Mount St Mary Campus of the Australian Catholic University

Item details

Name of item: Mount St Mary Campus of the Australian Catholic University
Other name/s: ACU, Mount St Mary Campus, Mt St Mary College, Mount Royal villa, Edmund Rice Building, Barron Chapel
Type of item: Complex / Group
Group/Collection: Education
Category: University
Primary address: 25A Barker Road, Strathfield, NSW 2135
Parish: Concord
County: Cumberland
Local govt. area: Strathfield
Local Aboriginal Land Council: Metropolitan
Property description
Lot/Volume CodeLot/Volume NumberSection NumberPlan/Folio CodePlan/Folio Number
PART LOT11 DP869042
All addresses
Street AddressSuburb/townLGAParishCountyType
25A Barker RoadStrathfieldStrathfieldConcordCumberlandPrimary Address
179 Albert RoadStrathfieldStrathfield  Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation NameOwner CategoryDate Ownership Updated
Australian Catholic UniversityUniversity 
Australian Catholic UniversityPrivate 
Catholic Arch Diocese of SydneyReligious Organisation 

Statement of significance:

The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus is of state significance for its historical, associational, social, research and rarity values as part of a state-wide pattern of Catholic education since the early twentieth century. It is historically significant as the headquarters for Christian Brothers in Australia and New Zealand throughout most of the twentieth century. Many of the major built elements on the campus have significance for their ability to demonstrate some continuity of use by the Catholic Church. The campus is of state aesthetic significance for the high quality architectural design of its key elements, for its landscaping and vistas and for its collection of architectural design by the same firm over half a century, Sheerin & Hennessy (later Hennessy, Hennessy & Co). Three courtyards have aesthetic significance, being formed between key architectural elements of the campus. There is a high degree of consistency, integrity and quality in both the architecture and landscape design across the site. The place is of social significance to the many thousands of people who lived here or attended the various institutions of learning, including current and former students of the Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus. The campus is also of state representative significance as an exemplar of a widespread adaptive re-use pattern where a privately owned, late-nineteenth century 'gentleman's villa' within landscaped grounds becomes the core element of an educational institution.
Date significance updated: 20 Aug 15
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: H.C. Kent, Sheerin & Hennessy, Hennessy Hennessy & Co.; Twibill Quinn O'Hanlon; Bates Smart
Builder/Maker: (part) Kell & Rigby; James Redmond (Mullens Building)
Construction years: 1887-1962
Physical description: The Mount St Mary Australian Catholic University (ACU) Strathfield campus is located in the inner western suburbs of Sydney, 14km from the city centre, within the Municipality of Strathfield Council. The campus is located over at least three former Victorian estates, Mount Royal, Ovalau and Ardross. Of the three villas that once stood within the existing site boundary, only Mount Royal remains. This villa now forms part of the Edmund Rice Building, which is the focal point of the campus. It is complemented by a variety of twentieth century buildings in a carefully landscaped setting around a main axis and includes several courtyards, playing fields, roads and parking areas. There are historic landscape features and religious statutory. The curtilage for the SHR listing is focused on the historic core of buildings and spaces, about one third of the main lot on which most of the campus is located: Part Lot 11 DP 869042, (179 Albert Road). The curtilage is approximately 1.6 hectares in area, as drawn on Heritage Council Plan No. 2691.

SIGNIFICANT BUILDINGS WITHIN THE HERITAGE PRECINCT:
* Edmund Rice Building (incorporating the villa known as 'Mount Royal', formerly also known as 'Mount St Mary') (1887, 1908-13):
Now used for administration, catering and functions, the original part of this building at the southern end is the mansion designed by Harry Chambers Kent for wool merchant John Hinchcliff in 1887. Originally known as 'Mount Royal' this was a fine two storey, face-brick 'villa' in the 'Victorian Italianate' style. Characteristics of this style apparent in the building include: asymmetrical massing, prominent tower employing classical motifs, bracketed eaves, rounded arches, faceted bay, polychromatic brickwork and stucco wall finishes (Apperly et al, 1989, p70-73). The villa has also been described as 'early, influential, example of the Queen Anne Style . . . It is regarded by some as the first example of the style to be wholly designed by an Australian born architect.' (Weir & Philips, 2011, piv, p186).

In 1908-12 after the villa was acquired by the Christian Brothers and with substantial alterations and additions to the north designed by Sheerin & Hennessy, including a fine Gothic chapel, the building became known as Mount St Mary. Significant internal spaces within the original villa include the tiled entrance hall, the original drawing room and ballroom. It is described in the LEP listing as 'probably the finest of Strathfield's Victorian mansions to survive to the present day' (LEP listing for ACU, 2005, 'Description'). It is possible to stand in front of the southern elevation and see Kent's villa in its original form. The main rooms of the original villa generally demonstrate a high degree of integrity with regard to plan and finishes, especially the entrance hall and stair. Original finishes here include the encaustic tiled floor, cedar joinery, stained glass, wall mounted gas fittings and the lantern light. The original drawing room on the eastern side of the ground floor retains the original white marble columns visible in early photographs (Weir Phillips, 2015). While of only modest integrity, the eastern elevation makes an important aesthetic contribution to the main courtyard that it helps define.

*Gothic chapel (1908-9):
The chapel at the northern end of the Edmund Rice building is an elegant structure in the 'Federation Gothic' style (Apperley et al, 1989, pp120-123) designed by Sheerin & Hennessy. It has a steeply pitched gabled roof of slate with a semi-circular apse at the western end. The side walls are divided into four bays with buttresses and each bay has a pointed arched leadlight window. There is a belltower on the eastern end (LEP listing for ACU, 2005, 'Description'). It is closely enclosed by more recent buildings which may be considered intrusive.

*The Barron Memorial Chapel (1925):
Also known as the 'Mount St. Mary College Chapel', this is an imposing 'Interwar Romanesque' styled building (Apperly et al, 1989, pp194-197) designed by Hennessy Hennessy & Co. It is constructed of two-tone face brick with steeply pitched, slate clad roofs and stone-coloured terracotta detailing.It is entered on the south side, through a large sandstone framed arch. The top of the arch is filled with a mosaic design, above this is a row of small arches and then a large rose window. On the southeast corner of the chapel is a four storey tower with arched openings of different sizes marking the floors. The chapel is divided by buttresses into seven bays, each with a pair of tall arched windows. An apse is at the north end and a vestry is on the east side of the apse. Ten years after completion, the interior was painted with the golden insigna of Mary on a blue background. This work was painted over in the 1970s but has since been restored. In 1970, internal alterations were made to provide for changes in liturgy, including alterations to the marble altar and the construction of a new tabernacle stand. The Barron Memorial Chapel is considered to have a high level of integrity and is still in its original function as a place of worship. (LEP listing for ACU, 2005, 'Description'; Weir Phillips, 2011; Weir Phillips, 2015)

*The Mullens building (1931) (formerly the Junoriate):
Designed by Hennessy Hennessy & Co this 'Interwar Romanesque' style (Apperly et al, 1989, pp194-197) building complements the Barron Chapel beside it. It is also a two story building in two-tone face brick with steeply pitched, slate clad roofs and stone-coloured terracotta detailing. It was originally called the Juniorate and designed to provide residential and educational accommodation for priests in training. It has long since been adapted to entirely classroom and educational uses. The original entrance is behind a large arch on the south facade. The side walls are divided into eight bays which feature multi- pane double hung windows (LEP listing for ACU, 2005, 'Description'). The interiors have undergone many changes although they retain some original details. (Weir Phillips, 2011, p116; Weir Phillips, 2015)

*Arcades in Main Central Courtyard (c1931).
One curving two-storey arcade connects the Barron Chapel to the Edmund Rice Building, 1925. A second straight two-storey arcade runs between the Barron Memorial Chapel and the Mullen Wing, c1930 (LEP listing for ACU, 2005, 'Description'). Both brick arcades appear designed to match the Romanesque Style of the Barron Chapel and the Mullens Building and are constructed of two-tone face brickwork. The ground floors of both arcades feature arches set within shallow engaged piers and tiled flooring. The undersides of the roof on both floors are timber lined. The arcades provide a sense of cloistering reminiscent of occupation by the religious order (Weir Phillips, 2011, p117; Wier & Phillips, 2015).

