The History of Tempe House

JULY 18

Cindy Purvis 2019 Ron Rathbone Junior Local History Prize

Contents Introduction ...... 4

What is Tempe House? ...... 4

History Prior to Construction ...... 4

Inspiration ...... 4

Location ...... 6

Description of house and gardens ...... 7

The House ...... 7

The Grounds ...... 8

1839 Dam ...... 9

Alexander Spark ...... 11

Life in Australia ...... 11

Connection to Tempe House ...... 12

Later Life ...... 12

Legacy ...... 12

John Verge ...... 13

Early Life ...... 13

Architectural Work and Style ...... 13

Camden Park Estate ...... 14

Elizabeth Bay House ...... 14

Tempe House ...... 15

Greenbank ...... 15

Caroline Chisholm ...... 17

Connection to Tempe House ...... 20

Chisholm’s Legacy ...... 21

St Magdalene’s Chapel ...... 21

History...... 22 2

Description ...... 24

NSW State Heritage Listing ...... 24

Legacy ...... 24

Bibliography ...... 26

Acknowledgements ...... 28

Introduction Tempe House, a white Georgian villa, sits overlooking the Cooks River. At its back, an amphitheater of modern brick apartments crowd the horizon. Facing onto a broad expanse of green, Tempe House and St Magdalene’s Chapel is a NSW state heritage site, renowned for its history, its unique façade, its connection to prominent local Australians and its usage as a convent. One of the last remnants of John Verge’s architectural genius, Tempe House is a significant element of Bayside Council’s local history. Its ties to historical figures, under the ownership of Scottish émigré Alexander Brodie Spark and social welfare philanthropist Caroline Chisholm, also helped to cement its place in Australian history. As an architectural piece, it holds much significance as a testimony to colonial history. This has been acknowledged in its placement on the NSW State Heritage Register.

This essay reflects the historical significance of Tempe House, and in doing so also explores the personalities related to various phases of its history in order to acutely convey the importance of the Estate to Bayside Council.

What is Tempe House?

Tempe House encapsulates an entire estate near Cooks River, which includes the House, a number of surrounding buildings and landscape, as well as St Magdalene’s Chapel, which was built during the occupation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan. The subdivision of the land has made it difficult to retain the entire Estate, however the most significant architectural building of the villa and the chapel remain preserved, along with part of the landscape. This is all established on the NSW State Heritage Register.

History Prior to Construction

Prior to Alexander Spark’s ownership and construction of Tempe house, the land was labeled Packer’s farm. Following his purchase for 100 pounds, the 110 acre estate was rebuilt to Spark’s specifications. The primary villa, which is the most famous of the buildings, was constructed for the purposes entertainment. In the time that it took to build prior to 1836, Spark lived in a temporary sandstone cottage which no longer exists. From 1828, there were six people living on the estate, however by the villa’s complete construction in 1836, 31 people lived and worked on the estate.

Inspiration

Tempe House, or ‘Tempe’, as Spark named it, was coined after the Vale of Tempe, a beautiful valley situated under ancient Greece’s Mount Olympus. The Grecian Tempe contains the Pineios River, flowing into the Aegean Sea. Said to have been carved from Poseidon’s Trident, the Vale of Tempe was 4

inextricably linked to Grecian mythology, being home to Aristaeus (son of Apollo and Cyrene) and containing a temple to Apollo. The lush scenery and breathtaking landscape described so eloquently by ancient artists and historians would have resembled the view from Tempe House overlooking the Cook’s River. The Australian countryside in 1828, as well as Spark’s imaginative construction, provided the impetus for architect John Verge’s designs of grandeur, especially as Tempe House was constructed with an impressive Grecian façade.

Vale of Tempe

“It appears to have been a generally received notion among the ancients, that the gorge of Tempe was caused by some great convulsion in nature, which, bursting asunder the great mountain‐barrier, by which the waters of Thessaly were pent up, afforded them an egress to the sea.”

