Vienna, Hunters Hill

Indigenous history History of Hunters Hill At the time of European contact, the Kelly's bush area was inhabited by the Wal Umedegal Clan, who spoke the Guringai language. They lived primarily on fish and shellfish, supplementing their diet when necessary with vegetables, marsupials, birds and grubs. They were also frequently observed firing the scrub to facilitate access to the foreshore and flush out game. Very little is known of their social structure and religious beliefs. Captain John Hunter (1737–1821) of the Sirius charted Sydney Harbour in 1788. On 28 January 1788 he wrote in his journal: "A few days after my arrival with the transports in Port Jackson, I set off with a six-oared boat and a small boat, intending to make as good a survey of the harbour as circumstances would admit: I took to my assistance Mr Bradley, the first lieutenant, Mr Keltie, the master, and a young gentleman of the quarter-deck (midshipman Henry Waterhouse)." Hunter's meticulous chart shows 30 depth soundings around the peninsula bounded by the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers. Hunter was Governor of the Colony from 1795 to 1800. He is commemorated in the name of Hunters Hill. In 1855, a speculative housing venture was underway to erect four prefabricated Swiss Cottages at Hunters Hill. In this period, Hunters Hill was an established French enclave, with the residence of the French consul located there at "Passy", and much of its early development was constructed by men of French descent. The prefabricated houses were advertised as "four splendid family residences, standing in their own grounds, of about 1 acres each," with "wood and water in abundance." In her study of Hunter Hill, Beverley Sherry notes that this was the first planned group of houses to be built in the municipality, marking the beginning of the garden suburb character of Australia's oldest garden suburb. The subdivision and garden suburb development occurred in the mid to late nineteenth century, predating the formation of the Garden Suburb movement. The historic development at Hunters Hill was consistently speculative, although some subdivisions were undertaken to provide residences for family members. Vienna Vienna was built in 1871 for John Jacob Hellman (later Hillman) and his Irish wife Ann. He originally came from Hamburg, Germany, and his wife Ann (née O'Donnell) came from Mooneenreave, County Leitrim, Ireland. Ann came to Australia in 1857 as a bounty migrant. They were married in 1860, and purchased what is now 36 to 40 Alexandra Street from Herman Heinrich Groth for A£60 on 19 November 1866. This land formed lots 11 and 12 of a Jules Joubert subdivision of 1859. The area was initially owned by John Roby Hatfield by a crown grant dated 12 July 1839. == Description ==

Vienna is a four-roomed stone gabled roofed cottage with front and back verandahs on a rectangular suburban block with a small front garden and a long rear garden, with a remnant orchard. == Heritage listing ==

As of 2 January 2013, Vienna was an excellent example of a tradesman's cottage of the nineteenth century, complete with its detached kitchen block. Its intactness makes it rare in Sydney. This is evidenced by 1861–1890, when Hunter's Hill first developed as a suburb, and it stands on the village's earliest successful small lot subdivision. The subdivision was undertaken by Jules Joubert, who, along with his brother Didier, was Hunter's Hill's first and most prominent developer. The cottage demonstrates the tradesman's way of life of the 19th century, and how the family adapted the cottage to accommodate changing needs and standards. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The un-built upon land, once an orchard, is rare evidence of the reliance of suburban families in the 19th and early 20th century on home produce, and is a significant feature of the property. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. Vienna, combined with the adjoining Hillman cottages of Alroy and Redleaf, demonstrate the once common pattern of family property ownership, and the later subdivision of the land demonstrates, in microcosm, the speculative nature of land ownership in Hunter's Hill. The place has the potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The cottage has considerable educational value. The cottage demonstrates the tradesman's way of life of the 19th century, and how the family adapted the cottage to accommodate changing needs and standards. The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. Its intactness makes it rare in Sydney. == See also ==