*The St. Edmunds Building (1962)
(formerly called the New Junoriate, built on the site of the Victorian villa Ovalau, later known as St Endra's which was demolished c1961): This Modern Movement brick building with multiple wings was designed by Sheerin & Hennessy in several stages. It was originally opened on 22 July 1962 as the New Juniorate and designed to provide a new hall, science rooms, library, common room and oratory for up to 98 boys in training after the Mullens Building was considered too small for this purpose. Like the Mullens Building it has since been adapted to a variety of classroom and educational uses. The west wing is included in the heritage precinct and has three storeys with a rendered arcade at the ground floor and brick walls with square window openings above. At the south end is a flat roofed section with plain brick walls providing a backdrop to a large crucifix. The south and east wings of this building are two storeys (the south and east wings are largely excluded from the SHR listing curtilage). It is good quality, carefully detailed modernist building with low-pitched roofs and aluminum framed window. Its sympathetic proportions and finishes provide a satisfying completion to the main courtyard of the university.

*The Creative Arts Building was constructed in the late nineteenth century as the original stable block of Mount Royal. It is a two storey U-shaped building (with the U now infilled) with walls of painted brick and a steeply pitched corrugated iron roof. There is a continuous rendered band around the building, denoting the level of the loft. The original section of the building has been divided into rooms of varying sizes that do not reflect the layout of the original stables. It has a substantial twentieth century brick addition to the north which is not included in the SHR curtilage. The form and detailing of the original component of the building is representative of a small late nineteenth century stable. (Weir & Phillips, 2011, p130-1; LEP listing for ACU, 2005, 'Description'; Weir & Phillips, 2015).

SIGNIFICANT LANDSCAPE FEATURES WITHIN THE HERITAGE PRECINCT:
Main central courtyard (southern facing): This south facing courtyard is the hub of the university. It is formed between the Edmund Rice Building, Barron Chapel and the St Edmunds Building and brick arcades linking these. The area comprises lawns with intersecting brick paths and randomly spaced, mature Canary Island Date Palms, some set in raised circular brick walled garden beds. There are three garden beds lying parallel to the front of the villa. Two ghost gums stand at the southern end of the courtyard. (Weir & Phillips, 2011, p72)

North Facing Courtyards. One north-facing grassed courtyard is formed between the Barron Chapel and the Mullens Building with the straight the brick arcade at the south and the Limpias Crucifix at the north, beneath a large fig tree. (Weir & Phillips, 2011, p73) A second north-facing grassed courtyard is formed between the Barron Chapel and the Brother Stewart Library, with the rear of the Edmund Rice Building to the south. The courtyard includes a large, non-significant tent-like shade structure. (Weir & Phillips, 2011, p74)

Gates of Mount Royal (c.1887). The gates are symmetrical, comprising a central set of two wrought iron carriage gates and matching pedestrian gates on either side, all hung from rendered masonry piers. The gates are furthermore flanked by palisade fencing. The gates were relocated after the Christian Brothers purchased neighbouring properties of Ovalau and Andross and expanded the college grounds (Weir & Phillips, 2011, pp139-40).

View corridor: The most significant view corridor is along the axis of the roadway flanked by trees leading from Albert Road towards the Edmund Rice Building. The brick edging on this driveway is likely contemporary with the original building of Mount Royal in the 1880s.

Plantings:
The roadway from Albert Road is lined with Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis) planted by the Christian Brothers. The avenue of palms is terminated by two lemon scented gums (Corymbia citriodora). Other groupings of trees on the campus provide amenity but are not considered state significant.

Two distinct - and surviving - plantings can be readily associated with the Christian Brothers period of occupation: the cypress pines planted along hte Barker Road boundary and the Canary Island date palms found around the site (CMP, 2012, 180).

The fig tree (Ficus sp.) at the northern end of the courtyard between Barron Memorial Chapel and the Mullen Building should be assessed and managed. Visually it is a significant planting within the courtyard. Its root system, however, is damaging the Limpias Crucifix and may cause future damage to nearby buildings.

The Bunya pines (Araucaria bidwillii) near ALbert Road should be retained. (CMP, 2012, 245).

Limpias Crucifix (1933): The Limpias Crucifix is a masonry, life-size crucifix set within a concrete shelter. The walls are cast and painted to resemble stone. The crucifix is a copy of a venerated statue in the Spanish town of Limpias which was sent to Mount St. Mary's by the Christian Brothers of Gibraltar in 1933 to mark the 1,900th anniversary of Christ's crucifixion. (Weir Phillips, 2011, p46, p141)

Statues of Edmund Rice, St. Joseph Mary and Jesus: Three white painted masonry statues located in the main courtyard. (Weir Phillips, 2011, p46, p142)

Urns: A number of decorative masonry urns located near the Edmund Rice building may be contemporary to the villa Mount Royal. (Weir Phillips, 2011, p46, p143)
Physical condition and/or
Archaeological potential: 		The buildings and landscaping both generally well maintained.
Date condition updated:23 Apr 15
Modifications and dates: This is a complex site that was pieced together through a number of different land purchases over many years. The buildings range in date from c.1887 to the present day. Most have undergone alteration and addition over time.

c/7/1959 Christian Brothers Training College - new Golden Jubilee Seniorate Building (Hennessy, Hennessy & Co.)(Building, 7/1959, 50).

167 Albert Road:
28/7/1978 BA 88/72 - St. Vincent de Paul Nursing Home Addition
28/7/1978 BA 405/76 - St. Vincent de Paul carport
28/7/1978 BA 86/78 - St. Vincent de Paul alterations
BA 236/82 - Our Lady of Loreto, 317D correction work

BA 2/54 - Matron E.Cullen - outbuildings
BA 260/56 Miss E. Cullen - extension to verandah, fire escape
BA 139/57 Miss E. Cullen, storeroom and toilet block
BA 104/61 - Society of St. Vincent de Paul - laundry
BA 52/64 - " " - bedroom
BA 136/64 - " " - private hospital additions
BA 95/69 - " " - hospital

(NB: Over-stamped 20/12/1993)
BA 340/93 - Society of St. Vincent de Paul - bath, toilet
BA 205/95 - " " - gazebo
DA 95/97 - Mr. Armstrong - gazebo

169 Albert Road
28/7/1978 - BA 107/71 - St.Vincent de Paul, addition (Strathfield Council, c/o Weir Phillips 2012 CMP, Appdx. 5).