John Lempriere in Bibliotheca Classica

Location Tempe House and St Magdalene’s Chapel sits at 1 Princess Highway, in Wolli Creek. Overlooking the Cooks River, Tempe House sits at the edge of the remaining area allocated to Discovery Point Park, within the bounds of Bayside Council.

A mere 5 minute walk from Wolli Creek Station, Tempe House is easily accessible via public transport, and is a popular tourist destination to witness colonial history and architecture. Next to it sits St Magdalene’s Chapel, a part of Tempe Estate that is currently used to hose community events.

The surrounding Brodie Spark Drive is named after the initial owner of the state, Alexander Brodie Spark. Today, apartment buildings sit behind the Estate, and appear prominently in modern pictures of the House.

Google Maps Location

Description of house and gardens The House

Tempe House was built in 1836, entirely out of stone mined from the local quarry. The house was built by colonial architect, John Verge, and remains one of his most outstanding and celebrated works. Much of its inspiration comes from Greek temples, which Verge emulated in the white columns of the veranda. The villa is one storey, 6 bedrooms, sitting on twelve acres of surrounding land. The white classical motif is apparent in its symmetrical façade, where the large wraparound veranda overlooks the traditional Arcadian pastoral landscaping and grounds. This veranda also affords a view of the long carriageway, which approaches the house through the scenic gardens around it.

The Northeastern facing front retains much of the original veranda, with glass framed cedar French doors equally positioned on either side of the central stairway leading to the large 8 panel front door. The Southeastern elevation, by contrast, contains a courtyard that opens up from a 6 panel door. Restorations on the roof have modified elements of the original hipped ceiling.

In the interior, Verge’s design continues to permeate through the retention of the original fireplaces and French doors, which afford the building a distinctly European flavor. The house was designed to take advantage of the sweeping landscape, with each room having windows that overlook the surroundings. In particular, large French windows allow viewers an unbarred sight of the Cook’s River. Large marble fireplaces complement the original parquet flooring.

The Grounds

The Tempe House Estate is perhaps equally as famous for its unique grounds, which in 1828 would have been unimpeded by high rise buildings, adding to the natural beauty of the landscape. The house was surrounded by scenic gardens extending to the Cook’s River, which in accordance with contemporary descriptions, contained an exclusive collection of rare plants, trees and shrubs. The estate also contained an orchard (with over 154 fruit trees, tended to by 13 convict labourers), greenhouse, shrubbery and gardener’s cottage, and even on the river, a rococo bathing house. This bathing house no longer stands; today it would be placed in the middle of Princes Highway.

Prior to the installation of the carriageway to the house, Sparks and his visitors stabled horses on the northern bank of the river, and were ferried across by his private boatman, “Old Willy”. This proved obsolete when the dam was built, and in years later, the bridge. The construction of the dam linked the city to the area by road, leading to Sparks’ building a carriage drive, coach house, stables and a grooms’ quarters in 1841. The stables burnt down in 1844 and were rebuilt, remaining on site until 1960.

To the front of the house, the landscaped river front contained gardens and lawns, culminating in a wharf where visitors could alight. This was built in 1838, as part of the construction of the villa and surroundings.

In his attempt to regain money following the 1840s recession, Sparks planted a bevy of crops, inadvertently making some of the first wine in Australia. Today, the garden contains over 50 varieties of French grapes. His cultivation of his gardens also extended to apricots, plums, figs peaches and nectarines, which he and his wife, Frances, planted in a market garden along with ornamental flowers and shrubs.

Tempe House From Mount Olympus Heritage Steps to Mount Olympus Heritage Gardens

‘Mount Olympus’, an artificial rocky knoll on the south eastern side of Tempe House, was named in line with the Grecian motif that Spark bestowed on the estate. It was built to facilitate a picturesque backdrop to his villa. The hill contains a small grove of eucalyptus that are visible from the Princes Highway. Mount Olympus sits at the top of the Mount Olympus Heritage Gardens, constructed to preserve the natural surroundings and for visitors. As part of the housing development, the gardens also provide a modicum of open space between the modern high rises. Australand (who obtained Tempe Estate after Qantek’s occupation) and Marrickville Heritage Society work in conjunction to maintain the gardens and to preserve the natural plants that remain.

