| Historical notes: | Hunters Hill:
At the time of European contact the Kelly's bush area was inhabited by the Wal Umedegal Clan who spoke the Guringai language. They lived primarly on fish and shellfish, supplmenting their diet when necessary with vegetables, marsupials, birds and grubs. They were also frequently observed firing the scrub both to facilitate access to the foreshore and to flush out game. Very little is known of their social structure and religious beliefs (Pitt, 2011).
Captain John Hunter (1737-1821) of the Sirius, charted Sydney harbour in 1788. On 28 January 1788 he wrote in his journal: 'A few days after my arrival with the transports in Port Jackson, I set off with a six-oared boat and a small boat, intending to make as good a survey of the harbour as circumstances would admit: I took to my assistance Mr Bradley, the first lieutenant, Mr Keltie, the master, and a young gentleman of the quarter-deck (midshipman Henry Waterhouse).' Hunter's meticulous chart shows 30 depth soundings around the peninsula bounded by the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers. Hunter was Governor of the Colony from 1795-1800. He is commemorated in the name of Hunters Hill (Sherry/Hunters Hill Historical Society, 2011, 15).
The Chalet:
A detailed study of The Chalet is included in 'Fine Houses of Sydney' by Robert Irving, John Kinstler and Max Dupain. The following historical outline and description are largely drawn from that study.
The Chalet is the one (the only one surviving) of 4 prefabricated 'Swiss Cottages' shipped from Hamburg (Sherry, 2011, 7) to Sydney and erected in Hunters Hill during the gold rush period in 1854 or early 1855 by a French-speaking Swiss immigrant Leonardo (Nicholas, 2004, 4) Etienne-Jean-Leonard Bordier-Roman, shortly after his arrival in Australia. Prior to this, Bordier and the French Count Gabriel de Milhau (exiled for his part in France's 1848 revolution (ibid, 4)) had initially settled on the Clarence River, however they were forced to abandon the venture when their workers all downed tools and headed for the NSW goldfields. The houses may have been a prototype for the 1855 Paris Industrial Exhibition erected in Hamburg. The Swiss or possibly Bavarian Cottage design was probably selected for its picturesque qualities and also possibly for nationalistic reasons, as Bordier was Swiss.
The 4 houses were erected on 2 whaling land grants of 4 acres (either side of Ferry Street)(2 in that street, one in Croissy Avenue: Nicholas, 2004, 4) purchased by Bordier in 1855, on the Parramatta River, as a speculative venture. Bordier established a wharf at the end of Ferry Street, which became the suburb's first commercial gateway. A Post Office was set up next to this. Hunters Hill during this period was an established French enclave, with the residence of French consul Louis Francois Sentis, located in house "Passy" (1855-6, 1 Passy Avenue) and much of the area's early development was constructed by men of French descent. The houses were advertised as "four splendid family residences, standing in their own grounds, of about 1 acres each", with "wood and water in abundance" (Sherry, 1989 p. 48; Sherry, 2011, 7).
Beverly Sherry notes this was the first planned group of houses built in the municipality, marking the beginning of the garden suburb character of Australia's oldest Garden Suburb The subdivision and development occurred in the mid to late nineteenth century, predating formation of the Garden Suburb movement. The development at Hunters Hill was consistently speculative, although some subdivisions were undertaken to provide residences for family members.
The cottages were constructed by 3 indentured German carpenters: Willhelm Gross, Frederick Lemm and Jacob Arndt. Bordier appears to have been able to speak German, the initial contract being in German and thus instructing the workmen. One reason for importing indentured German carpenters to Sydney, paying their board and passage, was to guarantee the work force would not flee to the gold fields before the job was completed. Two of the three are known to have remained in NSW, Jacob Arndt in Hunters Hill and Frederick Lemm who settled in Goulburn. Lemm established a contracting business in Sydney, building Goulburn Gaol for the NSW Government Architect.