179 Albert Road
6/11/1979 - BA 437/79 - Trustees of the Christian Brothers - awning
BA 16/83 - " " - common room and fire partitions
BA 44/83 - " " - womens' amenities
BA 129/83 - " " - fencing
BA 134/83 - " " - amenities block
BA 385/83 - " " - convert bedrooms to offices
BA 34/84 - " " - transportable classroom
BA 325/64 - " " - car port
BA 318/85 - " " - transportable classroom
BA 402/87 - " " - alterations to carport area
BA 133/89 - " " - alterations to library
BA 140/90 - " " - wall and fence
BA 235/92 - " " - alterations to schools

DA 95/39 - Australian Catholic University - office refurb., subdivision of lecture theatre
(illegible, 1995)
BA 202/95 - " " - car park (Barrier round west end)
BA 108/95 - " " - alts/adds to lecture theatre and offices
BA 321/60 - Christian Brothers - Training College
BA 146/93 - " " - library
BA//46/94 - " " - car park
BA 86/58 - " " - school
DA 96/127 - " " - alterations to Education building (ibid).
Amended plan 21/5/1993 (ibid, 2012 Appdx.5).
Current use: University campus
Former use: Aboriginal land, timber-getting, farmland, Suburban residential mansion, private preparatory school, religious training College

History

Historical notes: ABORIGINAL LAND
Prior to European settlement the Cooks River Valley was the home of a number of clans of the Aboriginal people. The Gameygal lived on the northern side of Botany Bay, between present day La Perouse and the mouth of the Cooks River. To the north of the Cooks River between South Head and present day Darling Harbour lived the Cadigal people and the Wangal people lived in an area between the Parramatta River and the Cooks River from Darling Harbour to Rose Bay. To the south of Botany Bay in the coastal area including Kurnell and Cronulla and the south coastal strip to Nowra lived the Gweagal people. While there is some argument about the location of land of the Bidiagal clan, there is some evidence that this clan lived in the area between the southern bank of the Cooks River and the northern bank of the Georges River. It is also thought the Cooks River formed the boundary between two dialect groups, the Bidiagal and the Gweagal. Previous reports on the Aboriginal past of the area have suggested that it was occupied by the Bidiagal. (Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative College, 1986; King, 1999; McDonald, 2005). The potential association of the Bidiagal people should not be discounted as a result of this lack of historical detail as after the collapse of the clan structure due to the smallpox epidemic of 1788 and general impact of European invasion, individuals travelled beyond the pre-1788 traditional boundaries. It is thought that the warmer months were spent nearer the coast and the cold months of winter were spent further inland. (Muir L 2007 Cooks River Valley Thematic History)

Due to the impact of the arrival of European colonists from 1788 and the almost immediate impact that this had on established patterns of subsistence, our knowledge of the Aboriginal people of the Sydney district is limited. Some eight individual groups or clans within the vicinity of the Parramatta area have been identified and two, the Cadigal and Wangal, most likely lived in the area that now makes up the Ashfield municipality (Attenbrow, V. & Pratten, C., quoted in SWC, 2005, 5).

Aboriginal people lived along the Cooks River for thousands of years prior to European arrival...The Cadigal and Wangal peoples made use of the land and seasons to hunt, trap, fish and forage for fruit and plants. As firestick farmers, they burned off scrub near rivers leaving only large trees spaced several meters apart, creating an open, park-like appearance (Marrickville Council website, quoted in ibid, 2005, 5).

The British colonisation of Australia commenced just 15km to the east of Strathfield at Sydney Cove in 1788. By 1793 land grants were being made to Europeans in the Strathfield area. Land clearing removed the habitats of native animals and thus would have eliminated food sources for the Wangal people as well as desecrating sacred sites. There is historical evidence of hostility between the early settlers and the Aboriginal people here although by 1804, Governor King was reporting to the British Government that 'the natives in the settlements (between Parramatta and Sydney) had been very quiet and in a great measure domesticated'. Although Wangal people were separated from their traditional relationship with the land, many Aboriginal people continue to live in the Strathfield locality. There are few known remnants of traditional occupation such as campsites, axe grinding grooves and scarred trees in the Strathfield district (Jones, 2014).

Perhaps the most famous Wangal man was Bennelong, who became friendly with Governor Phillip. (Jones, 2014) Phillip built a brick hut for him on the present site of the Sydney Opera House and that peninsular is named after him (Bennelong Point). Bennelong became one of the first Aboriginal people to visit Europe when he travelled to England with Phillip in 1792.

While land closer to the town of Sydney was relatively quickly carved up as land grants to settlers in the first years of the European colony, the land on the southern side of the Cooks River was not subject to land granting until 1904. It was not until 1808 when a number of very large land grants were made over land which traditionally provided Aboriginal people access to the resource rich area of the Georges River, Kurnell Bay and Salt Pan Creek that land became the reason for conflict between the Bidiagal and European settlers. In 1809, an attack was made on two farms at Punchbowl led by a Bidiagal man named Tedbury. Tedbury was the son of Pemulway who had led perhaps the best-known campaign of resistance in the Sydney Basin including a spear attack on Governor Phillip's game keeper, a man renowned for his hostility to the Aboriginal people of the Sydney area. Pemulway and Tedbury spoke the Bidiagal dialect, and are known to have come from around Botany Bay (King, 1999)

The attack at Punchbowl was the last reported act of Aboriginal resistance to European settlement in the Cooks River Valley. In the following years due to alienation from their land and its resources and being subject to the devastation of European infectious diseases, the Aboriginal population in the area dramatically reduced. In 1845 it was reported to the NSW Legislative Select Committee that there were only 3 people of the Botany Bay clan and only fifty Aboriginal people were living in the area between the Cooks and Georges River. (Muir, L., 2007, Cooks River Valley Thematic History).

During the 19th Century European settlers transformed the land along both banks of the Cooks river as farms were established for grazing, family food needs and for other industries such as tanning, production of sugar, harvesting of timber and production of lime from many middens left by the Aboriginal people of the area for thousands of years. Lime was a scarce and necessary commodity for European settlement in the early years of the colony. (Renwick, C., Pastorelli, C., Muir, L., Sheppard, H., Denby, J., Chalcroft, G., 2008, Cooks River Interpretation Strategy).

The traditional Indigenous custodians of the (Strathfield) area are the Wangal people of the Darug people. There is evidence that the Darug have lived in the Sydney area for over 10,000 years. (Jones, 2014).

Post-contact, the stretch of land between Iron Cove and the Cook's River was known as the Kangaroo Ground, the natural woodland would have provided a suitable habitat for possums, fern rhizomes and tubers, all of which would have been identified as valuable food sources for the Wangal (Pratten, C., quoted in SWC, 2005, 5).

COLONIAL HISTORY: Homebush and Strathfield:
Eleven days after the first British flag was raised in Sydney Cove, in 1788, Captain John Hunter, Captain John Hunter and Lietenant William Bradley, First Fleet officers from HMS Sirius, explored the Parramatta River as far as the present Homebush Bay. It was a shallow, swampy area, flooded at high tide, at the junction of what are now Powell's and Haslam's Creeks. Hunter did not fully explore the bay, but he added it to his charts (Pollen & Healy, 1988, 124).

The first grants in the present day Strathfield Municipality were made in 1793 under the hand of Lieutenant-Governor Grose (Weir Phillips, 2015). The colony's first free settlers received small grants of 60 to 80 acres, but because it was a poor area for agriculture, grants were later increased and also changed hands over the following years. The area was chosen for occupation in order to provide a settlement between Sydney for teams travelling from the west (ibid, 1988, 124).