After the subdivision of land and the building of the high rise flats in 2002, the remaining grounds in the Tempe Estate primarily contain the large open lawn in the front of the house, and trees on the fringe of the estate.

1839 Dam

The Cooks River circa 1860 by Samuel Charles Brees

Built with quarried stone from the local cliffs, the dam began construction in 1839 and was completed in 1841. It was built by convict labour, and served to enhance the Estate’s vast view of the landscape. The Cooks River Dam, as it became known, was necessary at the time for a source of fresh water in Sydney, especially as the prior import of water from Lachlan Swamps and Tank Stream became inefficient. The convenience of the Cooks River in its location and placement also made this an obvious choice. The severe drought of this time also was a pressing concern for Sydney.

In 1838, following review of the Cooks River by Colonial Engineer Major George Barney, it was determined that damming the river would go to preventing the ingress of salt water. Upon consultation with Alexander Sparks, as it would cut through a portion of Tempe Estate and required the demolition of the Bathing House, construction was approved and underway.

The construction of the dam also came with an access road that linked Tempe Estate to broader Sydney, eventually making Spark’s ferrying journey across the river obsolete. This led to the subsequent ease of access and building of various stables and other constructions on the estate.

“Major Barney called on me afterwards in town and said that if I did not object to it the dam might be run across below the Bathing house, and the only apprehension was that my garden might be flooded. To be surrounded with the fresh water instead of salt would be highly desirable and I did not object to his proposal if he could previously ascertain that no bad consequences would follow.”

Extracted from Spark’s Diary in 1838

While the dam wall provided a source of traffic to and from Sydney to Illawarra, heavy rains often flooded it, overflowing the dam with negative consequences including flooding, damage to property, destruction of native marine life, and water pollution.

Moreover, the primary purpose of the dam to provide for fresh drinking water also failed, as water upstream was brackish and unsuitable for drinking. Flooding, which was thought to flush the saline water, only served to further exacerbate the cesspool, and water contamination in 1896 lead to Typhoid in swimmers downstream. The dam was eventually demolished between 1896 and 1899.

Alexander Spark Alexander Brodie Smith was a prominent Sydney merchant and businessman best known for his interest in land, his business in chartering wool and other products back to London, as well as his work in Court.

Spark was born in in 1792 Scotland, and spent his early life being educated in his hometown of Elgin. In his travelling in 1820, he met William Wordsworth, famous Romantic poet.

Spark’s later life in Australia afforded him the prominence that he currently has.

Life in Australia

After deciding to establish business in Australia, he set sail from Europe on the Princess Charlotte, arriving in Sydney in 1823 as a free settler. His initial Alexander Brodie Spark business was set up on George Street, where he made a living selling sugar, wine and draperies, as well as supplying salted meat to the commissariat in Sydney and Paramatta. His business picked up, and subsequently he expanded his scope to coastal trade routes, chartering ships to transport stores from parts of Australia to the other. This also expanded to other products, including wool consignments and produce to various parts of the world in a shipping agency. This is when he also extended to providing settlers with livestock and necessities to establishing their livelihoods, while selling their produce. The natural extension to land saw Spark become a significant land owner, with over 6000 acres on the Hunters River and 9 acres at Woolloomooloo.

It is during this period that he initially met architect John Verge, who designed his first house, Tusculum at Woolloomooloo Hill, the present day Potts Point.

Beside his business activities, Spark also found time to dabble in the growing legal sphere in Sydney. Serving as a foreman in 1826 and a justice of the peace in 1827, he became closely integrated into the committee of the Agricultural Society and the Chamber of Commerce, as well as more gratuitous causes such as the Scots Church, the Benevolent Society and the Female School of Industry. Spark’s networking also saw his close connection with the governors of Sydney, playing a large role in the shaping of Sydney through his position as Bank of Australia’s managing director in 1832.

