Part one of a two-part series
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"FOR generations of State governors, Hillview was a secluded country house where, free from public expectation or scrutiny, they could spend time with their families, relax and, like Lord Wakehurst, potter about the property in a baggy cardigan and moth-eaten tennis shoes."
With these words Sydney Morning Herald writer Geraldine O'Brien introduced a heritage article on the proposed restoration of Hillview in 2001.
Hillview stands on a knoll five kilometres south of Moss Vale, where the Old South Road (now Illawarra Highway) approaches the village of Sutton Forest.
As it is currently the subject of controversy due to a company wishing to do test drilling for coal on the property, this series presents an historical overview of Hillview.
In 1819 Governor Macquarie commissioned Dr Charles Throsby to build this first road through the district and land grants were made to encourage settlement.
Early settlers included Benjamin Crew, Charles Wright and John Larkin (or Larkham) who each received 60 acres in 1822. Their grants of neighbouring lands at Sutton Forest were later to become the property of the Queen and the site of the State Governors' country residence.
From the earliest days of the colony, the Governors had felt the need for a residence outside Sydney to which they could move for a change of air and relief from summer heat.
Port Hacking was considered, being a seaside locale, but was a tedious trip by coach involving two river crossings.
The Earl of Belmore, Governor from 1868, made use of Throsby Park as a country retreat and was quick to realise the advantage that the just-opened railway to Moss Vale provided in terms of access to the area. The next Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, often stayed privately in the Southern Highlands.
When Lord August Loftus arrived as Governor in 1879 it was decided that the colony should purchase a house at Sutton Forest for use as an alternate vice-regal residence outside Sydney.
In 1881 the NSW Government, under Premier Sir Henry Parkes, purchased for 6000 pounds a property at Sutton Forest called Prospect that had been built by Robert Pemberton Richardson as a country residence.
Richardson retired there but soon found retirement unsatisfying and decided to return to Richardson & Wrench, the stock and station real estate firm he had established.
In 1850 he had come to NSW from Liverpool in England, where his father had trained him to be a wool merchant. He joined Mort & Co, the prominent firm of auctioneers and wool brokers in Sydney, where he soon became a valued employee and was promoted in 1855 to land manager.
His work brought him to the Sutton Forest district where he met and married Violet Alston of Woodside, a prosperous Moss Vale property. They lived in Sydney.
At the end of 1857 Richardson resigned from Mort and set up on his own, soon building quite a reputation both for his integrity and the sound and efficient manner in which he handled his clients' affairs. In 1860 he took Edward Wrench as a partner.
The firm of Richardson & Wrench began to specialise in stock and station sales with the emphasis on country estates. In 1866 Richardson acquired Benjamin Crew's 60 acres and later bought Wright's and Larkham's acres.
He called the property Prospect and had a two-storey house with detached stables built from stone quarried on the estate.
So well did Richardson prosper that he retired from his firm in 1875 and took up residence at Prospect.
By then the Sutton Forest district had become a tourist destination because the Great Southern Railway that opened in 1867 brought visitors attracted by the healthy climate of the Highlands. Moss Vale grew into a busy town located around the railway station that had first been called Sutton Forest North.
Richardson sold Prospect to the Government in 1881, returned to active business undertakings and built himself another country residence.
Prospect, set in beautiful surroundings on 143 acres, was renamed Hillview and, following the purchase, Colonial Architect James Barnet proposed plans for extensive additions to the house to make it suitable as a vice-regal residence.
The building was extensively remodelled, with the staircases and other woodwork being done by William Barnsley of Sutton Forest. When completed in 1883 the house had 46 rooms, including nine bathrooms, and over three acres of landscaped gardens where many trees and shrubs were planted.
The alterations to the property and mansion cost the Government 10,000 pounds a mighty sum in those days, which caused a furious debate in the Legislative Assembly.
To be continued
This article compiled by PHILIP MORTON is sourced from the archives of Berrima District Historical & Family History Society, Bowral Rd, Mittagong. Phone 4872 2169.
Email bdhsarchives@gmail.com.
Web: berrimadistricthistoricalsociety.org.au