The first grants in the present day Strathfield Municipality were made in 1793 under the hand of Lieutenant-Governor Grose. The Mount St Mary ACU campus lies on part of a 450 acre grant made to the Chaplain of St. James Church in 1823, however that grant soon reverted to the Crown. In 1841, the campus was part of a 256 acre grant made to Joseph Hyde Potts (1793-1865), then the Secretary of the Bank of New South Wales. The grant remained in the hands of his descendants it was subdivided in the early 1880s. (Weir & Phillips, 2015)

Before the 1860s, settlement in the Strathfield area was clustered around inns and other service industries scattered along the Parramatta and Liverpool Roads and near the Homebush Racecourse. The 1866 subdivision of James Wilshire's (570 acre, granted in 1808, between the present streets The Boulevarde, Chalmers St. & Liverpool Road: Pollen & Healy, 1990) estate in Strathfield known as Redmire was marketed towards well-to-do families seeking a suburban 'villa' lifestyle and attracted many prominent families in Sydney society including members of parliament, senior public servants, surgeons, solicitors and businessmen (Weir & Phillips, 2015).

To the west of this were Church Lands, declared in 1823 to support clergy in the colony, which extended into present day Flemington. In 1841 this was sold and the part south of Barker Rd. was acquired by Joseph Newton. The grant was sold to Samuel Terry in 1824 and he renamed it Redmyre Estate. The name Redmire (changed c1865 to Redmyre) honoured a village in North Yorkshire, England, which was near the birthplace of the Terry family (Pollen & Healy, 1990).

After 1877 when Redmyre Railway Station opened (it was renamed Strathfield Station in 1900), the distance between Strathfield and the city was reduced to an easy 28 minutes journey although the relative expense of the service at this time helped maintain the social exclusiveness of the area. Albert Road was first listed in John Sands' Sydney and Suburban Directories in 1886. The road was one of most fashionable streets in Strathfield and the address of numerous grand villa estates including Mount Royal, which now forms part of the Edmund Rice Building on the Mount St Mary ACU campus (Weir Phillips, 2015).

In 1885 the area was incorporated as Strathfield. This new title came from the name of a mansion built in the district by John Hardie, a wealthy early settler, who chose the name to honour the English estate given in 1817 by a grateful nation to the Duke of Wellington. (Pollen, 1988, 247).

MOUNT ROYAL
In 1883 30 acres (12 hectares) were sold for (Pounds)4500 to William Von der Heyde and George Todman, tobacco merchants. Heyde was Mayor of Strathfield 1887-9. In 1885 they sold a lot of land comprising 3 acres 29 perches (1 hectare) to A. Thomson, F.L. Barker and John Hinchcliff, wool broker, who erected a large country mansion or 'villa' on this property. This residence, called Mount Royal, was designed by architect Harry Chambers Kent for John Hinchcliff using finance provided by Hinchcliff's wife, Laura Ann. Hinchcliff was another mayor of Strathfield 1890-92. Tenders for the erection of a 'first class residence and stables' were advertised in The Sydney Morning Herald on 20 November 1886 (Steart, 2004, 11).

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

According to a former archivist of the Christian Brothers who researched the history of Mount Royal, the ballroom and billiard room were added to the original building in 1888 (Stewart, 2004, p11).

Little is known about John Hinchcliff although his firm was described in 1890 as 'one of the oldest firms connected with the wool trade in NSW' ('Our Leading Wool Firms', The Illustrated Sydney News, 9 January, 1890). He appears to have been among those city wool merchants who experienced financial difficulties as a result of the severe financial depression of the 1890s. When he died at Mount Royal in 1895, he was heavily in debt. Several photographs of the interior of Mount Royal survive from the period of Hinchcliff family ownership (Weir & Phillips, 2015). The original lettering 'Hinchcliff' is still marked on the building and it is believed that a face pictured in one of the stained glass windows there is a portrait of John Hinchcliff. (Jones, 2006; Weir & Phillips, 2011)

Following Hinchcliff's death, Mount Royal was leased to schoolmaster, W. Stewart Page, who temporarily opened a college on the site in 1896, one of a number of private colleges in the area. Page placed an advertisement in The Sydney Morning Herald in January 1896 for his 'high class boarding and day school. . . quite in the country, having open fields on three sides and at the same time is only a short distance from Strathfield Station.' (Michael Jones, 1985, p 91). The school grounds included tennis courts and cricket grounds. Page's school was not a success, and by 1899, the property was again vacant. (Weir & Phillips, 2011)

The most notable tenant in ensuing years was Sir George Reid, Premier of New South Wales from 1894 to 1899. In 1901, Reid became a member of the Federal Parliament. Reid's occupation of Mount Royal was brief, lasting only from March 1903 until August 1904 when he became Prime Minister and moved to Melbourne (Weir & Phillips, 2011). Reid was Prime Minister from 1904-1905 (Patrick O'Carrigan, pers.comm., 10/12/2019).

THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND MOUNT SAINT MARY
Mount Royal was sold to the Christian Brothers on 20 December, 1907 for (Pounds)7,428. The Brothers purchased the property with the intention of opening a training college for teachers. The Brothers renamed it Mount St. Mary, placing it under the patronage of Mary, Mother of Jesus. Mount St. Mary would become the centre of the Christian Brothers congregation for the whole of Australia and New Zealand. (Weir & Phillips, 2011)

When the Christian Brothers purchased Mount Royal, the order was 105 years old. The Christian Brothers were founded in Waterford, Ireland by Edmund Ignatius Rice in 1802 and became closely tied to education as expressed by their motto: Facere et docere ('To Do and To Teach'). An early attempt to establish the order in Australia in the 1840s failed. The Brothers returned to Australia in 1868 and eventually Sydney where they established community houses and schools at Balmain (1887), Lewisham (1891) and Rozelle (1892). The order was one of many invited by Archbishop Moran into New South Wales at this time, primarily to support the Catholic education system after the withdrawal of state funding.

The Christian Brothers' Provincial, Brother Jerome Barron (1858-1949), had hesitated about purchasing a mansion as grand as Mount Royal, but was impressed by the size of the estate and its reasonable price compared with similar inner city properties. The Christian Brothers were not alone in acquiring such an estate at this time. The purchase of Mount Royal was part of a wider pattern that saw numerous large Victorian period mansions bought by religious orders or charities following the economic depression of the 1890s. Contemporary examples in Strathfield include the purchases of Shubra Hall by the Presbyterian Ladies College in 1889 and Brundah by the Methodist Church in 1915, both to establish educational institutions (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

Cardinal Moran blessed the Mount St Mary Training College and Novitiate on 1 December, 1908 in the presence of a large gathering. At the opening, Brother Barron noted that the order in Australia had grown to 45 educational establishments and their teaching force had grown from three brothers to over 200 brothers (Stewart, 2004, p9 and Appendix 1). Training at Mount St. Mary began in December 1908 when the Novices and Scholastics (brothers undergoing teacher training) were transferred from Lewisham. The Brothers acquired an additional 3 acres and 29 perches from Mr. J.H. Potts of Hyde Brae (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

The Brothers carried out alterations and addition to the original Mount Royal villa. In 1908-9, architects Sheerin & Hennessey designed a new two storey wing to provide additional accommodation. This wing was constructed across the northern end of the building and involved the removal of the conservatory. Sheerin & Hennessey also designed a chapel in the Federation Gothic Style that was constructed at the northern end of the new wing. Further additions were made in 1913. These works involved the raising of the ballroom roof to provide a first floor dormitory and a first floor extension to the billiard room on the western side of the villa. Sometime during the 1930s an additional wing was constructed on the western side of Mount Royal, at its southern most end. Elsewhere on campus, following the tradition of the Irish monastic orders, three handball courts and a pavilion were constructed. At an unknown date, an elaborate grotto was constructed. The pavilion and grotto are long gone (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

