ARCHAEOLOGCAL ASSESSMENT "BETHANA" POTTS PONT June 1997 WendyThorp
-r Archaeologcal Assessment CONTENTS OF THE REPORT 1.0 Precs of the Report.... 2.0 Parameters of the nvestgaton 2.1 The Ste...... 2.2 The nvestgaton: Objectves and Parameters. 2.3 Tasks.... 2.4 Authorshp and Acknowledgements "Bethana", Potts Pont 1 3 3 3 3 3 3.0 4.0 4.1 4.2 5.0 Hstorcal Context.... The Archaeologcal Resource and ts Management The Archaeologcal Resource Management Bblography. 4 6 6 6 7
Archaeologcal Assessment: "Bethana", Potts Pont SECTON 1.0 PRECS OF THE REPORT Context Ths report presents the results of an nvestgaton nto the archaeologcal potental and management requrements of a parcel of land contaned wthn St Vncent's College at Potts Pont. The land s now occuped by a college buldng, "Bethana"; the latter s to be partly demolshed and the ste redeveloped. The work has been undertaken on behalf of the college to meet the requrements of Woollahra Councl. Hstorcal Development Although set asde as an Aborgnal reserve by Governor Macquare, after hs departure the land now encompassed by Potts Pont, Darlnghurst and several other suburbs was alenated n the form of large grants made to members of the colonal establshm'ent durng the later 1820s and 1830s. Stpulatons wth respect to the types of resdences to be bult on those grants made ths area one of the ' most elte n the town. "Bethana" stands on land that was on the boundary of two grants, both made n 1831. Although substantal houses were bult on both, ncludng "Tarmons", there s no evdence that the study area was developed n any substantal way for ether. The estates were subdvded n the later nneteenth century. The study area was put to aucton n 1889 and the lots along Challs Avenue were purchased by the Church and the Glchrst famly. There s no evdence that pror to the constructon of Bethana, probably commenced by the famly, ether owner used ther land for any partcular purpose. The Glchrst's sold the land to the College n 1909. "Bethana", whch housed the Garca School of Musc, was descrbed as new n 1911. The Archaeologcal Resource Whle t may be demonstrated that the land occuped by "Bethana" has had a long perod of assocaton wth several substantal and sgnfcant European occupants, there s no evdence to show that t was developed n any partcular way. n short, t cannot be determned that any relcs of European occupaton wll be found wthn ths ste other than, perhaps, evdence of landscapng or yard use assocated wth "Bethana". The ste has been assessed to be of low archaeologcal potental and sgnfcance. Management The ste s unlkely to contan sgnfcant archaeologcal relcs whch would be dsturbed n the course of ts redevelopment. For ths reason no further WendyThorp Page 1
Archaeologcal' Assessment: "Bethana", PoUs Pont archaeologcal acton s requred; there s no need to ether apply for an Excavaton Permt or montor the ste. The owners/managers of the ste are remnded that n the event of undocumented relcs beng unearthed durng the course of work, these are stll afforded protecton under the provsons of the Hertage Act of NSW. t s the responsblty of the owners/ managers to report the fnd to the Hertage Offce and seek advce as to the responsble management of those artefacts. n Summary: there s "no necessty to apply for an Excavaton Permt the ste does not requre archaeologcal montorng the owners/managers assume responsblty for dentfyng the Hertage Offce n the event of relcs beng unearthed durng the course of redevelopment. Wendy Thorp Page 2
Archaeologcal Assessment: "8ethana", Potts Pont SECTON 2.0 PARAMETERS OF THE NVESTGATON 2.1 The Ste The subject of ths nvestgaton s a parcel of land encompassed wthn St Vncent's College at Potts Pont. Ths land s on the Challs Avenue frontage of the college at the end of Rockwall Lane. t s occuped by one of the college buldngs, "8ethana". 2.2.The.,nvestgaton; Objectves and Parameters As part of a proposed college development t s ntended to demolsh two back wngs of "8ethana" and reuse the ste. The purpose of ths nvestgaton s to determne the extent, nature and sgnfcance of any archaeologcal relcs whch may be contaned wthn the area proposed for demolton and to dentfy the most approprate means of managng those relcs commensurate wth ther sgnfcance. Archaeologcal "relcs" are understood to mean those structures, features, artefacts or deposts whch are ffty or more years old and relevant to the non-aborgnal settlement of NSW. Ths s the defnton used n the Hertage Act of NSW.,The nvestgaton has been commssoned on behalf of the College and s a requrement of Woollahra Councl. 2.3 Tasks Prmary hstorcal research has been undertaken n several repostores for the purpose of dentfyng the use and development of the land pror to the constructon of "8ethana". The assessment of the latter s the subject of a separate report. 2.4 Authorshp and Acknowledgements Ths report has been wrtten and researched by Wendy Thorp. The author would lke to thank Ms Janne Harkness (Orwell and Peter Phllps Archtects) for provdng some of her research materal for ncorporaton nto ths assessment. WendyThorp Page 3
