stripping some historic layers. In 1966 the sportsfield-cum-showground to the north was subdivided for light industrial development. (Paskin, p. 24-27)

Eskbank House: the house museum era
In 1966 the Society opened Eskbank House, as it was again called, as a house museum. In 1969 a new pedestrian and vehicular entry was provided off Bennett Street. In the same year, 'Possum', an A.I.S. saddle tank locomotive that had served at both the Lithgow and Port Kembla iron and steel works, was installed in the grounds. It was joined by a Buffalo Pitts traction engine from Neubeck's colliery and sawmills, and by a Lithgow City Council steam road roller. (Bent, pp. 64-70) In the 1970s, and in accordance with the Bush Garden philosophy popular at the time, a Grevillea hedge, which has since been removed, was established to the front of the house, while Eucalypts were planted along the Inch Street frontage. (Paskin, pp. 29-35)

Eskbank House: the current era
The dwelling and outbuildings, supported by some newer structures, have over the past few decades become the repository of several collections of historical relics and memorabilia. The garden, too, has continued to evolve. (Paskin, p. 32) With the winding-up of the Lithgow District Historical Society, care of the property has reverted to Lithgow City Council. While Eskbank House remains a house museum and display centre for historic collections, it is also in regular use for community functions; music, craft; dance and art events; and school holiday programs.