OVALAU AND ARDROSS
In 1917 and 1918 respectively, the Christian Brothers purchased adjoining villa estates to the northeast of Mount Royal, known as Ovalau (for (Pounds)3,250) and Ardross (for (Pounds)2,000), thereby expanding the boundaries of the site to 10 acres (4 hectares) (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

Ovalau was a grand Victorian Italianate Style mansion that had been built for Mr. Robert Phillips, a South Sea planter, in 1888. The villa was initially used to accommodate teacher trainees and the Brothers who taught at the Burwood parish school. In 1922, Ovalau, since renamed St. Enda's, became a High School known as the Juniorate, providing for boys who had a possible interest in joining the Order. The mansion was demolished in the early 1960s to make way for St. Edmund's Building. Ardross had been built for the Morgan family in 1885. The mansion was purchased to provide a possible retirement place for old Brothers and renamed St. Joseph's. Growth within the college, however, meant that the mansion soon became the home of the Scholastics. It was later used as a second home for the Juniorate boys. After a period of vacancy, the building was partially destroyed by fire in 1961 and soon after demolished (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

In 1925, an agreement was reached with Strathfield Council to incorporate a section of Albert Road into the college campus in exchange for land that enabled Council to connect Albert and Barker Roads. Mount Royal's gates were moved to their current location around this time. This new section of Albert Road would later be closed to create Mount Royal Reserve (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

THE BARRON CHAPEL AND THE MULLENS BUILDING
With the opening of the Juniorate in the 1920s, the small Federation Gothic Style Chapel proved too small and in 1924 planning began for a new chapel that could accommodate 250 students and staff. The (Pounds)12,400 required to construct the new Chapel was raised by donation throughout Australia and New Zealand. The Chapel was designed by Hennessy & Hennessey, constructed by Kell & Rigby and dedicated on 8 September, 1925. The building was named the Barron Chapel in honour of Brother Jerome Barron's Golden Jubilee. The design of the Chapel won the Master Architect's Gold Medal in the Turin Exhibition of 1923 (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

When a new classroom and dormitory building was required to house the growing Juniorate, Hennessey & Hennessy were commissioned to designed a building to complement their design for the Barron Chapel. This building, now known as the Mullens Building, but originally known simply as the Juniorate, initially provided four classrooms on the ground floor, a dormitory, bathroom, Director's Office and several bedrooms on the first floor. The work was carried out by builder James Redmond at a cost of (Pounds)8,000 and completed in 1931. Two storey brick arcades were constructed to link the Juniorate, Barron Chapel and the villa soon after (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

In 1928 the St. Patrick's College Practice School opened on grounds adjoining the college to the north. This provided the student teachers with a practise school. In 1933 the Christian Brothers of Gibraltar sent to Mount St. Mary's a replica of the venerated crucifix in the town of Limpias, Spain to mark the 1,900th anniversary of Christ's crucifixion. This life-size crucifix, known as the Limpias Crucifix, still stands in its concrete shrine near the Barron Chapel (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

In 1959 a new residential block called the Scholasticate or Seniorate was designed by Hennessy Hennessy & Co to provide accommodation for 50 scholastics as well as space for an additional lecture room and library. This building, together with a substantial brick extension constructed in 1994, is now known as the Brother Stewart Library. Also during the 1950s a substantial addition to the original Mount Royal stable building was constructed, which continued to be an important service building carrying out ancillary functions. (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

From 1961 the Hennessy Hennessy & Co designed St. Edmunds Building was constructed on the site of the demolished Ovalau villa to provide for a new hall, science rooms, library, common room and oratory. The building was used by the Juniorate who were renamed the Juvenate at this time (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

In 1974, the first lay students were enrolled in the College. The initial intake of eight students later expanded to an intake of around 50 students. The introduction of lay students - who were not in training for the priesthood - into the previously exclusive domain of the Brothers had come about for a number of reasons including a decline in vocations leading to a need for lay teachers to staff Catholic schools. There was also an increasing recognition of the role of the laity in the mission of the Church (Weir & Phillips, 2011).

The establishment of the Higher Education Board of NSW and changes to funding structures presented new challenges to the college. Ultimately, it amalgamated with Polding College, itself an amalgamation of several teaching colleges, to form the Catholic College of Education, Sydney, in 1982. (For further information on amalgamation and events leading up to it, see Stewart, 2004, Weir & Phillips, 2011). The Christian Brothers offered Mount Saint Mary under licence and without charge to the newly formed College. By 1985, there were 375 full time students on the campus and 520 evening students. As a result of increased enrolments and the transfer of staff to the campus, the residential function was slowly reduced until by 1990 there were no more boarding students. The three-year diploma courses offered by the teaching colleges became a Bachelor of Education of four years, with further studies leading to a Masters degree. Mount Saint Mary offered specialisations in curriculum studies, pastoral guidance and educational leadership.

In the mid 1980s, women students were accepted into undergraduate courses. These developments required changes to buildings. In 1989, for example, Geoffrey Twibill & Associates designed alterations to the Scolasticate, and the building was renamed the Brother Stewart Building.

As the colleges of advanced education expanded and offered more senior study programmes, the boundaries between the State's universities and colleges blurred. The Minister for Education proposed that colleges that met certain criteria apply for university status. Other colleges would be required to form an association with existing universities, in effect ceasing to operate as separate entities. In 1988, the Principal together with the Council of the Catholic College of Education decided to develop Mount St Mary College to meet the requirements for consideration as a university. The main obstacle was the insufficient number of enrolments. It was finally resolved that the Catholic colleges should combine to seek university status as a single entity, a process that would require the resolution of long-standing local interests and interstate rivalries.

Three years later, in January 1991, the Australian Catholic University opened following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions: the Catholic College of Education Sydney in New South Wales, the Institute of Catholic Education in Victoria, McAuley College of Queensland, and Signadou College of Education in the Australian Capital Territory. Each of these institutions has their own histories of education and associations with a variety of religious orders including the Christian Brothers, the Dominican Sisters, the Sisters of Charity, the De La Salle Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Sisters of St. Josephs. Histories of amalgamations, relocations and transfers etc. mean that more than twenty entities contributed to the creation of the Australian Catholic University.

In 1992, after occupying the site for 84 years, the Christian Brothers vacated Mount St. Mary. A Feast Day in honour of the Blessed Virgin was held in the Barron Chapel on 15 August, 1992. On 3 September, a final mass was celebrated in the Gothic Chapel and on 14 September, the last Brothers left Mount St. Mary. In July 1993 the Provincial of the Christian Brothers commented on Mount St Mary as an 'institution that has shaped and set some 3,000 of us on the road to a life of education of and service to the youth of this country. Mount St. Mary has become a symbol of nurture and support, of stability and fidelity for Christian Brothers and their associates who accepted the challenge of considerable involvements in Catholic Education - in this country over the last 150 years.'