Connection to Tempe House

In 1828, Spark decided to build a retreat from the bustle of the city on the idyllic Packer’s farm. At the height of his career in business, he designed a country residence complete with a vineyard and orchard. This place, Tempe Estate, become more instrumental as he entertained guests that he knew from business connections, as well as his role as the treasurer of Australian Gaslight Co, director in insurance companies and investor in steam navigation companies.

The design of the house reflects the grandeur of the owner, where the large colonial setting became perfect for Spark’s associates, including fellow free settler and author, James Mudie. It was in this period that Spark became disillusioned in his Presbyterian faith, turning instead to the Church of England. He helped to fund the building of St Peter’s Anglican Church in Cooks River, now in St Peters.

By 1939, at the beginning of the dam being built, Spark became even more prominent in his business holdings, being more involved in banking corporations and extending his land ownership to Melbourne and Victoria.

Later Life

In 1840, Spark extended his land holdings to New Zealand, and married Frances Maria, née Biddulph, who was a widow of Dr Henry Wyatt Radford. However, the difficult financial situation in late 1840, with the devaluing of pastoral leases saw Spark go bankrupt and have to mortgage his town house, Tusculum, as well as selling some of his land and assets.

Despite being insolvent, Spark managed to retain hold of Tempe House where he lived the remainder of his live with his wife and children, until his death in 1956.

Legacy

Despite his prominence as a businessman and his acumen, Spark never achieved the historical significance of other Australian figures. He was relatively uncontroversial, and remained personally divorced from society. 12

John Verge John Verge was a prominent colonial architect in Australia that designed and built Tempe House. Many of his remaining works are listed on various heritage registers, a testament to his skill and ability.

Early Life

Born in Britain as in a line of stonemasons, Verge was well acquainted with architecture by the time he settled in Australia in 1828. However, his initial pursuit in Australia was in pastoral land ownership, rather than building. Following his inability to raise funding, Verge took to design in 1830, when colonial Sydney most required his work. It was in this period between 1830 and 1834 that his greatest designs were created, and the majority of his well known buildings were constructed. John Verge Architectural Work and Style

Verge’s architectural style has been described as competent, yet eclectic. He was frequented by prominent businessmen and colonists in the 1830s, commissioned to design, amongst others, a number of the Villas of Woolloomooloo; Rockwall, Tusculum, and Goderich Lodge. Most notable in most of his designs is the classical Grecian motif, with wide verandas emphasized by Doric columns. This Georgian inspiration is evident in Tempe House, where the pastoral landscape paired with the classical style enhanced the grandeur of the setting.

Verge also practiced other styles, including other Regency and Gothic designs for various establishments, including St Mary the Virgin’s chapel. Verge’s work as a colonial architect placed him perhaps as the most esteemed designer for domestic and professional architecture, sought after by important figures, amongst them Alexander Spark, who commissioned Tusculum, and Tempe House.

He also designed a prefabricated British Residency in Waitangi, New Zealand, perhaps the first architect‐ designed building in the country.

Camden Park Estate

Camden Park is undoubtably Verge’s masterpiece. Designed in 1831 for John McArthur, it sits on the NSW State Heritage Register today. As a sweeping estate, it is reminiscent of Tempe House in its symbolic representation of wealth: the lifestyle engendered by the colonial houses that Verge built revealed the extravagant wealth of such residents, epitomizing the successes of free settlers.

Elizabeth Bay House

Another prominent architectural masterpiece, Elizabeth Bay House has been recognized on the Australian National Heritage Register. Originally a private residence for the owner, esteemed public official Alexander Macleay, the House overlooks Sydney Harbour. Originally designed to take advantage of the famous landscaped gardens, it was dubbed ‘the finest house in the colony’. The lavish interior, which includes sweeping staircases, beget the luxuries afforded to the Macleays. The house also reflects Verge’s architectural style, and remains as one of his best known works. Today it is open as a Living Museum.

Tempe House Designed in 1834, Spark’s Tempe House was a small Regency Villa for the purposes of relaxation. A ferme ornee, it is certainly not the most significant of Verge’s designs. However, it is a rare example of his colonial style and remains one of the last vestiges of his work. The stucco structure and Arcadian influence is reminiscent of his other architectural works, with the façade designed in a similar vein.

