Elizabeth Farm, New South Wales

Elizabeth Farm is an historic estate in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Elizabeth Farm was the family home of wool pioneer, John and his wife Elizabeth Macarthur. It was commenced in 1793 on a slight hill overlooking the upper reaches of Parramatta River, 23 kilometres west of Sydney Cove. This area belonged to the Burramattagal clan of the Dharug people, whose presence is recalled in the name Parramatta. The small, so... more

Elizabeth Farm is an historic estate in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Elizabeth Farm was the family home of wool pioneer, John and his wife Elizabeth Macarthur. It was commenced in 1793 on a slight hill overlooking the upper reaches of Parramatta River, 23 kilometres west of Sydney Cove. This area belonged to the Burramattagal clan of the Dharug people, whose presence is recalled in the name Parramatta. The small, solid three-roomed brick cottage was transformed, by the late 1820s, into a smart country house, surrounded by ‘pleasure grounds’, orchards and almost 1000 acres (4 km²) of semi-cleared land. Enveloped within later extensions, the early cottage remains intact, making it Australia’s oldest surviving European dwelling. It is managed by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales as a museum that is open to the public for a modest fee. The homestead, now a house museum, is creatively furnished with props and copies of objects known to belong to... less