In the words of D.M. Stewart:
'The Brothers' community and administrative offices had indeed been transferred elsewhere but there remained on site many memorials to the Christian Brothers' presence and labours. The fine Romanesque chapel is known as the Barron Chapel after the great Jerome Barron while the altar commemorates Brother Ambrose Treacy, the founder of the Australasian province. Then there are buildings or lecture rooms named after others such as the Murray Hall, the Mullens Building, the Marwell Building, the McGlade, Duffy and Hanrahan lecture rooms, while Davy is associated with the Dan Stewart Library. . . Brothers and former students still like to return to Mount Saint Mary, to enjoy its beauty, its peace and to savour again something of the spirit that hopefully inspires the staff and students to whom has been entrusted a rich tradition that is now part of the Australian Catholic University.' (Weir & Phillips, 2011)

AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY
On 7 January, 1993 responsibility for the operation of Mount St Mary's campus was officially transferred from the Christian Brothers to the Diocese of Sydney, who hold the property in trust on behalf of the Australian Catholic University. The Mount Royal/Mount St. Mary villa was refurbished and reopened in July 1993 as the Edmund Rice Building.

The Australian Catholic University, Strathfield has six campuses Australia wide. The University continues to upgrade their Strathfield campus. Major works undertaken since 1993 include: a substantial addition to the Seniorate, now the Brother Stewart Library (architect: Twibill Quinn O'Hanlon, 1994); a substantial addition to the Mullens Building, comprising the Gleeson Auditorium and Lecture Rooms (Twibill Quinn O'Hanlon, 1995); and the construction of the Biomechanics Building (Bates Smart, 2005). Minor works include the conversion of the former stables into an Arts Centre in 1997, the conversion of the original handball courts into storage (1997), new carparking and the creation of what is now the main entrance of Barker Road.

According to their website, in 2014 the Mount St. Mary ACU Campus hosted around 3,600 students, including more than 100 international students, and offered the following programmes:
*Undergraduate: Arts; Exercise Science; Marketing; Social Work; Teaching; Theology and
Philosophy; Visual Arts.
*Postgraduate: Arts; Education; Educational Leadership; Religious Education; Research
Degrees; Social Work; Teaching. (Weir Phillips, 2011)

THE ARCHITECTS
H.C. Kent (1852-1938), designer of Mount Royal in 1887, was born in Devonshire, England and migrated to Australia with his family as an infant. After studying at Camden College, where his father was headmaster, he undertook a Master of Arts degree at the University of Sydney in 1874. He took private drawing lessons with Thomas Sapford, who became the Architect and Building Surveyor of the Sydney City in the 1880s. He was articled to James Barnet, the Colonial Architect, and later to J. Horbury Hunt. In 1882, Kent entered private practice. He formed a partnership with Henry Budden in 1889 and in 1912, architect Carlyle Greenwell joined the partnership. Many future prominent architects were articled to Kent including William Hardy Wilson, S. A. Neave and H. H. Massie in 1911. Massie became his partner in the firm in 1919. Kent retired from active involvement in 1930. Kent's work includes hospitals private residences, commercial offices and banks, schools, extensions to Randwick Racecourse, churches and woolstores. In Strathfield, his work included Mount Royal (1887), the Dill Dill McKay Institute for Blind Women in (1891), Strathfield Town Hall (1923) and alterations (1913 and 1921-23). Kent also designed Inglenook at 17 Margaret Street for merchant George Bird in 1893 and Swanton in Victoria Street for grazier Stanley Vickery. Kent served as president of the Institute of Architects in 1906-7. He was a member and organist of the Strathfield-Homebush Congregational Church. Harry Kent served as an alderman on Strathfield Council from 1903 until 1905. (LEP listing for ACU, 2005)

John Hennessy was a prominent architect who designed the Frazer fountain in Hyde Park (1881), the Centennial Hall extensions to the Sydney Town Hall (1883), the Hordern Brothers' Drapery Store (1886) and City Tatterstall's Club in Pitt St (1892). However, Hennessy's most enduring works are the many Catholic buildings he designed with partnership with Joseph Sheerin (1884-1912) and with his son at Hennessy Hennessy & Co (1912-23). Hennessy was a devout Catholic and close friend of Cardinal Moran. Apart from his work for the Christian Brothers on this campus, he designed the 1894 Santa Sabina building, St Patrick's College Manly, St Joseph's College Hunter's Hill and St Vincent's College at Potts Point (1886). Hennessy himself lived nearby in the suburb of Burwood for forty years, serving as an alderman (1890-1895) and mayor of Burwood (1892-93). He also designed the Burwood Council Chambers (1887) (Jones, 2006; LEP listing for ACU, 2005). The Mount St Mary ACU campus provides a rare showcase of the development of practice and changing architectural styles by a single architectural firm between 1908 and the 1960s: the substantial additions to Mount Royal (now the Edmund Rice Building), the Barron Memorial Chapel (which is listed in the Australian Institute of Architects Twentieth Century Register of Significance), the Mullens Building, the brick arcades and the Scholasticate (now part of the Brother Stewart Library).

COMPARISONS
The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus is comparable with the main campus of the University of Sydney for the effect of its grand nineteenth century building interspersed with substantial twentieth century buildings framed by high quality landscaping. Both campuses have been progressively modified to meet changing requirements but collectively provide a gracious educational environment. The University of Sydney differs because it is much larger, it was purpose-built as an educational institution, it dates from an earlier period (the1850s), and it was always a secular educational establishment, albeit associated with religious colleges adjacent to the campus such as St Johns and St Pauls.

A long association of a place with the Catholic Church is not uncommon in NSW. Catholic Orders did sometimes purchase large, formerly private mansion estates often in the late nineteenth century as these buildings became less desirable as private residences. An example of a site nearby is the Santa Sabina Convent located nearby on The Boulevard, which has been occupied by the Dominican Sisters since 1894. Sheerin & Hennessy also designed the main buildings there.

Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus contains two especially fine and substantially intact examples of the Interwar Romanesque Style in the Barron Chapel and the Mullens Building. Comparable examples of the Interwar Romanesque style are detailed in Apperley et al, 1989 and include: St Joseph's church Junee attributed to Albert Edmund Bates, 1929, and St Raphael's Catholic church, Parkside, Adelaide, 1916.

Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus demonstrates the progression of the work of one architectural practice, Sheerin & Hennessy, later Hennessey & Henessey, from the Federation period through to the mid-1960s (Weir p174-5). Comparable sites that showcase the design work of one architectural firm over a long period include the Maitland Showground, in which a numerous buildings were designed by successive generations of the Pender architectural firm.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)New South Wales themeLocal 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-
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 Developing local, regional and national economies-National Theme 3
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 Creating environments evocative of the 'old country'-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings Landscapes and parklands of distinctive styles-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings Landscapes of urban amenity-
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 institutions - productive and ornamental-
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 Significant tree(s) providing urban amenity-
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 Events-Activities and processes that mark the consequences of natural and cultural occurences Developing local landmarks-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies Forestry-Activities associated with identifying and managing land covered in trees for commercial purposes. Timber getting-
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. A Picturesque Residential Suburb-
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. Federation 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. housing (suburbs)-
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 (suburbs)-
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 merchants and dealers-
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 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 clergy and religious-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities. Accommodating students in boarding schools-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities. Gentlemens Mansions-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities. Country Villa-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities. Accommodating students at university-
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 Surveying by Augustus Alt-
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 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 suburban settings-
6. Educating-Educating Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally. Private education-
6. Educating-Educating Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally. Tertiary education-
6. Educating-Educating Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally. Tertiary education-
6. Educating-Educating Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally. College-
6. Educating-Educating Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally. Teaching teachers-
6. Educating-Educating Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally. Private (religious) schooling-
6. Educating-Educating Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally. Theological college-
6. Educating-Educating Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally. Adapted villa/ cottage for a school-
6. Educating-Educating Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally. University campus-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Creative endeavour-Activities associated with the production and performance of literary, artistic, architectural and other imaginative, interpretive or inventive works; and/or associated with the production and expression of cultural phenomena; and/or environments that have inspired such creative activities. Architectural styles and periods - Federation Gothic 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. Architectural styles and periods - Interwar Romanesque-
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 Italianate-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Religious worship-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Religious worship-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Chapel-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Practising Catholicism-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Providing halls and other community facilities-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Gentlemen's Villas-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Gentlemen's Villas-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship religion (private education)-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Adaptive new use-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Adaptive new use-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Practising Roman Catholicism-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship Boarding school-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Hennessy and Hennessy, architects-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Kell and Rigby, builders-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with George Todman, tobacco merchant-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Harry Chambers Kent, architect-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Archbishop Cardinal Patrick Moran 1885 - 1911, RC clergyman-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Joseph Hyde Potts, secretary, Bank of NSW, landowner-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Ald. William Von der Heyde, tobacco merchant, Mayor of Strathfield-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Ald. William Von der Heyde, tobacco merchant, Mayor of Strathfield-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Laura Ann Hinchcliff, gentlewoman-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Laura Ann Hinchcliff, gentlewoman-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with W. Stewart Page, schoolmaster-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with the Hon. Sir George Reid, NSW Premier, Prime Minister, Federal MP-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with the Hon. Sir George Reid, NSW Premier, Prime Minister, Federal MP-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with the Christian Brothers, Catholic religious organisation-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with the Christian Brothers, Catholic religious organisation-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups (none)-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Robert Phillips, South Seas planter-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Brother Ambrose Treacy, founder of the Christian Brothers' Australasian province-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with the Australian Catholic University-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with the Catholic College of Education, Sydney-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Twibill Quinn O'Hanlon, architects-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Bates Smart, architects-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with John Hinchcliff, wool buyer and exporter-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups Associations with Sheerin and Hennessy, architects-

Assessment of significance

SHR Criteria a)
[Historical significance] 		The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus is of state historical significance as part of a state-wide pattern of Catholic education since the early twentieth century - first for Christian Brothers, later for lay teachers within the Catholic education system and more recently as a campus for the Australian Catholic University. It is also historically significant as the headquarters for Christian Brothers in Australia and New Zealand throughout most of the twentieth century. Many of the major elements have significance for their ability to demonstrate some continuity of use by the Christian Brothers and/or the Catholic Church.
The site also has historic significance as part of the pattern of Victorian villa estates that characterised this part of suburban Sydney in the late nineteenth century. The surviving fabric of the villa Mount Royal within the Edmund Rice Building represents a distinct period when such owners and occupiers were prominent in municipal affairs. Mount Royal, although altered, is among the finest of the Victorian period mansions to survive in the Strathfield area and one of few still associated with its original outbuildings, landscaped gardens and gates. The place retains many original historic alignments, brick guttering, paths of significance and landscaping elements that complement the original ‘Mount Royal’ section of the Edmund Rice building.
SHR Criteria b)
[Associative significance] 		The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus has state level significance for its associations with the Christian Brothers which lasted from 1907 to 1992. During this period, the site was the headquarters for the order in Australia and New Zealand (until 1953), and represents a range of the brothers' activities, most significantly the training of teachers and of boys with an interest in joining the order. The Brothers’ association is manifest in the historical record, in whole or parts of buildings and in individual pieces of fabric, for example, the windows of the Barron Memorial Chapel. The numerous Canary Date Palms are reminiscent of the occupation by the Brothers. The statues commemorate benefactors and associations that make reference to the order and their worldwide activities. Some buildings have been named to commemorate particular Brothers, for example, the Barron Chapel named after Brother Jerome Barron, Provincial of the Christian Brothers in 1907.
The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus has state significant associations with the architect Harry Chamber Kent (who designed Mount Royal in the 188s) and John Hennessy’s architectural offices, which produced numerous design for the Christian Brothers here over many decades. The campus is also of state significance because the Mount Royal villa was briefly (1903-4) the home of Sir George Reid, Premier of NSW 1894-1899 and Prime Minister of Australia in 1904, however his occupation is not demonstrated by any remaining physical fabric. The campus also has local associational significance with the owners of the Victorian estates upon which it is built, especially John Hinchcliff (the original client for Mount Royal, wool-broker and mayor).
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SHR Criteria c)
[Aesthetic significance] 		The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus is of state aesthetic significance for the high quality architectural design of its key elements and for its landscaping and vistas including the avenue of Canary Island Date Palm trees. The Mount Royal element of the Edmund Rice building is a fine example of the ‘Victorian Italianate’ style designed by Harry C. Kent c1885 and considered to be one of his best residential works. The fine finishes of the villa, such as the cast iron lace, encaustic tiling and stained glass, exemplify Victorian industry and the aspirations and way of life of the wealthy at that time. The Barron Memorial Chapel and the Mullens Building and their associated arcades are excellent examples of the Interwar Romanesque Style. The place has aesthetic significance for its collection of architectural designs by a single architectural firm over more than half a century, Sheerin & Hennessy (later Hennessy, Hennessy & Co). Three courtyards have aesthetic significance, being formed between key architectural elements of the campus. There is a high degree of consistency, integrity and quality in both the architecture and landscape design across most of the site. The palm trees, planted by the Christian Brothers, make a significant contribution to the setting. Religious statutory serve as reminders of the Brother’s occupation over many years. The original gates to Mount Royal continue to address Albert Road. Principal view corridors are as approached up Albert Road, along Barker Street from the east and from directly outside the main entrance on Barker Road. ‘Visitors to Mount Saint Mary remark on its beauty, its peaceful atmosphere and its fine array of buildings with their varied styles of architecture’ (Stewart, 2004, p10).
SHR Criteria d)
[Social significance] 		The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus is of state social significance to those thousands of people who have lived and/ or learned here, a crucial site within a state-wide pattern of Catholic education - first for the Christian Brothers, later for lay teachers within the Catholic education system and most recently as a campus for the Australian Catholic University.
The site also has local significance under this criterion for people in the Strathfield locality such as members of the Strathfield Historical Society who have long maintained an interest in the place and included it in a variety of publications and guides. Mount Royal appears in a wide variety of published histories and architectural studies.
SHR Criteria e)
[Research potential] 		The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus is of state research significance because the place provides insights into the activities of the Christian Brothers there including evidence of changes in function (residential to training college to university) and liturgical practice between 1907 and 1993. It is strongly illustrative of the Brothers’ central mission of education.
The campus also has research potential for studying stylistic change in the design output of a single architectural firm (Sheerin & Hennessy and Hennessy, renamed Hennessy & Co c1913) between 1908 and the 1960s. There are also potential archaeological remains associated with the demolished Victorian-era villas. While there are few remains of the villa Ovalau under the St Edmunds building, the site of Ardross near Barker Road may have archaeological potential. A number of other sites of possible, but minor archaeological potential, have also been identified (Weir & Phillips, 2011).
SHR Criteria f)
[Rarity] 		The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus is of state significance for its rarity as the previous headquarters and training ground for the Catholic order the Christian Brothers, and for retaining evidence of their activities and interests including buildings, plantings, recreational facilities, chapels and statuary. The place is also rare because it demonstrates the evolving high quality design work from a single architectural practice over many decades during the mid twentieth century, Sheerin & Hennessy / Hennessy, Hennessy & Co.
SHR Criteria g)
[Representativeness] 		The Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus is representative of many institutional sites across New South Wales which demonstrates long associations with the Catholic Church. Many structures from the Christian Brothers’ period survive with sufficient integrity that they are capable of demonstrating much of the Brothers’ way of life and philosophy. The campus is also of state representative significance as an exemplar of a widespread adaptive re-use pattern where a privately owned, late-nineteenth century ‘gentleman’s villa’ within landscaped grounds becomes the core element of an educational institution.
Integrity/Intactness: The campus, as it presents today is the product of three distinct phases: the Victorian gentlemen’s villa estates; the Christian Brother’s Mount Saint Mary; and the ACU. All three phases are represented in historic records and, to varying degrees, in fabric. The integrity of each major phase of development and structure is outlined briefly below:

