Hambledon Cottage Restoration Works 15 November 2003

On what was an extraordinarily hot day (38deg C!) the Parramatta & District Historical Society officially reopened its headquarters - Hambledon Cottage after extensive restoration works. The Governor of NSW, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC, the Society's patron, revealed that she had visited the cottage many times over the years and congratulated the Society on its efforts. A plaque was unveiled to commemmorate the occasion. Mr Ken Smith, (far left) President of the Society and a former student of Parramatta High School thanked the Parramatta City Council, its Heritage Architect and the many contractors and volunteers without whose efforts the refurbishment would not have been possible.

The Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Councillor Paul Garrad applauded the society's tireless efforts to preserve the history of the most important settlement of the colony. He pledged his continued support of the Society's activities and announced that he would recommend to Council that a second volume of Parramatta: A Past Revisited be undertaken. The school welcomes the news and believes that this will be an excellent opportunity to correct the oversight of our school in the last volume.

Hambledon Cottage was built by John Macarthur in 1824 as a second house on his Elizabeth Farm Estate. It has had many occupants, but the most notable was Penelope Lucas, former governess to Macarthur's daughters. She named the family "Cottage" after the township of Hambledon in Hampshire, England.

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