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A Local and Family History Site - New South Wales, Australia

Tahmoor NSW

Historic Buildings

Tahmoor House

Tahmoor House c. 1915

This lovely old Colonial Georgian style home was built as an Inn for travellers along the Great South Road. An ex convict, Edward Doyle, was the first European settler to own the property and by September 1822 he had built a dwelling to house his wife and four children and was growing crops on the land, a 50 acre grant from the Crown.

Doyle soon realised that an Inn providing accommodation and liquor would be welcomed by travellers and could prove to be very prosperous. Unfortunately for Doyle, he could not afford the fee for a liquor licence and his representations to Governor Brisbane to waive the fee were unsuccessful.

In 1824 he sold the property to William Klensendorlffe, at German who had served in the British Navy and arrived free in the Colony in 1818. The explorers Hume and Hovell, spent a night a Klensendorlffe’s on their Southern expedition in October 1824. Klensendorlffe could afford a publican’s licence and was trading as an inn keeper by April 1825 when he was before the local Magistrate for serving liquor to convicts. Whether Klensendorlffe added to Doyle’s dwelling or started building afresh is not known. In a letter to the Colonial Secretary in 1829, Klensendorlffe stated that he had built a ‘a weatherboarded house’.

During Klensendorlffe’s time, the Inn does not appear to have had a name other than ‘Klensendorlffe’s’ or the ‘Myrtle Creek Inn’. The first officially recorded name of ‘The Traveller’ appears on the Publican’s Licence of 1830 granted to Ralph Hush who while the licensee, did not own the property.

On Hush’s departure in 1835, James Crispe took over as licensee, purchasing the property and adjoining land from Klensendorlffe in 1836. Crispe was known for his ‘...courtly bow and polite but somewhat grandiose style of welcome…’ and also for his bravery when encountering bushrangers. In 1843 he assisted the local constables in arresting two bushrangers who had held up a couple at Bargo River. While the constables followed at a distance through the bush, Crispe rode along the road until he was confronted by the armed men. One of the bushrangers held on to the horse’s bridle and as Crispe dismounted he seized the bushranger around the neck and took his gun from him. The constables then rushed out of the bush and arrested the bushrangers.

Crispe took great pride in his property, which was split by the road, establishing gardens on both sides. On the opposite side to the Inn there was a summer house ‘…the wonder of all visitors, and radiant in green and many bright colours…’ Fruit trees and a giant Aloe also formed part of the garden. A giant Aloe still grows opposite, could this be from Crispe’s garden?

The 1840's was a time of economic depression for New South Wales and it undoubtedly had its affect on James Crispe as he was declared bankrupt in 1844. He moved to Picton where he became the licensee of the George Inn. The mortgagee took possession of the Inn and for the next two years, James Blake was licensee.

The name of the Inn changed to ‘The Pastoral Inn’on John Gray taking over the licence in 1847, purchasing the property in 1853. Gray held the licence until 1867 when the progress of the railway through Thirlmere caused the Inn to fail. He continued to provide accommodation advertising ‘Apartments’ in the Sydney Morning Herald under the heading ‘Change of Air’. Like Crispe, Gray went bankrupt and the property was sold in 1870 to James Watson, a butcher of Sydney.

The building then became a private residence and was leased to the McInnes family and later to a Lancelot Siddons who referred to the property as ‘Myrtle House’ From 1874, one of the buildings was used for the government school. The property was sold in 1879 to George Bradbury . During the 41 years of his occupation of the property, George Bradbury named it ‘Leigham Holme', Picton’ and involved himself extensively in local affairs.

By 1920 many changes had occurred. The locality now had a permanent name, the railway passed behind the property and two large subdivisions of land had brought many new people to the area. George Bradbury decided to leave and sold the house and adjoining several hundred acres of land to property developers.

The property was subdivided into over 200 blocks and advertised for sale in 1921 as ‘The Tahmoor Park Estate’. It is from that date that the building became known as ‘Tahmoor Park House’ and later just ‘Tahmoor House’.

The house was purchased by John Sanderson who used it as a boarding house and tea rooms for a number of years, one of his regular lunch guests being Prime Minister J H Scullin. The house changed hands a number of times before being purchased by George and Julie Rhodes in 1972. By this time the building was in a very sad state of repair and required extensive refurbishing. The owners since 1985, John and Kathleen Colless have continued to care for and maintain this significant piece of our local heritage.

Ironmongie

Ironmongie (Couridjah) c. 1911

This house was built in 1888 by Charles Butler who resided on the property for a number of years before leasing it to various tenants. In 1901, John Johnstone Robertson and his family became tenants, purchasing the property in 1904. During their occupation, the house was called ‘Couridjah’. One of the sons, Struan Robertson, returned to farm the property after the First World War. For a number of years he was employed by the Postal Department, delivering the mail between Tahmoor, Bargo and Pheasants Nest. Struan Street (formerly Station Street), was named in his honour some years before his death.

In the 1930's and again from the mid 1940’s until her death in 1956, Mrs Pauline Payten lived in the house and she named it ‘Ironmongie’ after her property in Cooma.

Denfield Villa

Denfield Villa c. 1921

This Victorian Georgian style building was erected circa 1858 and has been used for various purposes over the past 130 plus years.

The vacant land was purchased from the Crown by Catherine Scutt in 1855 for the sum of eighty pounds. Three years later she sold the property to John Ashcraft** for two hundred pounds which would indicate some substantial improvements had been made to the land. John Ashcraft conducted an inn under the name ‘The Australian Arms’ which ceased trading in 1867.

