Rose Farm Cottage circa 1820, Ermington
Parramatta: Bramshaw House, Oatlands 1890 | Campbell (Verge) / Broughton House 1838-9 | Oatlands House 1833-40+ | Rose Farm Cottage 1820 | UFO encounter, Parramatta 1868 |
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| Rose Farm Cottage, view looking northwest Source: Pello Real Estate 2025. |
Michael Organ & Graham Shirley
Contents
- Introduction
- Chronology
- Images
- Comments
- References
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Introduction
Late in 2025 the historic Rose Farm Cottage circa 1820, formerly part of the Rose Hill Estate, Ermington (Parramatta), was put up for sale, with a list price of circa Aus$2.5 million. The advertisement informed us it was situated upon a block of approximately 1.8 hectares, with a suggestion of the possible subdivision into two. The cottage sat awkwardly at an angle, in line with direct sight towards the Parramatta River as per its 1820 origins, but out of sync with later street alignment. It is surrounded by residential development, and any subdivision would prove disastrous, hemming it in tightly on three sides without curtilage. It is unfortunate that it does not front directly onto George Kendall Riverside Park, 3-4 blocks away, as it did up until the late 1940s.
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| Aerial view looking east northeast, Pello Real Estate, 2025. |
On 10 January 2024 the Parramatta Historical Society posted the following information on the building and its ownership on its Facebook site, with much of the text extracted from the State government heritage listing:
Rose Farm Cottage formerly McDonald’s Farm, Ermington.
Rose Farm House is a heritage listed property located at Ermington, New South Wales. Built circa 1820 by Alexander McDonalds (c.1745-1821), who was the original grantee. It is of historic significance to the local area because it is a rare surviving example of a historic early 1820s Colonial Georgian style cottage which has survived almost intact; the property demonstrates the importance of the river as an early transport route and the site grounds possess archaeological potential to contribute to an understanding of 18th and 19th century farming settlement. Alexander McDonald was one of eight Royal Marines who came to Australia in the First Fleet and was granted 130 acres of land along the Parramatta River (Field of Mars) on 3 January 1792 by Governor Arthur Phillip. These grants covered much of the modern suburb of Ermington. This single storey Georgian cottage and surrounds was also known as McDonald’s Farm. Alexander McDonald farmed until his death in 1821 and the house he built (on the property that later became known as Rose Farm) still survives as a private residence.
According to a Coroner’s Inquest, McDonald died on 21 December 1821 with his wife Mary, son-in-law Thomas Style/Stiles and a government servant from “accidental drowning, in consequence of the whole party being in a state of intoxication and quarrelling” while returning home from Sydney near Pulpit Rock (Sydney Gazette, 22 December 1821, p. 3; 29 December 1821, p. 3). George McDonald inherited the property and on 12 March 1833 sold it to Henry Harvey for £1,500. Harvey was a former convict turned drapery businessman, baker, and later in 1861 was among the first nine aldermen elected for Parramatta Municipal Council. Other holders of the property in the nineteenth century included Nathaniel Payten, grandson of Harvey through his adopted daughter Mary; farmer George and his wife Elizabeth Miller, Alderman Edward Miller; divorced couple Heber and Martha Eyles; John Elliot Cameron – who sold off certain land in Ermington and Rydalmere to carry on manufacturing bricks as Parramatta Riber Brick, Tile, and Pottery Company, Limited; florist James Sutherland and Flora Sadler Sandeman (d. 25 June 1931); spinster Ella Alice Brown; steward John Henry Stower; Joseph and Rita May Dolan; Patrick and Patricia May Moy; and private piano collector Stewart Symonds.
The farm was known as “Rose Hill Farm” in 1872 when it was offered at auction. At that date, the property included an orchard, orangery, paddocks, plus a garden and shrubbery along with the cottage, laundry, stables and coach house, and a private wharf (‘Rose Farm Wharf’), constructed from double stone with earth infill. Features include sandstone internal and external walls, and mature fig trees. The corrugated iron roof is one of the few alterations since its construction......
A number of comments on the posting noted that the property was run down and called for it to be purchased by Council before it was demolished.