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-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	Demonstrating convicts' experiences and activities-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	Working for the Crown-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Ethnic influences-Activities associated with common cultural traditions and peoples of shared descent, and with exchanges between such traditions and peoples.	Scottish settlers-
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Migration-Activities and processes associated with the resettling of people from one place to another (international, interstate, intrastate) and the impacts of such movements	Free Immigrants in the 19th century-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Private farming-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Ancillary structures - sheds, crop storage-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Agriculture-Activities relating to the cultivation and rearing of plant and animal species, usually for commercial purposes, can include aquaculture	Ancillary structures fencing-
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 mining-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Events-Activities and processes that mark the consequences of natural and cultural occurences	Developing local landmarks-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Events-Activities and processes that mark the consequences of natural and cultural occurences	Providing a venue for significant events-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Forestry-Activities associated with identifying and managing land covered in trees for commercial purposes.	Timber getting-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Industry-Activities associated with the manufacture, production and distribution of goods	Manufacturing building materials and products-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Industry-Activities associated with the manufacture, production and distribution of goods	Manufacturing metals-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Mining-Activities associated with the identification, extraction, processing and distribution of mineral ores, precious stones and other such inorganic substances.	Quarrying stone-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Mining-Activities associated with the identification, extraction, processing and distribution of mineral ores, precious stones and other such inorganic substances.	Mining for coal-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Pastoralism-Activities associated with the breeding, raising, processing and distribution of livestock for human use	Agisting and fattening stock for slaughter-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Pastoralism-Activities associated with the breeding, raising, processing and distribution of livestock for human use	Modifying landscapes to increase productivity-
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.	Gentlemens Villas-
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 (regional towns)-
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.	Adapted heritage building or structure-
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.	Architectural design-
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.	Victorian era residence-
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.	gentlemen's residences-
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 for industrial managers and owners-
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 the prosperous - mansions in town and country-
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	1820s-1850s land grants-
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	Early farming (sheep grazing)-
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	Administering and alienating Crown lands-
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	Granting Crown lands for private farming-
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	Land tenure-Activities and processes for identifying forms of ownership and occupancy of land and water, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal	Townships-
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	Early farming (Cattle grazing)-
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 tourist-
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	Expressing lines of early grant allotments-
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	Subdivision of rural 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	19th century suburban developments-
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	20th century Suburban Developments-
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	Outlying settlements-
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 rural 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	Developing the social life of a rural community-
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	Impacts of railways on rural development-
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 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	Country Villa-
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 government towns-
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	Evolution of railway towns-
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	Cultural Social and religious life-
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	Developing and operating manorial villages-
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	Country Estate-
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	Role of transport in settlement-
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	Planned towns serving a specific industry-
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	Planning relationships between key structures and town plans-
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-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Private assignment-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Working with plants-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Working independently on the land-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Working on pastoral stations-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Working with hand tools and implements-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Working with animals-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Servants quarters-
6. Educating-Educating	Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally.	Maintaining libraries and museums for educational purposes-
6. Educating-Educating	Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally.	Community education - adults, school excursions-
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.	Developing cultural institutions and ways of life-National Theme 8
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 - Victorian (early)-
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 - Victorian Georgian Revival-
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.	Adaptation of overseas design for local use-
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 - Victorian period-
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.	Interior design styles and periods - Victorian-
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 - Victorian (mid)-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Ways of life 1788-1850-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Ways of life 1850-1900-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Living near factories and industrial complexes-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Country estates - visiting, enjoying-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Ways of life 1900-1950-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Ways of life 1950-2000-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Living on the urban fringe-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Ornamental Garden-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Living in, adapting and renovating homes for changing conditions-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Kitchens and servants-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Domestic life-Activities associated with creating, maintaining, living in and working around houses and institutions.	Living in a rural homestead-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	musical gatherings-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Doing research-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Gathering at landmark places to socialise-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Visiting heritage places-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Going hunting and shooting-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Going bushwalking-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Tourism-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Visiting gardens-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Horse riding-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Gardening-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Activities associated with relaxation and recreation-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Activities associated with relaxation and recreation-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Going to talks and lectures-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Developing collections of items-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Community volunteering-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Providing charity-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Fund-raising activities for community charities-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Belonging to an historical society or heritage organisation-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Community organisations-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Red Cross activities-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Joining together to study and appreciate philosophy-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Developing and maintaining a local museum-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Developing local clubs and meeting places-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Places of informal community gatherings-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Birth and Death-Activities associated with the initial stages of human life and the bearing of children, and with the final stages of human life and disposal of the dead.	Erecting and visiting monuments and memorials-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with James Rutherford, principal of Cobb and Co. and of Eskbank Iron Works-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with William Sandford, principal of Eskbank Iron and Steel Works-Persons
