4. Major NSW houses of Federation Arts and Crafts Style

Booloominbah, 60 Madgwick Drive, Armidale, NSW 2350

designed by Architect John Horbury Hunt

Booloominbah is of NSW State heritage significance as one of the largest private country houses built in Australia during the 19th century and amongst the most avant-garde domestic Arts and Crafts style designs of the time.

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• Designed as an interpretation of an English country house, Booloominbah sits in a relatively intact landscape.

• As such, it is exemplary of the work of architect John Horbury Hunt. As well as being large, it is also extravagant in decoration, in particular the use of stained glass.

• The fabric substantially demonstrates the wealth and influence of pastoralism in NSW in late 19th century.

• Its gift by Thomas R. Forster was the catalyst for the establishment of the New England University College, the first in Australia to be located outside of a capital city.

• The gift of such a substantial house demonstrates the historical circumstances of the White family's involvement, the impetus from the local church and community groups, and the 'new state' movement in establishing Armidale as a major educational centre in NSW. (Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners 1992)

Landscape:

• Booloominbah sits in a landscape of an English country estate, including two drives, a gate and inner gate, a dam and a deer park below to its south.

• The main drive is flanked by a double avenue of English elm trees (Ulmus procera). The location of the second drive is marked by a section of remnant hedge.

• The deer park and house are surrounded by a collation of mature trees including 'English' (European) elm (Ulmus procera), poplars (Populus spp.) and many more.

Gardens:

• Booloominbah is surrounded by three distinct gardens: the north, south and east. The northern garden is boarded by a hedge and is predominantly a lawn area. The garden is intersected by 1990s path.

• The gardens to the south and east are lawns interspersed with mature trees, including (to the south) a Bunya pine (Araucaria bidwillii), Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica) and Chir/Himalayan pine (Pinus roxburghii).

• A 1992 report indicates there was a rose garden located to the south of the house.

House:

• Booloominbah is probably the largest private house built in Australia in the 19th century. (Only the Vice-regal houses at Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart are larger.)

• Booloominbah boasts four reception rooms, billiards room, business room, smoking room, five principal, seven secondary bedrooms, two dressing rooms, boudoir, four bathrooms, lavatory, night and day nurseries, together with reception and stair halls on a considerable scale. As well there are two secondary staircases.

• The house's design by Australian standards is extremely avant-garde and smart for its date of 1883-8.

• The artistic house made popular in England with teaching of William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood was not built in Australia much before the 1890s, except perhaps in cases where fashionable clients had their houses designed in England, e.g. Alton (1882) in Victoria by J.P. Seddon, and Caerleon in N.S.W. (1887) by Maurice B. Adams.