Archae'ologcal' Assessment: "Bethana", Potts Pont SECTON 3.0 HSTORCAL CONTEXT The land from Darlnghurst to Woolloomooloo Bay and east to the area now known as Kngs Cross was set asde as an Aborgnal reserve by Governor Macquare. t was named Henretta Town. Soon after the Governor's departure ths land began to be granted for other purposes. Several mlls were bult on t but the prncpal dvsons were made n the form of grants of land to members of the colonal establshment durng the later 1820s and early 1830s. Stpulatons of the grants requred there to be only one vlla or resdence per grant, that the buldng must cost,9t least one thousand, pounds and that the Governor had the rght to approve the buldng and ts locaton. When bult these houses formed one of the most elte areas of the town. The land upon whch "Bethana"stands was on the boundary of two grants. One, the northernmost, was made to Dr H. G. Douglas on October 19, 1831. Ths, or a part, was sold n 1832 to Colonel Shadforth. On hs land Shadforth caused "Adelade Cottage" to be bult; t was desgned by Edward Hallen and had addtons by John Verge. Adelade Cottage s seen on many later-md nneteenth century plans (as s "Tarmons" and "Rockwall" or "Rockwood"). Eventually ths land came to be owned by J. H. Challs who left hs property,to the Unversty of Sydney as the Challs Bequest. The other grant was T' qrlp +n!nhn Busby on the same day as Douglas acqured hs land. Ths 91.;..., '"' lwo; on one half was bult "Tarmons" and or the other half "Rockwall". There s no evdence that the land now occuped by "Bethana" was developec{n any sgnfcant manner as part of ether property. Plans of the later nneteenth century show the subdvson of the several estates n ths part of Potts Pont ncludng the creaton of streets and lanes. Rockwall Street and Challs Avenue are frst seen on these plans. The study area, and all the frontage along Challs Avenue, s frst shown dvded nto allotments n ths perod, specfcally, n 1889. Documents held by the College archves suggest that these lots were purchased by both the Church (at the corner of Vctora Street and Challs Avenue) and the Ghlchrst famly. The Glchrsts were long term resdents and land owners n Potts Pont. There s no evdence to suggest that any use was made of the study area by the' new owners pror to the constructon of Bethana. There s an oral tradton that constructon on "Bethana" had been commenced by the famly and completed (and altered) by the College for ts own purposes; the few remanng documents would seem to support ths tradton. The property was acqured for the College n 1909. St Vncent's College had ts begnnngs as a small prmary school n the grounds of the Ssters of Charty's hosptal n 1858, the latter beng 'Tarmons". Durng the later half of the nneteenth century the school greatly expanded ts capabltes. The ste also housed the Novcate and Mother House of the Order. "Bethana" Wendy Thorp Page 4
Archaeologcal Assessment: "Bethana", Potts Pont was bult to accommodate the Garca School of Musc. The buldng was descrbed as "new" n 1911. WendyThorp PageS
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Archaeologcal Assessment: " " "Bethana", Potts Pont SECTON 4.0 ARCHAEOLOGCAL RESOURCES AND MANAGEMENT 4.1 The Archaeologcal Resource Archaeologcal evdence s used to more accurately record, descrbe or nvestgate aspects of past socetes. The potental for ts presence wthn an hstorc ste s dentfed by the records of development relevant to the land. These provde clues or ndcators as to the lkely extent, nature and ntegrty of the resource. Wth respect to the ste of "Bethana", whle t may be demonstrated to have a long perod of assocaton wth several substantal and sgnfcant European occupants, there s no "evdence to show that ths specfc ste was developed n any partcular way. n short, t cannot be determned that any relcs of European occupaton wll be found wthn ths ste other than, perhaps, evdence of landscapng or yard use assocated wth "Bethana". t may be concluded that the tudy area has a very low probablty of contanng a sgnfcant archaeologcal resource. 4.2 Management Archaeologcal acton s requred n cases where redevelopment of a ste s lkely to dsturb or unearth archaeologcal relcs. t has been shown n ths assessment that ths s unlkely to be the case at "Bethana". For ths reason t wll not be necessary to take further acton; no Excavaton Permt wll be requred and the ste does not need to be montored by an archaeologst. The owners are remnded, however, that an assessment does not guarantee the complete absence of relcs wthn a ste. Not all features or buldngs were recorded n European records. n the event that sgnfcant and undocumented relcs are unearthed durng the course of the development, these artefacts are stll afforded protecton by the Hertage Act of NSW. t s the responsblty of the owrers to notfy the Hertage Offce of the dscovery of relcs and seek advce from them for ther responsble management. Wendy Thorp Page 6
- - -- --. Archaeologcal Assessment: "Bethana", Potts Pont SECTON 5.0 BBLOGRAPHY James Arthur Dowlng "Potts Pont, Darlng Pont and Neghbourhood" Journal of the Royal Australan Hstorcal Socety 1906, 52ff. Lester Tropman and Assocates South Sydney Hertage Study Thematc Hstory Precnct 1 South SYOl1ey Councl. St Vncent's College Archve Notes P.L. Bem Woolloomoolo, Potts Pont 1829 ML M2 811.1811.1829/1 Anon Plan Shewng the Stuaton of the Allotments for Sale Darlnghurst 1841 ML M2 811.18112/1841/2 Harde and Gorman "Challs Estate Potts Pont", 1889 ML Subdvson Plans ML P16/27 Harde and Gorman "Rockwall Darlnghurst" ML Subdvson Plans ML P16/24 NSW Department of Lands Metropoltan Detal Seres Potts Pont 1889, Cty of Sydney Secton G. MLMSer4811.17/1 Rchardson and Wrench Challs Avenue Subdvson ND ML Subdvson Plans ML P16/31 Wendy Thorp Page 7