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with George and Charles Hoskins, principals of Eskbank Iron and Steel Works-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with Thomas Brown, estate owner and colliery proprietor-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	Eskbank House is of state heritage significance in demonstrating the manner in which Lithgow developed from an isolated, rural locality into the colony's third most important industrial area, so stimulating the economic development of NSW. It is also of state heritage significance for its strong associations with the Eskbank Estate, on which were situated industries including brick and pottery making, copper smelting and iron and steel making. Eskbank House is of state heritage significance for its special association with the period during which the Lithgow iron and steel industry was controlled by Hoskins Iron and Steel Company Ltd, a firm that as Australian Iron and Steel Ltd established at Port Kembla an integrated steel works that has for decades dominated Australian steelmaking. The Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection is of state heritage significance for its special association with the Eskbank iron and steel works, an enterprise of great importance in the industrialisation of NSW. The contents of the collection, and in particular the so-called Lithgow Black Roses, demonstrate milestones in the development of the Australian iron and steel industry, and provide evidence as to the effect on the economy and society of NSW of the activities of some outstanding NSW industrial entrepreneurs. The Lithgow Pottery Collection is of state heritage significance through its strong association with the Lithgow Valley Pottery Company, and in demonstrating the influence of the NSW pottery industry on the domestic tastes and everyday lives of the NSW working- and middle- classes in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The collection also provides an insight into the effects of changing social and economic conditions on the lives of NSW pottery workers. The Sir Joseph Cook Collection is of state heritage significance in demonstrating the influence on NSW of the nineteenth century Labor Movement, and in particular the ability of that movement to advance talented members of the working class to some of the highest offices in the land.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	Eskbank House is of state heritage significance for its association with Thomas Brown, one of the earliest European settlers of the Lithgow Valley, and the founder of the Eskbank Estate. It was Brown who opened the first large-scale colliery on the Western Coalfield, a resource which has significantly contributed to the economy and society of NSW. As a lessor, Brown was instrumental in the establishment at Lithgow of industries important to the development of NSW: these include the making of bricks, pipes and pottery; the smelting of copper; and the making of iron and steel. Brown's social attitudes did much to establish the urban character of Lithgow, while his endowment of land and resources stimulated the establishment of the city's cultural, educational and religious institutions. Eskbank House is of local heritage significance for its association with William Mortlock, manager of the Lithgow iron and steel works on behalf of Hoskins Iron and Steel Ltd. The Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection is of state heritage significance for its special association with industrialists James Rutherford; William Sandford; and George and Charles Hoskins, all of whom played important roles in the development of the NSW iron and steel industries. The Lithgow Pottery Collection is of state heritage significance for its association with James Silcock, a highly-skilled potter who was instrumental in the establishment of the Lithgow pottery, and went on to become an important figure in the NSW pottery industry. The Sir Joseph Cook Collection is of state heritage significance for its special association with the life and works of Sir Joseph Cook, a British immigrant and sometime Lithgow coal miner who as Defence Minister was instrumental in the establishment of the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. Sir Joseph became Prime Minister of Australia, and afterwards helped to establish an important new political party before being appointed Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	Eskbank House is of state heritage significance as an architecturally interesting Colonial Georgian-style homestead with landmark qualities. Set on a knoll on the Lithgow Valley floor, the house enjoys vistas of the forested ridges that surround the City of Lithgow. The Garden House, which appears originally to have been a private museum of geological and other curiosities, is aesthetically distinctive in both design and execution. The Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection is of state heritage significance for its demonstration of the progress of the NSW iron and steel industry, and particularly for its association with the first Lithgow blast furnace, the second to be erected in NSW. The so-called Lithgow Black Roses are redolent of the optimism and excitement surrounding the blowing-in of the blast furnace, a facility expected to transform Lithgow into an Australian Pittsburgh. They also demonstrate the very high levels of skill involved in moulding molten iron into complex and ornamental shapes, exemplifying the pride and artisanship of NSW iron and steel workers. The locomotive 'Possum' demonstrates the transfer of iron steel making from Lithgow to an advanced iron and steel works at Port Kembla, one which was to become predominant in the Australian iron and steel industry. The Lithgow Pottery Collection is of local heritage significance in exemplifying the taste, style and technologies associated with the Lithgow Valley Pottery, an enterprise important in the history of the NSW pottery industry. As a fine collection of aesthetically interesting items, it is emblematic of the industry's achievements. The rich brown of the Rockingham-glazed items gleams with depth, while the multi-colouration of the Majolica-glazed items is pleasing to the eye. The Bristol-glazed items demonstrate the importance of domestic tableware, while th ecaneware is satisfying in its very simplicity. The simpler items are frequently decorated with rouletted (embossed) designs, with double-diamond and serpentine shapes predominant.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	Eskbank House is of state heritage significance for its potential to provide information as to the life and scientific endeavours of Thomas Brown, founder of Lithgow. Lithgow is a city of much importance in the history of NSW industry, including coal mining, copper smelting, brick and pipe making, iron and steel making and weapons manufacture. Eskbank House is also of state heritage significance in demonstrating the high quality of materials and artisanship available to a well-connected NSW settler in the period between the termination of the convict assignment system and the onset of the economic depression of the 1840s. It also has state heritage significance as to potential archaeological evidence of now-demolished structures associated with the complex. The Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection is of state heritage signficance for its potential to yield further information as to social and technical aspects of the NSW iron and steel industry in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Lithgow Pottery Collection is of state heritage significance in benchmarking the range and scope of the Lithgow pottery enterprise, one important in the history of the pottery industry of NSW. It is also of state heritage significance in providing benchmarks against which unprovenanced pottery items may be assessed. The Sir Joseph Cook Collection is of state heritage significance in informing research as to the life and career of Sir Joseph Cook, a figure important in the history of both NSW and the Commonwealth of Australia.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	Eskbank House is of state heritage significance as a legible example of the European genesis of a NSW city. The Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection is of state heritage significance as a rare grouping of items relating to the Lithgow iron and steel industry, one important in the social and economic development of NSW. The so-called Lithgow Black Roses may be of state heritage significance as items of great interest and artisanship. They are also of state heritage significance in celebrating the blowing in of the first Lithgow blast furnace, the second to be erected in NSW. The locomotive 'Possum' is rare as a tangible link between the Lithgow and Port Kembla iron and steel works. The Lithgow Pottery Collection is of state heritage significance in demonstrating traditional pottery techniques historically associated with the NSW pottery industry, and are of state heritage significance in providing evidence as to NSW domestic life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Sir Joseph Cook Collection is of state heritage significance for its incorporation of unique items such as the document commissioning Sir Joseph as Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	Eskbank House is of state heritage significance as a fine example of an early 1840s Victorian Georgian-style homestead complex, constructed with the assistance of convict labour under the supervision of a highly-skilled stonemason, and demonstrating the principal characteristics of its type. The Lithgow Pottery Collection is of state heritage significance as NSW's largest collection of Lithgow pottery. It constitutes an excellent representation of the range of wares produced by the pottery, and because of its integrity is highly esteemed. The collection contains examples of all the glazing types employed by the pottery, including the striking dappled effect of Majolica; the rich brown of Rockingham; and the simpler effect of Bristol and caneware.
Integrity/Intactness:	Eskbank House and its associated historic outbuildings are substantially intact, with possible archaeological evidence of now-demolished outbuildings. Items associated with the Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection, Lithgow Pottery Collection and Sir Joseph Cook Collection are in variable condition, but are substantially intact.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

