Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2020L01339:reg:372:p47
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2020L01339
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 372 (pt 47/62)
Character Range: 293686–296594

Head Keeper's Cottage and this work demolished most of the remaining section of the Greenway lodge (only the eastern wall survived).

In 1976 the Macquarie Lighthouse was fully automated and there were no longer keepers to be accommodated. During the 1980s some of the rooms in the Head Keeper's Cottage were used for interpretative purposes. In the 1990s the quarters was leased to a tenant. In 2001 the building became part of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.

Today, the former Head Keeper's Cottage is the oldest intact freestanding lightkeeper's quarters in Australia. Although that at Low Head in Tasmania is earlier (1833), it is not nearly as intact.

DESCRIPTION

The Head Keeper's Quarters is mainly Colonial Georgian in style, and has sandstone walls (except for the 1899 western wing which is stuccoed brick). The roof is mainly hipped and some of the earlier timber shingles remain under the present Colourbond cladding (corrugated galvanised iron and corrugated asbestos cement were also used to clad the roof at different times.) Gables on the western wing have decorative timber infill, reflecting Federation stylistic influences. Windows are mainly 12-pane sashes, and doors are four-panel. There are timber verandahs front and back, and that at the front has a valance and picket fence. Chimneys have twin pots. Internally, there is some lath and plaster walling, and several early chimney pieces. A pair of Barnet-designed gate posts is adjacent to the building.

The Cottage is a rare example of a mainly 1830s government cottage residence, and is a good example of such a building. It provides material evidence of the living conditions of lighthouse keepers and their families over a lengthy period of time. Due to its form, scale and materials, the building contributes to the visual harmony of the lightstation complex.

The cottage is part of the balanced layout of the lightstation buildings. These include the Barnet-designed Lighthouse, the Assistant Keepers Quarters, the remains of the Engineers Quarters, the stables and the Greenway-period retaining wall. The spaces between each structure are significant.

Contributing to the place's aesthetic qualities is the setting: a bare, windswept area on top of dramatic sandstone cliffs.

History Not Available

Condition and Integrity

Various changes have been made to the Cottage over the years. By the late 1970s the building was in poor condition, and the outbuildings had been lost. During the 1980s the Department of Housing and Construction carried out external conservation works, and further conservation was undertaken in the 1990s. The building is now in good condition. (February 2002)

Location

Part of Macquarie Lighthouse Group, situated south-west of Lighthouse, Old South Head Road, Vaucluse. Excludes garage.

Bibliography

Clive Lucas, Stapleton and Partners Pty Ltd, "Macquarie Lightstation, Old South Head