Understanding Heritage

Historic records such as photographs can provide helpful information. This image of Ben Hall's childhood home from about 1842 to 1850 came from a carte-de-visite now held in the collection of the Murrurundi & District Historical Society.

In March Heritage NSW explained how to research the history of a house located in Sydney. In this issue Bruce Baskerville looks at the country areas of eastern and central New South Wales and gives some pointers for researchers. The coverage is broad and for particular localities there will be other detailed sources that should be consulted.

Researching the history of your house in regional New South Wales will mean using somewhat different approaches and different records to those used in the metropolitan area, as well as asking some different questions. The first source to use, as always, is the house itself. Where is it located - in a valley, on a hill, beside a river, on a farm, in the forest, or in town? Why was it placed in this location - to escape flooding, to be close to work, transport etc? What materials is it made from - brick, timber slabs, weatherboard, fibro, corrugated iron or some combination of these? Are the materials locally available, or would they have been brought in from elsewhere? Materials manufactured in Sydney or overseas are unlikely to be found in a house that pre-dates the development of good transport links, such as the railway, so itemising the materials can help to date the house. The materials can also tentatively date additions and alterations at later periods. Styles can also help to date a house, but it is important to remember that style periods can lag several years and even decades behind their use in Sydney. So some adjustment needs to be made to the date ranges provided in publications such as A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture (1989) by Richard Apperly et al and Australian House Styles (1997) by Maisy Stapleton and Ian Stapleton.

Advertisements in newspapers and sponsored publications
can provide clues to the history of a place. Reprinted from Orange
and District Illustrated, Facsimile of an edition published in 1928.

Another factor to consider is the quite common practice of relocating and reconstructing country houses, especially those made of timber. There may be rows of nail holes, unpainted areas and other indicators that the structure has been rebuilt. Oral histories and old photographs may help to identify such buildings. In a similar mode is the frequent use of kit or prefabricated homes, often made by Sydney firms such as Hudson Brothers from around the turn of the century, and widely erected across country areas of the state. Firms such as this continued to produce kit homes for transport and erection well into the 20th century.

The establishment of local government in country areas varies between the 1860s and 1870s, when many municipalities were formed around the larger towns and provincial cities, and 1907 when shires were formed across the Eastern and Central Land Divisions. The most common local council records that will be useful are rate books and BA/DA records. The coverage of these records is uneven because of fires, floods, insects and neglect over the years, but fortunately many do survive. There are rate books for cities such as Orange in 1860, for Armidale from 1878 and for Wagga Wagga from 1870; as well as for small shires that no longer exist such as Tomki 1908-1975, Cowcumballa 1907-1922 and Cudgegong 1924-1975. BA (from 1909) and DA (from 1945) records survive to varying degrees in different council areas. Country councils were also responsible for providing many services such as water, sewerage, drainage, electricity and gas from varying dates, often early in the 20th century. These sorts of council records can provide information on the value of land, descriptions of structures, building plans, and plans for the connections for various services. In the first instance, the house researcher should contact their local studies or local history library for the availability of council records.

County Councils began to be established from the mid-1930s to provide electricity, water, gas, flood protection, noxious weed control and other purposes to groups of local councils. The County Councils generated their own series of records similar to the service records of local councils, and would be of great use to house historians. Unfortunately, their records can be difficult to locate and inquiries should be made to local studies libraries and State Records (formerly the Archives Office) in Sydney. These county districts should not be confused with the counties used in land title descriptions.

Advertisements in local papers and sponsored local histories are of great use to house historians. Sales of medium to large rural properties are often advertised in some detail, with building descriptions and photographs, in local, trade and agricultural newspapers. Commemorative histories and tourist publications from the 1920s onwards often include a wealth of illustrated advertisements for a diverse range of local commercial enterprises, including guest houses, hotels, motor garages, shops of all types and builder's suppliers. Discerning reading of these advertisements can reveal many details about particular buildings as well as types of materials and uses that could be expected in certain periods and places.

A design for George Hudson's "ready cut" homes.
Many of these designs were sold at stores
with large country patronage, such as Grace Bros,
Broadway. Courtesy of The Historic Houses Trust Library.

Land title documents are much less frequently used in researching country houses than in Sydney because of the centralised location of the Land Titles Office. However, many land documents, such as lease agreements, will survive, often in local studies or historical society collections, and it is worth taking some time to go through such collections.

Reference has already been made to local studies/history sections in local libraries. The other main source of information in country areas will be historical society collections. Many societies maintain local archives, and others a local museum. Each can be a treasure trove of documents, illustrations and recollections for the house historian. It is important to remember that the societies are voluntary cultural organisations. Care should be taken when handling their records, and payment of a fee of some sort should always be offered to help with the conservation of these materials.

Researching a house history in a country area is different to a similar project in the Sydney area. But the principles remain the same: 'reading' the building and its setting, using local council records where possible, becoming familiar with local studies/history sections and local historical societies, and taking the time to talk with residents who may have detailed memories of a house.