(1) Edmund Rice: mixed integrity.
(2) Baron Chapel: high integrity.
(3) Mullens Building: mixed integrity.
(4) Brick Arcades: high integrity.
(5) St Edmund Building: mixed integrity.
(6) Creative Arts Building: mixed integrity.
Assessment criteria: Items are assessed against the PDF 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 CategoryDescriptionDate Updated
Recommended ManagementReview a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) 
Recommended ManagementPrepare a maintenance schedule or guidelines 
Recommended ManagementCarry out interpretation, promotion and/or education 

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of actDescriptionTitleCommentsAction date
57(2)Exemption to allow workHeritage Act - Site Specific Exemptions HERITAGE ACT 1977

ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT SITE SPECIFIC EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL

Mount St Mary Campus of the Australian Catholic University

SHR No. 1965

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 Mark Speakman SC MP
Minister for Heritage

Dated at Sydney, Day of 2016

SCHEDULE "A"

The item known as the Mount St Mary Campus of the Australian Catholic University, situated on the land described in Schedule "B".

SCHEDULE "B"
All those pieces or parcels of land known as Part Lot 11 DP 869042 in Parish of Concord, County of Cumberland shown edged heavy black on the plan catalogued HC 2691 in the office of the Heritage Council of New South Wales.

SCHEDULE "C"

1.All Standard Exemptions.

2.All works and activities in accordance with a current and valid development consent from Strathfield Council or the Land and Environment Court: DA 2013 / 088 (Main Entry & Bus Set Down).

3.All works and activities which have no adverse impact on elements of the site rated as moderate, high or exceptional in a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan.

4.The removal of all trees listed for removal in the Concept Plan approval for the campus granted by the Minister for Planning on 18 June 2015.

5.Works undertaken within the development precincts nominated in the Concept Plan, which works are consistent with the approved Concept Plan.

6.All works and activities identified as 'exempt' in a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan.

7.All works and activities identified as 'exempt' in a Heritage Council-approved Interpretation and Way-Finding Plan.

8.Works and activities associated with the maintenance and upkeep of landscaped gardens and grounds including; mowing, tree surgery or pruning of trees considered a danger to the public or staff or necessary to the health of the tree. Maintenance, repair of existing roads, paths, fences, garden edges, rendered retaining walls and gates.

9.Works and activities associated with installation of computing and audio visual equipment which do not impact on building fabric or views graded as moderate, high or exceptional significance in a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan.

10.Works and activities associated with the ongoing surfacing and maintenance of roadways, verges, drainage, pedestrian pathways where these do not impact on assessed significant archaeology as outlined in a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan.

11.Activities associated with public functions and events, that have no adverse impact on elements of the site rated as moderate, high or exceptional, and that are in accordance with a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan.

12.Works and activities associated with the temporary projection of imagery on to the external walls of campus buildings.

13.Temporary structures (including stages, fencing, portable lavatories, food and beverage services and small marquees) associated with special events to be erected where they have no adverse impact on elements of the site rated as moderate, high or exceptional in a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan for periods of time of up to 6 weeks duration and limited to 84 days per year. Such structures must be dismantled within 48 hours of the completion of the event.

14.Temporary structures (including medium term teaching accommodation) associated with the facilitation of university activities to be erected where they have no adverse impact on elements of the site rated as moderate, high or exceptional in a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan for up to five years from date of listing to aid implementation of the Concept Plan.

15.All permanent security arrangements for the Campus where these have no adverse impacts on building fabric or views rated moderate, high or exceptional significance in a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan.

16.The installation of semi-permanent plasma and flat screen displays that are consistent with a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan (CMP), and that have no adverse impact no adverse impact on elements of the site rated as moderate, high or exceptional in a Heritage Council-endorsed Conservation Management Plan.

17.Works and activities associated with the fit- out and improvement of shops and restaurants, provided there is no adverse impact on elements of the site rated as moderate, high or exceptional in a Heritage Council endorsed Conservation Management Plan. 		Apr 15 2016

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

Listings

Heritage ListingListing TitleListing NumberGazette DateGazette NumberGazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register 0196515 Apr 16 28813
Heritage Act - Icons Project Nomination for SHR listing  06 Jul 04   
Local Environmental Plan  06 Feb 12   
National Trust of Australia register Mount Royal Mount St Mary College905614 Apr 80   
Royal Australian Institute of Architects registerMount St. Mary College (Barron) Chapel30/10/1993   

References, internet links & images

TypeAuthorYearTitleInternet Links
Written 1959‘Christian Brothers’ Training College, Strathfield: New Golden Jubilee Seniorate Building’
Written 1931'Christian Brothers Chapel and Juniorate, Strathfield, Sydney’
Written 1925'Christian Brothers’ Noviate Chapel, Strathfield, Sydney'
Written   
WrittenAitken, Richard2002'Villa Garden' (entry) View detail
WrittenAnonymous1908'Christian Brothers Training College'
WrittenApperly, Richard, Robert Irving, Peter Reynolds and Solomon Mitchell1989A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture
WrittenAustralian Catholic University2008'Mount Saint Mary Centenary'
WrittenChristian Brothers1919'Souvenir of the Golden Jubilee of The Christian Brothers in Australasia 1869-1919'
WrittenHicks, Megan2018Hughenden Terrace, 59-67 Cavendish Street, Stanmore: these first-class and commodious houses
WrittenJones, Cathy2006‘Mount Royal Australian Catholic University’, Strathfield Heritage blog View detail
WrittenJones, Michael1985Oasis in the West: Strathfield’s First Hundred Years
WrittenKennan, Brother A.I.1980'Mount Royal'
WrittenMichael Fox Architects and Planners1998Strathfield Heritage Study Volume 1
WrittenPollen, Frances (ed.) and Healy, Gerald1988'Strathfield' and 'Homebush' entries
WrittenStewart, D.M.2004‘Mount Royal to Mount Saint Mary’
WrittenWeir Phillips2015Heritage Data form - Mount St Mary Campus of the Australian Catholic University
WrittenWeir Phillips Architects & Heritage Consultants,2012Conservation Management Plan – Australian Catholic University – Strathfield Campus, New South Wales
WrittenWeir Phillips Heritage2017Edmund Rice Building: repair of encaustic tiles - Heritage Impact Statement - Australian Catholic University, Strathfield Campus, 25A Barker Road, Strathfield
WrittenWeir Phillips, Architects and Heritage Consultants2011Heritage Impact Statement; Australian Catholic University Strathfield Campus; Concept Plan prepared under Part 3A…

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

The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name: Heritage NSW
Database number: 5061554
File number: EF14/6340

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