On 16 October 2025 the Facebook Rydalmere, Ermington and Dundas Community group posted the following notice of the sale through Pello Real Estate:
Looks like Rose Farm Cottage is up for sale! This historic property was built c1820s and was built by one of Australia’s first [Royal] Marines, a rare surviving early Colonial Georgian cottage. As I understand, it is protected under the Parramatta Local Environmental Plan and may face serious legal obstacles and justification as to why it would need to be demolished and why it couldn’t be retained or adaptively restored. However… chances are, it will end up getting demolished and some developer will just come in with a DA and make a nice buck out of it. It would be very interesting to see publicly if and how Council would approve of such a decision to approve any form of full DA for redeveloping the property. Thoughts?
In response, City of Parramatta Councillor Kellie Darley posted the following outline of the then current protections:
Thank you everyone for your concern with preserving our local, important heritage! I was informed in June that sadly with the passing of the owner that the property would likely be sold. I sought information from Council officers at the time, who informed me: "That the property is listed as a heritage item (Item No. I150) under Schedule 5 of Parramatta Local Environmental Plan 2023 (‘LEP’). Given the property is listed as a heritage item in our LEP this will ensure it is afforded adequate statutory protection, despite any changes in ownership. If the new owner was seeking to make any changes to the site / building they will need to be in accordance with:
• Clause 5.10 of the LEP, typically any work to a heritage item (including tree removal, demolition, alterations, additions, excavation, construction of a new building, subdivision or the like) would require approval of the Council.
• It is noted that Council can issue written advice outlining that no approval is required for certain minor works or maintenance of a heritage item that would not adversely affect the heritage significance of the item.
• Further, there are also several very minor works that can be undertaken on a heritage listed property as exempt development under State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, such as barbeques, clothes hoists and pathways."
I alerted the National Trust Parramatta branch president at the time so they could also assist with monitoring the condition of the property. I hope this helps alleviate some of your concerns.
Graham Shirley visited the site on 10 November 2025 and subsequently described it and some of its history on a Facebook posting three days later, as follows:
Rose Farm House – 15-17 Honor St., Ermington
Rose Farm House (also known as Rose Cottage) was built circa 1820 on a grant of 130 acres made by Governor Phillip on 3 January 1792 to Alexander McDonald (c. 1745-1821), a former Royal Marine. On McDonald’s death, the property was inherited by George McDonald, and he sold it to Henry Harvey on 12 March 1832 for £1,500. Other 19th century owners of the property included Nathaniel Payten, George and Elizabeth Miller, Alderman Edward Miller, and John Elliott Cameron. By 1872, the property was known as the Rose Hill Farm Estate when it was offered for auction. The auction advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald of 28 February 1872 included that the property had “large frontage to the Parramatta River, with stone wharf, containing 130 acres by grant subdivided into orangery [orange trees], orchard [apple, pear and stone fruit trees], paddocks, &c.” Improvements to the cottage comprised “commodious verandah cottage, built of stone and brick, containing hall, 10 feet by 18; drawing and dining rooms, 18 by 16 each; and 6 other comfortable rooms; large kitchen, store-room, laundry, brick stable of 4 stalls, coach houses, and other out-offices; the water supply has never been known to fail, and the homestead improvements are surrounded by a well arranged garden and shrubbery.”
Today, the cottage survives on a double block currently for sale. While some of the farmlands which once surrounded it have been subdivided for housing, the bulk of Rose Farm’s former lands are now occupied by the George Kendall Riverside Park, where the remnants of the Rose Farm Wharf can be found. The cottage is heritage listed on the City of Parramatta’s 2023 Local Environment Plan as well as by the National Trust. The statement of significance for the State Heritage Inventory entry for Rose Farm House reads:
Rose Farm House is of significance for the local area for historical reasons and as a representative example of early (1820s) Colonial Georgian style cottages in the area, and a rare surviving example of the development further to the original grants. The historic property has the potential to reveal further information on the history of the wider area. Few of the houses erected along the river by the original grantees now remain and this is both a good example of a Georgian cottage and an important remnant from the early years of European settlement in the area. The property demonstrates the importance of the river as an early transport route and the site grounds possess archaeological potential to contribute to an understanding of eighteenth and nineteenth century farming settlement.