Greenbank Following Spark’s death in October 1856, the estate was subdivided into smaller suburban lots in December 1856. However, lack of interest saw a reallocation of the division, separating out the main house and surrounding 11 acres into one lot.

The entire estate was bought for 2000 pounds by brothers Patrick and Thomas Maguire, who never lived on the estate themselves, but rented it out to wealthy tenants, the most notable being Caroline Chisholm, who used it as a boarding school for troubled young ladies from 1863 to 1865. The brothers owned Tempe for 30 years. This period of its history was known as Greenbank.

Allotments of Tempe House divided for Sale in 1883

Caroline Chisholm

Caroline Chisholm was an English philanthropist that is best known for her gratuitous work assisting young women, especially female immigrants in Australia.

Born in 1808 England to an Evangelist farming family, she married Catholic soldier Captain Archibald Chisholm. Upon marrying when she was 22, she converted to Catholicism. When her husband was posted to Madras India, she founded the Female School of Industry for the Daughters of European Soldiers in 1834 after noticing that young girls were not able to obtain education due to their surroundings. The school provided a Caroline Chisholm practical education for women, and taught wives of soldiers as well.

Following her husband’s illness leave, they vacationed in Sydney Australia, arriving on the Emerald Isle in October 1838. In their time in Sydney, Caroline noticed the dire state of many immigrant women: without money, friends or family, many faced prostitutions as their only alternative for living. When her husband left to return to India for work, he encouraged her to remain and continue her philanthropic work in Australia supporting these women. She brought many girls into her household, and found positions for them to work in Australia.

In January 1841, Caroline approached Governor Gipps, his wife and Sydney Herald to establish a girls’ home, the Female Immigrants Home to support immigrant women, funded by public subscription. The success of this also led to her integrating men into the program as well. This helped to alleviate issues with labor shortages in rural Australia. Caroline was so effective at integrating these women into rural life and occupations that within one year of commencement, she announced the closing of the home in her report Female Immigration, Considered in a Brief Account of the Sydney Immigrants’ Home 1842. Her work continued in her establishment of the Caroline Chisholm Cottage in March 1842 in East Maitland. It was a hostel for homeless immigrants, helping them find employment.

A depiction of the Female Immigrants Home in the London News, 1853

Caroline attempted multiple times to settle families into land with long leases, but this was rejected by committees on distressed labourers due to land‐owners fearing for the proposed prosperity of the occupants. In the period between 1841‐1844, it is estimated that she helped to settle 14,000 people into employment and areas which these people otherwise would not have been able to.

Caroline’s help to immigrants made her popular over the 7 years that she worked until 1845, when her husband returned to Australia, invalided out of the army. In her time working, she placed over 11,000 people into homes and jobs, refusing to accept money from individuals or organizations as she wanted to remain independent from the influence of other stakeholders. When her husband returned, they travelled Australia, collecting over 600 statements from settled immigrants about their experience to bring back to England. This was published in Comfort for the Poor! Meat Three Times a Day!! Voluntary Information From the People of New South Wales (1847). This was picked up by Charles Dickens, when he advertised the society in Household Words. Her work in this sphere also extended to lobbying Earl

Grey and James Stephen of the House of Lords Select Committee, earning free passage for emancipists' wives in the Asia and Waverley, and for seventy‐five children left behind in the Sir Edward Parry to Australia.

In 1949, she founded the Family Colonisation Loan Society, with the backing of Lord Shaftesbury, Sir Sidney Herbert and Wyndham Harding FRS. Lord Ashley was president of the London committee, and the society had agents in the British Isles and in Australia. The society gave loans to emigrants for half of the fare to Australia, to be repaid in 2 years upon arrival. It found accommodation on ships, and extended to chartering their own ships to transport emigrants. Caroline’s insistence on superior living conditions lead to standardization of other naval living situations in the Passengers Act 1852. Once in Australia, emigrants repaid their loans in installments, with a reserve fund in the event of default or death.

