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The story of the Eurama Vision Estate is one of history, excitement, powerful and influential people and deep meaning for Australia as a nation. It has seen an unsurpassed array of imperial, colonial and local personalities that have shaped Australia and its political structures.
Since the original purchase of the land by Sir Henry Parkes in 1876 the estate has seen residents such as: Sir James Martin, three times Premier of New South Wales; Sir Alfred Stephen, GCMG, Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales and Chief Justice of New South Wales for 27 years and; Charles Badham, Professor of Logic and Classics at Sydney University and accredited with raising the standards and reputation of the university to the renown it still possesses today. Visitors to the elite homes built on the estate included Sir Henry Parkes who was a very close friend and political ally of Sir James Martin. Parkes was not only Premier (then called Prime Minister) of the colony five times but instrumental in promoting many ground-breaking acts of parliament including the introduction of free and public education for all children. He was of such renown in the late nineteenth century that he was feted at No 10, Downing Street in 1881 by British Prime Minister Gladstone and was later the guest of the King and Queen of Belgium. Between Parkes, Martin, Stephen, Badham and their many visitors much of the political discussion led to the great push towards the federation of the Australian colonies achieved on 1 January, 1901 - the first day of the twentieth century, a new nation for a new century! Parkes entertained many important guests to his home, Faulconbridge House, including numerous governors of New South Wales, major colonial politicians as well as HRH Prince Albert Victor of Wales, Prince Louis of Battenburg and even HRH Prince George of Wales, later King George V. The estate has seen escaped convicts who seem to have perished in the caves, a flying visit in 1919 by Sir Keith Macpherson Smith and Sir Ross Macpherson Smith during the famous England to Australia Air Race, a visit by Hitchens’ Cooee March and frequent visits by Sir Normand MacLaurin, the highest ranking officer to be killed on Gallipoli who had visited the estate the day before he sailed for the Great War. The original houses built on the estate were Numantia, Metchley and Western House in 1877, followed by Alphington in 1878 and finally Eurama in 1882.
These houses were constructed as the original parcel of land was sub-divided by Sir James Martin or re-sold afterwards. Numantia was the home of Sir James Martin. Professor Charles Badham built and occupied both Metchley and Western House. Sir Alfred Stephen built Alphington while the final home added to the cluster was Eurama built by AH McCulloch.
Over the intervening years there has been much confusion as to the naming of Weemala and Eurama. The cause of this was AH McCulloch’s renaming of Weemala as Eurama and of Numantia as Weemala upon his purchase of a parcel of land from Sir Alfred Stephen in 1881.
None of the original homes have survived. Numantia / Weemala was destroyed by bush fire in 1982. Metchley was destroyed by fire early in the twentieth century. Western House was demolished at a similar time. Alphington was sold to two local printers in 1918 and moved to a site on the Great Western Highway opposite Grose Road in 1921. Currently, Eurama stands as a stone ruin having become dilapidated by 1967 and both restored and gutted by bush fire in 1968.
For Australia, the Eurama Vision Estate is an exceptionally significant historical site. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the owners of the properties and their associates were of great significance.
The estate has in the past boasted some of the grandest gardens in New South Wales developed with the guidance of the curator of the Sydney Botanic Gardens.
All in all, the estate has a fascinating history created by some of Australia’s political, educational and social elite.
THE STORY OF EURAMA VISION ESTATE
The railway from Sydney reached Parramatta (at Dog Trap) in 1855. Greater access to the Blue Mountains was gained when the railway was extended to Weatherboard (now called Wentworth Falls) and opened on 11 July, 1867.
Sir Henry Parkes, the most influential of colonial politicians, bought a large acreage at Faulconbridge in 1876 and built a wooden cottage that he named Stonehurst. In 1879 he built a second wooden cottage to the south of the first naming it Faulconbridge House. The name was derived from his mother’s family, her maiden name being Martha Faulconbridge (Stephen, P254).
Sir James Martin, who was both a friend and ministerial associate of Parkes, bought a total of 900 acres of land between Faulconbridge and Linden and adjoining Parkes’ holdings between 1876-7. The land on which the derelict home known as Weemala now stands was bought by Martin for one pound an acre in May 1877. Sir James built a wooden house there, two miles past Parkes’ home, naming it Numantia. The still existing sandstone wall running along the railway line enclosed the rear courtyard.
Martin built a small, private railway platform here and named it Alphington. This remained in use for the Martin and Cliff families until it was removed in 1897.
Sir James sold sections of his land to friends. Charles Badham, Professor of Classics and Logic at Sydney University built a wooden cottage, Metchley, northeast and close by Numantia in 1877. In 1878 he built a second brick cottage a little further to the north naming it Western House.
In October, 1878 Sir James sold some land to Sir Alfred Stephen who built a wooden house and named it Alphington after his father’s home in England. In 1882, due to financial difficulties he sold Alphington to a solicitor, Andrew Hardie McCulloch.
The most significant figure to occupy land within the Eurama Vision Estate was Sir Henry Parkes, Australia’s “Father of Federation” and a man responsible for so much more in creating modern day Australia.
Your land that fell within Portion 19 of the County of Cook, Parish of Magdala, was originally owned by one of the greatest ever Australian figures.
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