Point Piper The Point's European history began as part of a
land grant by
Governor Macquarie to
Captain John Piper in 1820. Piper had control of customs and all harbour matters, a lucrative position which enabled him to vastly increase the size of his land holding and build the finest house then in
Sydney on the Point. He named it Henrietta Villa (after the second name of Governor Macquarie's wife,
Elizabeth) and it quickly became the most prestigious social venue in town. However, Piper's flamboyant and extravagant lifestyle exceeded even his resources and he was soon deeply in debt. In 1827 it became apparent that he had embezzled
A£13,000 from the customs revenues which, together with other debts, amounted to millions in modern values. The mortified Piper made a curiously grand suicide attempt, having himself rowed out into the harbour and, to the strains of his naval band, jumping overboard. He survived to retire to a more modest rural life.
Point Piper Estate In the 1820s business partners Daniel Cooper and
Solomon Levey began acquiring land that included the substantial Point Piper Estate comprising in the Woollahra district that had been amassed by Captain John Piper since 1816. Following some financial difficulties Piper's land was conveyed to Cooper and Levey in 1826. Their title to the land was confirmed in 1830 and it became the sole property of Daniel Cooper in 1847. On Cooper's death in 1853, his nephew, also Daniel Cooper (later Sir Daniel Cooper), was appointed trustee of the Point Piper Estate which his uncle had bequeathed to his nephew's eldest son (also Daniel Cooper).
Point Piper Grant Now a prestige living area, it was part of a grant to Captain John Piper in 1820 who was "Naval Officer" of the Colony at the time. After Piper found himself in financial difficulties the grant was bought in 1827 by Daniel Cooper who bequeathed it to the son of his nephew both also called Daniel. The son sold the grant to his brother, William, for A£100,000 who in 1883 built Woollahra House. The first subdivision on the Point took place around 1880 with the release of foreshore land around Woollahra House in 1899. where his father had been the first salaried officer. He advised the
NSW Government on hygiene and preventative medicine and helped establish the
North Head Quarantine Station and the Coast, or
Prince Henry Hospital. In 1883, he became president of the new Board of Health and president of the NSW branch of the
British Medical Association, which was set up in 1880. Mackellar was a physician at the hospital in 1882 and a director from 1884 to 1903. He was also a director of
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital from 1886 to 1917. He worked "stupendously" at general practice in his early years. In 1877 he married Marion Buckland, acquired considerable pastoral interests and in 1896 succeeded his father-in-law as a director of the Bank of NSW, of which he was president in 1901-23 apart from absences abroad in 1904-5 and 1912–13. He was chairman, board member and trustee of a number of other companies, in insurance, sugar refining, etc. by distinguished physician, MLA and philanthropist, Sir Charles McKellar. The house was the birthplace and the childhood home of his daughter, Dorothea, the famous poet.
Dorothea Mackellar Dorothea was educated privately, travelled extensively The poem captured the spirit of nationalism developing in the early 20th century. On her 82nd birthday in 1967, Dorothea told two friends,
Gordon Williamson and Dorothea Macmillan, that the famous poem was completed in the apartments above her father's consulting rooms in Buckland Chambers, overlooking
Hyde Park (183
Liverpool Street), Sydney. The main bedroom is huge, and it has two floor-to-ceiling windows leading to the balcony, a wall of built-in cupboards and a study annexe. The present owners, who have been progressively restoring the mansion since they moved in 21 years ago (1957), plan to move to a smaller home.
Richardson & Wrench, of Double Bay, will auction the property on 24 November 1978. The house was sold by auction on 7 June 1979. Mr Andre Korda, the present (1987) owner (at the time of PCO) was interested in the heritage aspect of the Dunara Gardens property and nominated it for the protective order. ==Background==