Her gratuitous work made her famous in Europe, allowing her to tour in 1852 to give emigration lectures in Germany, France and Italy. Here, she met Pope Pious IX, who presented her with a Papal Medal and a bust of herself to commemorate her work. As a colonial agent engaged in philanthropic service, supporters such as WS Lindsay built a ship, the Caroline Chisholm, and Angelo Collen Hayter’s portrait of her hung in the 1852 Royal Academy Exhibition. Charles Dickens even based elements of his character Mrs Jellyby, from Bleak House upon her.

In 1854, Caroline boarded the Ballarat back to Australia, and toured the Victorian goldfields. In noticing the conditions of the living conditions, she proposed constructing ‘shelter sheds’ for prospectors and their families to the government, which was enacted in 1855. Money received from the Victorian Legislative Council went towards establishing a store in Kyneton. Her passion in making land more available to local migrants saw her give public lectures on the topic in Sydney from 1959‐1961, while also battling kidney disease. It was in this period of financial and Extracts from Chisholm’s scrapbook physical difficulty that she opened a girls school in regarding her proposition for Newtown, which was moved to Tempe. Shelter Sheds

“EDUCATION – Mrs. CAROLINE CHISHOLM begs to intimate to her friends and the public that, she will shortly remove her EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT for YOUNG LADIES to that delightfully‐situated residence, Green Bank, Tempe, Cook’s River, formerly the property of A. B. Sparke, Esq., when she will be able to receive a few more additional pupils.

The rooms of the house are spacious, lofty, and well ventilated, and the out‐buildings are excellent. There are about twelve acres of pleasure grounds and gardens attached, with a fine, large, and open orchard of fruit trees, intersected by wide and body walks. There is also a good bath‐house adjoining the house, where the young ladies will have the further benefit of sea‐bathing, as often as may be deemed desirable. Buses run from Sydney and Newtown, to within five minutes’ walk of Tempe.”

Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 13 April 1863

Connection to Tempe House

From 1863 to 1865, Chisholm leased Tempe House as a boarding school for young women. While this constituted a miniscule element of Tempe House’s history and is a rather insignificant portion of Caroline Chisholm’s life, the connection between the estate and the respectable people which it has encountered gives weight to the historical significance of the house. This has contributed to its gravity on the NSW State Heritage Register as well as its prominence to Bayside Council.

Chisholm’s Legacy

Caroline Chisholm has a legacy as a social worker and philanthropist advocating for migrants rights have made her well acclaimed in Australia. A notable reflection of her work was her inclusion on the Australian $5 note from 1967 to 1991, which also depicted the Female Immigrants Home that she established.

Australian $5 note (1967‐1991) detailing Caroline

Chisholm and the Female Immigration Home

Other acknowledgements of her gratuitous work appear in Henry Kendall’s 1862 poem on her, as well as other physical monuments such as a suburb in Canberra, a Federal Electorate, a memorial plaque, a memorial church in NSW, a number of educational institutes, a charitable society supporting pregnant women and parents of young children, Australian stamps, a musical on her life titled Caroline by Pinne and Battye, as well as a number of novels and historical texts outlining her life.

St Magdalene’s Chapel In 1885, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of St Benedict bought 8 acres of Tempe Estate, including the villa. They ran a laundry on site, and built a church, St Magdalene’s Chapel. This became a hallmark of the estate, especially as the Sisters of the Good Samaritan occupied the estate for approximate a century. The catholic nuns staffed women from the country, as well as women deemed to be in ‘moral danger’, and taught them domestic skills which would enhance their life.

History

When the Sisters bought the lot in 1889, they built a number of subsidiary and additional buildings, outside of the primary St Magdalene’s chapel, most of which were determined insignificant and demolished prior to redevelopment. St Magdalene’s chapel architecturally is reminiscent of Victorian Gothic architecture.

Prior to occupation, the Sisters ran a refuge for women ‘at risk of sin’; predominantly young women and mothers initially located in the Pitt St Carters’ Barracks. Upon raising enough money to build and purchase the land, they moved to Tempe, which could accommodate to 40 penitents. By 1900, over 100 people worked in accommodation and laundries on site.