The construction of prefabricated houses and need to import specialised tradesmen was characteristic of the 1850s Gold Rush era, which caused a shortage of specialised tradesmen and demand for prefabricated buildings that could be erected rapidly. However, prefabricated buildings dating from the 1850s are quite rare in NSW, particularly buildings manufactured on the continent. Victoria retains a number of prefabricated buildings erected in the 1850s including The Heights, Aphrasia Street, Newton, Greater Geelong. This house, one of a number imported by Frederick Bauer from Hamburg may have been manufactured by the same firm who made Bordier's houses. It is a far more substantial house, with 14 rooms and does not retain the same level of decorative detail as the Chalet, although timber fretwork could have been removed. The manufacturer of the Heights and Bordier's cottages has not been determined.
Bordier was ultimately unsuccessful in selling the properties and his estate was placed in sequestration in May 1856, as a result of bankruptcy. He sold the estate to Didier Joubert, returned to Switzerland in the late 1850s (ibid, 2011, 7) and died in Paris in 1861.
The first of the four prefabricated houses, the house to the north of the Chalet, possibly known as Muirbank, was the first to be demolished. The land was subdivided and the house demolished by Gerald Halligan, the Government Hydrographer at the start of the twentieth century.
The second, Sommerville, or the Hut was purchased by steamboat proprietor (he bought the Parramatta Steamship Co. in 1873, running 20 steamers during the years of his ownership (1875-9), was three-time Mayor of Hunters Hill, Sydney City Councillor and member of the NSW Legislative Assembly)(Sherry, 2011, 9)) Charles Jeanneret, in 1857 and demolished in the 1950s. Jeanneret purchased the adjacent Wybalena estate and operated a private ferry service and a pleasure grounds in the next bay. He built a series of substantial dwellings for his family members and has left a legacy of at least 16 stone houses in Hunters Hill (ibid, 2011, 9).
The third was purchased by the Bellinghams, then the Deputy Surveyor of NSW, Robert Desmond Fitzgerald, and subsequently by the French consul who renamed it Croissy. Remnants of the garden established by Fitzgerald, whose passion was orchids, are thought to survive, the house does not, it was demolished in the 1960s. Its name is recorded in Croissy Avenue. Irving et al note that Croissy and the Chalet were almost identical.
The four houses were not named initially. The Chalet changed hands three times until it was purchased by William Jack and named "The Bungalow" in 1867. It was subsequently occupied by the City Architect, William Sapsford.
William Herbert Manning, a barrister purchased the house and it was renamed Yerton. He subdivided the land, creating three waterfront lots. The former driveway of the Chalet became Yerton Avenue. Three of the later names of Bordier's prefabricated houses are recorded in the street layout: Yerton Avenue, Croissy Avenue and Muirbank Avenue.
The Chalet is the only surviving example of the group of (originally four) cottages in Hunters Hill. It is a very rare example of the mid 19th century prefabrication, with the majority of such building groups, both 19th and 20th century, being military buildings. Other examples of German craftsmanship survive in South Australia, notably in the Barossa.
The Chalet was purchased by Robert Black, a specialist in Tropical Diseases and his wife, artist Nora Heysen, in 1954. Heysen had first met Black in New Guinea during World War II whilst she was serving as the official war artist. The house may have been selected for its Germanic detailing. From an interview in 1965 Nora said "Now I think I've found my own environment. The house itself is about 120 years old, in a very wandering wilderness of a garden where I can grow my own flowers for painting, and the atmosphere is peaceful and very conducive to my work."
Nora was a daughter of Sir Hans Heysen (1877-1968), born in Hahndorf in South Australia in 1911. She settled in Sydney in 1938 and has been awarded both the Order of Australia and the Australia Council's Award for Achievement in the Arts. Nora Black (her married name) was the first female winner of the Archibald prize for portraiture in 1938 at age 27 (NTA, 2003; Hunters Hill Council (HHC), 2004; Mattingly, 2007). She was appointed Australia's official woman war artist in 1943 (Nicholas, 2004, 4).
Nora married Dr Robert Black in 1953, having met in New Guinea where she was our war artist and he a specialist in tropical medicine (Mattingley, 2007). They bought The Chalet in 1954 (Nicholas, 2004, 4). She considered the Chalet and its garden a sanctuary: '... a rambling old house with a fine garden where, for the first time since Hahndorf, she could create an environment which would reflect her inner life and which in time provided her with the inspiration to paint. (Lou Klepac, "Nora Heysen", Beagle Press, 1989, 15, quoted in Nicholas, 2004, 4,5). This was where she painted, gardened and played host to her close-knit circle of friends accompanied by her cats, the birds she lovingly fed daily, and in her latter years, her beloved dog, Bosie (ibid, 2004, 4).