Recommendations

Management Category	Description	Date Updated
Statutory Instrument	Nominate for State Heritage Register (SHR)
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	Heritage Act - Site Specific Exemptions	ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT SITE SPECIFIC EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL Eskbank House and Moveable Collections 70 Inch Street, Lithgow SHR No. 02008 I, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales, in pursuance of section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, do, by this my order, grant an exemption from section 57(1) of that Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out of any activities described in Schedule 'C' by the owner described in Schedule 'B' on the item described in Schedule 'A'. The Hon Gabrielle Upton MP Minister for Heritage Sydney, 2 Day of August 2018 SCHEDULE 'A' The item known as Eskbank House and Moveable Collections, situated on the land described in Schedule 'B'. SCHEDULE 'B' All those pieces or parcels of land known as Lot 1 DP 365772 in Parish of Lett, County of Cook shown on the plan catalogued HC 3186 in the office of the Heritage Council of New South Wales. SCHEDULE 'C' Existing approved development: All works and activities in accordance with a current and valid development consent from Lithgow City Council or the Land and Environment Court of NSW in force at the date of gazettal for listing Eskbank House and Moveable Collections on the State Heritage Register, including DA 240/13 and Modification of Consent S 96042/14.	Aug 24 2018
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT STANDARD EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL I, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales and under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977: revoke the order made on 2 June 2022 and published in the Government Gazette Number 262 of 17 June 2022; and grant an exemption from section 57(1) of the Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out the class of activities described in clause 2 Schedule A in such circumstances specified by the relevant standards in clause 2 Schedule A and General Conditions in clause 3 Schedule A. This Order takes effect on the date it is published in the NSW Government Gazette. Dated this 29th day of October 2025 The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC Minister for Heritage For more information on standard exemptions click on the link below.	Nov 7 2025

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		02008	24 Aug 18	82	5538
Local Environmental Plan	Lithgow Local Environmental Plan 2014		19 Dec 14
Potential Heritage Item	Eskbank House		22 Nov 01
National Trust of Australia register	Eskbank House		21 Mar 78
Register of the National Estate	Nom. 20/12/1976.	000862	21 Mar 78	AHC

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	Aitken, Richard	2002	'Villa Garden' (entry)	View detail
Written	Bent, Maggie	2017	Voices of Eskbank: The Story of Eskbank House and Museum
Written	Brown, Jim	1989	Bent Backs: an Illustrated Social and Technological History of the Western Coal Field
Written	Cremin, Aedeen	1989	'The Growth of an Industrial Valley: Lithgow, New South Wales', in Australian Journal of Historical Archaeology, Vol. 7
Written	Evans, Ian	1980	The Lithgow Valley Pottery
Written	Hughes, Helen	1964	The Australian Iron and Steel Industry 1848-1962
Written	Ian Jack & Aedeen Cremin	1994	Australia's Age of Iron: History and Archaeology
Written	Ian Rufus for Integrated Design Associates Pty Ltd	1996	Conservation Management Plan for the Grounds and Companion Buildings of Eskbank House
Written	Johnson-Liik, E.M, Johnston-Likk, George and Ward, R.G	1998	A Measure of Greatness: the Origins of the Australian Iron and Steel Industry
Written	Langdon, Mark	2017	'The Railways and Industries of the Lithgow Valley', in Byways of Steam 31: on the Railways of New South Wales
Written	McKillop, Bob	2006	Furnace, Fire and Forge: Lithgow's Iron and Steel Industry 1874 - 1932
Written	McRae, Alan (ed.)	2016	'Eskbank and Thomas Brown', in Gemboree, No. 9, December 2016
Written	Moloney, Phoebe	2017	'Eskbank House Heritage Listing'
Written	Paskin, Rosanne for Rose Deco Planning and Design Pty Ltd	1998	'Eskbank House Site Analysis and Landscape Strategies'
Written	Reynolds, Donald		'The Background behind the Formation of Australian Iron and Steel Ltd., and its Early History', in Illawarra Historical Society Bulletin, August 1990
Written	Trengove, Alan	1975	'What's Good for Australia...!': the Story of BHP

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:	5052021
File number:	000862 S94/00684, EF11/07625

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