In 1872 Mr Ashcraft allowed two rooms in the building to be used for the first government school. A change of ownership to the Fieldhouse brothers of Campbelltown in 1876 brought about the name ‘Denfield Villa’and in 1881 it was leased to the Department of Education as a residence for the teacher at Myrtle Creek School, the building being described at that time as ‘…a comfortable residence, contains 12 rooms, with kitchen, outhouses, garden and 80 acres of lands fenced…’.

From 1893 until 1902 members of the Fletcher family conducted the West Bargo/Cordeaux Post Office from Denfields. The Fletcher family were still in residence in 1904 when one of the daughters was teaching music. By 1918 the property was owned by Mr J R Stewart who ran the ‘Denfield Poultry Yards’ and referred to the property as ‘Denfield Park’. Mr Stewart also conducted the post office from his premises from 1917 until 1925.

Mr & Mrs Bernard Miles occupied the property from the late 1940’s until the early 1980’s. During many of their years in Tahmoor, Mr & Mrs Miles conducted a furniture store from the premises.

Stratford House

Stratford House c. 1921

This very imposing residence was built circa 1889 for Napoleon Jean Lisson as a country retreat by Picton builder, William Pritchard. In 1898 Mrs Emma Lisson and her young sons together with her parents, became permanent residents following the conviction of her husband for the murder of her younger sister. Emma Lisson reverted to her maiden name of Gorrick.

From 1914 to 1916 the residence was leased by Mr Percival Campbell Johnstone as a boarding and day school for boys under the name ‘Picton College’. The College closed on Mr Johnstone’s death.

A public school was conducted out of part of the building from 1917 until the end of 1919 when Mrs Gorrick informed the Education Department that she wished to establish a boarding house in the premises. In later years, the house was leased to Mrs Richardson who with her daughters Lillian and Beatrice, also used it as a boarding house.

The first Presbyterian Church service was held at Stratford House in June1920.

The Gorrick family retained ownership until the 1960's. The present owners, Bill and Gail Douglas, have carried out extensive refurbishment and improvements to the property, especially the garden .which has on a number of occasions been opened to the public under the national Open Garden Scheme.

References:

AONSW. Colonial Secretary's Papers 1788-1825, Petition of Edward Doyle, Fiche 3129; 4/1841B No. 230 and Fiche 3004; 4/1829, No. 92.
LTO of NSW. Lease and Release. Edward Doyle to Wm Klensendorlffe Reg. no. 694 Book K and AONSW. Memorial of Wm Klensendorlffe Fiche 3066; 4/1835A No. 173, p.117.
Jervis. J. "Wingecarribee and the Southern Highlands", Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, Vol 23, p.238.
AONSW. Cawdor Police Record of Cases 1825, Reel 665, 4/7567, 17 April 1825.
AONSW. Colonial Secretary's Letters Received re Land 1827-1856, Memorial of William Klensendorlffe, Reel 1150, 2/7901.
AONSW. NSW Publican's Licences, Reel 5049, No. 114 of 1830.
Ibid. Reel 5052, 36/117 and LTO of NSW, Indenture of Lease and Release, Klensendorlffe to Crispe No. 682 Book K.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 June 1865, p.5. A Visit to the Fitzroy Mines and AONSW. Bench of Magistrates Records, Case against Kennedy & Thornton 11 March 1843. 
The Sydney Morning Herald, op.cit.
AONSW. Insolvency File of J Crispe, No,. 1264 Register 2.
LTO of NSW. Conveyance Reg. No. 115 Book 7. Assignee of J Crispe to P Plower and AONSW. Card Index to Publican's Licences.
AONSW. Card Index to Publican's Licences and LTO of NSW. Conveyance Reg. No. 991 Book 25, Plower to Gray.
Sydney Morning Herald, 13 June 1868.
LTO of NSW Conveyance No. 842 Book 117, Gray to Watson.
Reminiscences of Angus McInnes, unpublished.
AONSW. Department of Education File, 5/14903.4 Bargo.
LTO of NSW, Conveyance Reg. No. 348 Book 196, Watson to Bradbury.
LTO of NSW. Conveyance Reg. No. 787 Book 1178, Teale & Bellamy as trustees with G & A Bradbury to Hardie, Storie & Phippard.
Knox. F B. Tahmoor House, unpublished and undated, p. 4 and Picton Post 28 October 1931.
LTO of NSW. Primary Application No. 13803, Statutory Declaration of H C M Garling.
 Picton Post, 27 April 1972.
Conversation between Mrs Dot Barber, granddaughter of J J Robertson, and the author in 1990 and Betty Wallace..
Government Gazette of July-December 1865, Publican=s Licences, p. 2048.
AONSW. Council of Education file, Bargo, 1/73.
LTO of NSW. Conveyance Ashcraft to Fieldhouse Reg. No. 107 Bk. 163 and AONSW. Department of Education File, Bargo, 5/1480.4.
Australian Archives. Email from Mark Prince to the author dated 27 March 2008. Post Office file on Cordeaux and Land Sale Brochure of Tahmoor Park Estate, 1921.
Knox. F Bruce. History of Tahmoor, undated and unpublished.
Picton Post & Advocate, 12 October 1898 and AONSW. Deceased Estate Files 20/1047.
Ibid. 1 November 1916, Obituary of P C Johnstone.
AONSW. Department of Education File, Tahmoor, 5/17758.2.
Op.cit. and Better Wallace and Joy Lowe.
Knox. F B. op.cit.