The shifting perspective over time also led to a changing focus for the chapel. The purpose of the laundry gradually changed from supporting destitute women to who were unable to find employment and in danger of prostitution. These people were accommodated for by the sisters and taught a variety of skills. While initially the women were volunteers, increasing paranoia and governmental paternalism

saw security increase to installing a double corrugated fence 10 feet high around the dormitory and laundry. The emphasis on academic skill brought about by the 1929 changes to the Child Welfare Act also focused teaching efforts on skills other than domestic ones.

By 1944, St Magdalene’s Chapel evolved yet again to cater towards delinquent girls in a quasi‐ rehabilitation and training center to re‐education young women into society. While its function has changed over the years, the primary focus of helping and assisting girls has not deterred.

A century later, in 1989, the Sisters sold Tempe Estate to Qantek, a subsidiary of Qantas who wished to convert the area into a training and administrative centre, before it was placed on the NSW State Register for its importance and historical significance.

St Magdalene’s Chapel

Description

The initial construction of St Magdalene’s Chapel, the surrounding penitentiary, laundries and accommodation are thought to be from prominent architectural firm architects Sherrin and Hennessy. From the 1940s, when the estate housed delinquent girls, additional amenities, including a swimming pool and a chaplains residence were added.

The chapel itself is constructed from red and cream bricks. The sandstone details, as well as the stained glass windows reflect Victorian Gothic heritage, with the interior containing a singular large room.

It is currently used as a community facility, with children’s’ playgroups every week. NSW State Heritage Listing Following Australand’s redevelopment of the land, Tempe Estate was listed on the NSW State Heritage Register for its historical significance, as well as its connection with renowned personalities which have inhabited or contributed to the Estate.

In accordance with the State Heritage Register Criteria, Tempe Estate has prominent historical significance, associative significance, aesthetic significance, social significance, research potential and rarity. In assessing this, an examination of the holistic history of the Estate is taken into consideration. The fact that the Estate has barely changed in its entire history, and remains intact from the 1830s. Its connection to Alexander Brodie Spark, as well as John Verge also establish its place within colonial history, with the landscape represented in numerous depictions on paint. This associative significance with its early colonial history, as well as its later association with Caroline Chisholm make Tempe House unique in its history. Moreover, the aesthetic value of the landscape, as well as the unique architecture of both Tempe House (in a Grecian style) and St Magdalene’s Chapel (in Victorian Gothic fashion) represent varied manners of buildings. Its social significance, especially its connection with education and social welfare under both Chisholm and the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Order, as well as its research potential given its close connection to colonial history, afford the estate a rareness that is unlike other structures. All of these factors have allowed for the Estate to appear on the State Heritage Register. Legacy Over its history, Tempe House has evolved through a number of positions, both in its use as well as its purpose. Today, it remains a reminder of Australian history that is accessible to the public. Being able to see and to visit the Estate, to learn about its history and ownership has been truly remarkable. The wide variety of residents and associations, many who are significant in shaping Sydney, whether that

be from a business perspective, or advocating for migrant rights, has reminded the populace of growth of Bayside Council, and Sydney over time. The centuries that the building has remained, and the phases that it has witnessed, which give rise to its eclectic story, provokes in the minds of visitors the years in the future that it will continue to witness. No doubt, Tempe House will continue to stand as a testament to the growth of Sydney from colonial history.

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Acknowledgements I would like to extend my gratitude to my family for supporting me and endeavoring me to complete this essay. I likely would have not finished had they not encouraged me. I’d also like to thank the Ron Rathbone Local History Prize organizers for coordinating the competition and making it possible for me to enter. This also extends to the judges, whom I’m grateful to have read my work.

Being able to research on this topic is an absolute privilege, and I have learned a lot about local Bayside Council history in the process. Being able to interact with these pieces of history, and seeing the intertwining nature of vastly disparate personalities had made me realize how small our world really is. The connection between these people may only be Tempe House, yet this enduring feature reconciles a number of different histories. Being able to explore all of these has only been made possible by the vast spread of information propagated by the internet, as well as library systems.

Thank you for reading my work.