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| Site plan, Pello Real Estate, 2025. |
Additionally, the government heritage listing describes it as follows:
History: Built by Alexander McDonald in 1820 on land granted to him on the Parramatta River (Field of Mars) in 1792. Land later sold by Macdonald to Henry Harvey in 1833 with a cottage upon it. Other holders of the property in the nineteenth century included Nathaniel Payten. The farm was known as "Rose Hill Farm" in 1872 when it was offered at auction. At that date, the property included an orchard, orangery and paddocks, plus a garden and shrubbery along with the cottage, laundry, stables and coach house. The National Trust (Parramatta Branch) refers to the Rose Farm wharf.
Description: The cottage is a single-storey, sandstock-brick Colonial Georgian style cottage on sandstone foundations, built to face the river. It has a number of features of its style and date of creation, including window shutters, paired columns to verandah across the front with return to both sides. The roof is hipped, with corrugated iron roofing. A brick chimney survives at rear. The property has a low stone wall to Honor Street, picked sandstone blocks along fence line with wrought iron palisade gates, a wharf established exclusively to serve the property, and mature Fig trees. The verandah has a corrugated iron skillion roof with hipped corners on timber posts, and sandstone flagging floor. From the verandah, the house can be entered via French doors flanking the front door, all featuring toplights. Additions include a sandstock brick wing at rear.
Despite the heritage statement quoted above, Rose Farm Cottage is obviously of more than low grade "local" significance, and deserving of a state listing, such is the rarity in 2026 of early Colonial Period residences. The photographs posted by Shirley and comments on the Facebook postings suggest that the building is run down and in need of restoration. A number of historically relevant postings to Facebook were made, including the following by a relation of one of the previous owners:
* Leone Cutler: My Great Uncle, who served in World War I and was one of the last Australian soldiers evacuated from Gallipoli, owned this property at one point in time. When he returned after the war he took up farming and sold his produce at Flemington markets. My mother always used to say the house was haunted and made her feel very uncomfortable when she visited. There were also many relics from the convict era still in situ at the time. How appalling that this historic property is about to be torn asunder. How is this even allowed to happen!
The following historical chronology provides more concise information on the building and related site.
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2. Chronology
Unnamed local Indigenous family groups of the Barramattagal people owned and occupied for thousands of years the specific area on the northern side of the Parramatta river upon which Rose Farm Cottage was later erected and is now known as the suburb of Ermington. This was illegally claimed on behalf of the British Crown by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770, and officially taken up with the arrival of the First Fleet under Governor Arthur Philip in January 1788. Subsequent owners following that event included:
- King George III 1770 - 1792
- Alexander McDonald 1792 - 1821
- George McDonald 1821 - 1832
- Henry Harvey 1832 - .....
- Nathaniel Payten, grandson of Henry Harvey / William Payten .... - 1872
- Farmers George and Elizabeth Miller circa 1892
- Alderman Edward Miller
- Divorced couple Heber and Martha Eyles
- John Eliot Cameron of the Parramatta River Brick, Tile and Pottery Company
- Florist James Sutherland
- Flora Sadler Sandeman
- Spinster Ella Alice Brown
- Steward John Henry Stower
- Joseph and Rita May Dolan
- Patrick and Patricia May Moy
- Private piano collector Stewart Symonds
The fact of such a large number of owners is worth noting, though no reason for that is known. The following chronological listing will perhaps reveal some of the reasons, including an association with the gradual subdivision of the original 130 acre grant over time. The listing goes from oldest to recent.
1788
* In November 1788 Governor Arthur Phillip established an agricultural settlement (a farm) at a place west of Sydney by the river, at a locality he called Rose Hill. It was for a brief period known as Rose Hill Farm and was the site of what became the town of Parramatta.
1790
* Rose Hill Farm converted into a town.
1791
* Governor Arthur Phillip changed the name of the area formerly known as Rose Hill to Parramatta, the Aboriginal word used to describe the site by the traditional owners, the Barramattagal people.
1792
* Governor Phillip grants 130 acres on the Parramatta River to Alexander McDonald (c.1745 - 1821), a retired Royal Marine. The general area is known as the Field of Mars.
1820
* A cottage is erected by Alexander McDonald on his 130 acres of land by the Parramatta River.
* Field of Mars manuscript map, State Library of New South Wales, circa 1820 - 1834. Extract showing the McDonald grant.