After the marriage ended in 1972 (wikipedia entry) the couple separated, with Nora retaining the house in Hunters Hill. She often worked at her art on the back verandah (Mattingley, 2007). She worked in the garden every day, whether ambitiously fighting the weeds or encroaching bamboo, chopping firewood or tending to her beloved 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' roses, one of which she brought from Hahndorf as a cutting. She would pick flowers both for the house and to paint. She would ensure there was always a flower underneath her pencil portrait of her father that hung in the back vestibule and flowers in the centre of the table in the main living/dining room arranged in what she called her 'flower ship', a ceramic three-legged vessel she found buried in the garden (ibid, 2004, 4-5).
Nora's domestic enviroment, particularly her garden, provided the ambience for her artistic endeavours. She would paint where there was a sense of intimacy and privacy, and of course, where the light was right. She would paint in the garden, on the back verandah, in the main living room or sun-drenched vestibule but rarely, if ever, in the so-called 'studio'. The studio led off the front entrance hall with its staircase leading to the roof space. It was a private space reserved for storing unfinished paintings and drawings, frames and boxes of materials (ibid, 2004, 5).
Nora was awarded the L J Harvey Memorial prize, Qld Art Gallery in 1973 and recognised as one of Australia's foremost female painters. Her works hang in the State galleries of SA, NSW and Queensland and regional galleries at Armidale, Ballarat, Hamilton and Newcastle and the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. (NTA, 2003, HHC 2004, Mattingley, 2007).
After the war Heysen continued to paint, but didn't seek publicity. 'I wasn't a social bird ever,' she later said. Her great pleasures were her home, her cats, and her garden. She also travelled widely. In 1993 she was awarded the Australia Council's Award for Achievement in the Arts (Australian War Memorial exhibition: '50 Australians').
Heysen mostly lived in the rooms in the latter addition; the room at the front of the house for sleeping, and another that led onto the kitchen as the main living/dining room. If not outside on the back verandah, it was in this main living room that friends would be offered a drink after 5pm, Nora sitting back content with her scotch and cigarette. She would offer mince to the butcher birds on the window sill of this room and, depending on the time of day, offered her friends sandwiches served on nasturtium leaves, scones, or a baked dinner (followed by creme caramel if you were especially lucky)(ibid, 2004, 5).
Nora was known to refer to the core of the original house as 'the shack'. This may have derived from her calling the room leading off the vestibule as the 'radio shack', as this was where her former husband kept his ham radio equipment. In later years, this room was reserved for books and for storing tools for framing and streching canvas. Leading off the studio through folding doors was a bedroom where one could access the verandah through French doors, complete with their original hardware (ibid, 2004, 5).
Nora was houseproud and aware of the Chalet's special qualities. Throughout her custodianship, she would ensure the chimneys were cleaned, floorboards replaced if necessary, and soon after moving in arranged to have the house treated for termite damage by completely covering the building in polythene film and having it fumigated with ethyl-bromide gas. Even in her later years, she would ensure that the house was inspected regularly for pests, that leaks were repaired and even the back door to the laundry painted, the hue carefully chosen to replicate the colour of undercoat! (ibid, 2004, 5).
Nora Heysen died in 2003. The Chalet was put on the real estate market in 2004.
The then Historic Houses Trust of NSW in 2004 commissioned the photographic documentation of the Chalet, for its library and research collection. Documenting significant houses, interiors and gardens before their content is altered, lost or sold is one of the objectives of the Library & Research Collection (now the Caroline Simpson Research Centre and LIbrary). The photographic recording of the Chalet will be accessible to research users when the Library & Conservation Collection re-opens at the Mint later in 2004 (it was previously in Lyndhurst, Glebe)(Nicholas, 2004, 4).
From 2006 new owners gained approvals to undertake considerable conservation works to the house and construct a new wing of one and two storeys to the rear with a glassed roof connection to the house. A new Welsh slate roof was laid. |