Camden Park Estate, New South Wales

Camden Park was a large sheep run established by John Macarthur south of Sydney near present day Camden in New South Wales, Australia. Macarthur, who had arrived in the colony of New South Wales in 1790 had quarrelled with successive Governors. He was forced to return to England to face trial (the charges were dismissed). While he was there, he gained the patronage of, among others, the Colonial Secretary, Lord Camden. Camden supported Macarthur and ordered Governor King to grant Macarthur 5,000 acres (20 km²) at a location of his own choosing. In 1805 when Macarthur returned to Sydney he choose the fertile 'Cowpastures', which was the first area beyond the Nepean river to be settled. King begrudgingly acceded to Lord Camdens wishes, and the grant was verified in 1806. Macarthur named his new property 'Camden Park' in honour of his patron.

The first structure built at Camden Park was a slab and bark hut, referred to as the 'miserable hut' by Governor Macquarie.

From 1809 to 1817, John Macarthur left Australia as a result of his involvement in the Rum Rebellion. His wife Elizabeth managed his interests in his absence. While in Europe, Macarthur studied agriculture and viticulture, and toured on foot throughout France with his sons James and William. John Macarthur was allowed to return to the colony in 1817 on condition that he no longer participate in public affairs. He turned his attentions to developing his considerable estates, and the merino flocks which he had moved to Camden Park.

In 1821 the Macarthurs built Belgenny Farm House, a timber 'cottage ornee'. This house and the related outbuildings, known as the 'Camden Park Home Farm', form one of the oldest surviving groups of farm structures in Australia. In 1832, after Macarthur had finally decided to make Camden the 'family seat', he commissioned architect John Verge to design a house of a stature suitable for one of the colony's leading and wealthiest families. The house was completed in 1835, shortly after John Macarthur's death in 1834. Sons James and William Macarthur took up occupancy in the new house, while their mother Elizabeth continue to reside at Elizabeth Farm at Parramatta, in which she had a life interest.

Camden Park house is a two-storey Palladian structure with single-storey pavilions to either side. It is built of stuccoed sandstock brick, with window and door architraves and other detailing of locally cut stone, including Marulan mudstone. The roof is of slate, while the service wings had the first documented use of corrugated iron in the colony. The house has a colonnaded verandah and sandstone portico. The dining room has a finely detailed arched apsial end, and there is a large drawing room, library and breakfast room connected 'en fillade' with views to the gardens and landscape beyond. The 'geometric' staircase is to one side, not centrally placed, perhaps reflecting its rural nature. The service wings stretch to the side, rather than the rear as is conventional with colonial houses, and have a central courtyard beneath which are large cisterns. The wings originally had no external windows or doors, only a strong gate at the North end, reflecting the secure nature of the house. A second, larger service court extended further northwards, though this was demolished later in the century. A separate, larger stable block was also built at this time. Large cellars stretch the entire length and width of the main block of the house, and were partly used for storing the estates considerable wine production. The extensive vineyards were later destroyed during the international phylloxera outbreak of the 1870s. On a hill directly facing the front of the house is the family mausoleum where John and Elizabeth Macarthur and most of their children are buried; a painting by Conrad Martens in the house collection depicts the structure. Members of the family in the direct line are still buried here.

The gardens surrounding Camden Park are the largest and most intact Australian early colonial garden in existence. They are largely the creation of Sir William Macarthur, who was a keen horticulturalist and operated a sizeable commercial nursery from the estate. Catalogues of plants for sale give us an excellent idea as to the contents of colonial gardens. Many trees date from the 19th century, including a bauhinia planted by Ludwig Leichardt, the oldest camellia in the country - the camellia anemoniflora or 'waratah' camellia, a Queensland 'bottle tree' and unusual jubaea palms. Camden Park has always been associated with camellias. William produced the first Australian camellia cultivar here, the 'Aspasia macarthur'.

The gardens and landscape are a combination of the colonial picturesque - which in the Cowpastures area had a decidedly 'arcadian' quality - and the gardenesque. Vistas from the house stretch out to nearby Mt Annan, Mt Gilead, the church spire at Camden, and the family cemetery.

Many of the furnishings still seen in the house at Camden Park were acquired by James Macarthur on a subsequent trip to England, where he met his wife Emily Stone. Their only child Elizabeth was to inherit the estate. She later married Captain Arthur Onslow, and through that marriage their son James Macarthur-Onslow was to inherit both Camden Park and Elizabeth Bay House in Sydney.

After the death of her husband in 1882, Elizabeth Onslow took her children to England in 1887. While the children were at school, Elizabeth studied dairy farming and on returning to Camden in 1889 she founded a dairy farming complex, the Camden Vale Milk Co, which eventually merged with the Dairy Farmers' Co-operative Milk Co in 1928.

It is likely that Camden Park is the oldest post-1788 property still owned and occupied by descendants of its original family, the present owners being the Macarthur-Stanham family. The house and garden are open each year on the second last full weekend of September.

External links

* [http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_02_2.cfm?itemid=5051536 NSW Heritage Office: Statement of Significance]
* [http://www.walkabout.com.au/locations/NSWCamden.shtml Guide to Camden including description of Camden Park]