1821
* 22 December, Sydney Gazette: Report on the death by drowning of Alexander McDonald and his wife Mary and two others. His son George inherits his farm by the Parramatta River.
1832
* 12 March: George McDonald sells the 130 acre land next to the Parramatta River to Henry Harvey for £1,500.
1833
* Field of Mars manuscript map, State Library of New South Wales, circa 1833. Extract.
1862
* Map, Field of Mars, showing original land grantees, including Alexander McDonald.
* 2 June, Sydney Morning Herald:
1863
* 21 July, Sydney Morning Herald:
PAYTON - July 16th, at her residence, Rose Hill Farm, Parramatta River, Mrs. William Payton, of a son.
This is the earliest known reference by the name Rose Hill in regard to the former Alexander McDonald property located adjacent to the Parramatta River, east of Parramatta.
1871
* 7 January, Sydney Morning Herald: Advertisement for sale by public auction of Rose Hill Estate, Parramatta, by owner William Payten:
1872
* 28 February, Sydney Morning Herald: Rose Hill Farm Estate is offered for sale by auction on behalf of the mortgagee.
1891
* Ermington & Rydalmere, Dundas, Field of Mars parish map. Shows the 'Dundas wharf' attached to the former Alexander McDonald land adjacent to the Parramatta River, and the simplified street layout in place at the time.
1893
* Map showing part of the subdivision of the original McDonald 130 acre grant, with Elizabeth Miller as owner of the site containing the cottage.
1921
* Dr. John I.C. Cosh, Ermington - Rose Cottage or Farm now in Honour Street, 1921, watercolour, Views in Sydney and New South Wales, ca. 1909-1944, State Library of New South Wales.
1932
* John Cosh, Rose Cottage, Ermington, 1932, watercolour on paper, 25.5 x 34 cm, National Library of Australia.
1943
* Ermington aerial map, 1943.
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| Ermington, aerial map, 1943. |
It can be seen from these images that there was no development around Rose Farm Cottage at the time, with a direct link to the river still present and Honor Street yet to be extended passed the cottage.
late 60s / early 70s
* School excursions visit Rose Farm Cottage, as it is obviously seen as an important heritage site.
1964
* In 1964, artists Patrick and Patricia Mary Moy discover the historic Rose Farm house and purchase it as their first family home in Ermington.
1972
* Photograph of Rose Farm Cottage by Frank and Judith Leary. Note the what appears to be a slated roof.
2009
2009: Aerial view of the southern section of the Ermington area, with reference to Rose Farm Cottage and the nearby parklands.
2025
- July: Rose Farm House discussed by City of Parramatta councilors.
- October: Rose Farm House offered for sale by Pello Real Estate.
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3. Images
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| View looking east, Pello Real Estate, 2025. |
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| View looking west, Pello Real Estate, 2025. |
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| View looking north, Pello Real Estate, 2025. |
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3. Comments
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4. References
Cameron, Michaela Anne, Field of Mars [map], St. Johns, n.d.
Ermington, Dictionary of Sydney, State Library of New South Wales, 2021.
Parramatta Historical Society, Rose Farm Cottage, Facebook, 10 January 2024.
Pello Real Estate, 15-17 Honor Street, Ermington, realestate.com, accessed 4 February 2026.
Rose Farm, Ermington, Parramatta History and Heritage, City of Parramatta, accessed 4 February 2026.
Rose Farm Cottage, Facebook - Parramatta Historical Society, 10 January 2024.
Rose Farm House, State Heritage Inventory, New South Wales Government, 2011.
Shirley, Graham, Rose Farm House, Facebook - Old Sydney Album, 13 November 2025.
Wolfe, Adam, An Introduction to the Maritime Archaeological Significance of Ten Sites on the banks of the Parramatta River, Gutteridge, Haskins & Davey Pty Ltd., 5 June 1990, 31p.
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Parramatta: Bramshaw House, Oatlands 1890 | Campbell (Verge) / Broughton House 1838-9 | Oatlands House 1833-40+ | Rose Farm Cottage 1820 | UFO encounter, Parramatta, 1868 |
Last updated: 5 February 2026
Michael Organ & Graham Shirley, Australia
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