The restored homestead on Bunnamagoo, one of the first Paspaley pastoral properties, has been awarded a heritage commendation by Australia's peak historical preservation body, the National Trust.

Paspaley bought Bunnamagoo in 1992. The 5000 acre property (2040ha) outside the historic village of Rockley, was settled in the 1820s, the second only land grant on the western plains of New South Wales.

Rob Gill drinks in some of the history of Bunnamagoo and talks to the team behind the award winning work.

The sandstone ramparts of the Blue Mountains for a quarter of a century defied the original settlers of Sydney town a way off the coastal plain that stretched west from the fledgling settlement.

Only in 1813 were the explorers Blaxland,Wentworth and Lawson able to find their way through the seemingly endless blind valleys, the near vertical cliffs and the hazardous ridges of this section of the Great Dividing Range that backs the first European settlement in Australia.

Even today, air travellers can only wonder at the trio’s triumph over the deeply incised ravines and the impenetrable bush laid out below them. The explorers’ success set the scene for many to follow, opening up vast tracts of pastoral and agricultural country that would be Australia’s mainstay on world trading markets for another 160 years.

The city of Bathurst grew from the first settlement on the western plains, a centre in 1815.

Bunnamagoo, built only 12 years later and about 50 kilometres to the south, had none of that finesse. The first pastoral homestead built west of the ranges, it was crafted out of local stone, at best rudely shaped by convict labour. The result was a classically proportioned, two storey Georgian house with a roofed flagstone verandah running the length of the front.

Paspaley’s Manager Pastoral Properties, Stuart Hughes, lived at Bunnamagoo for more than ten years. He has nothing but respect both for its original inhabitants and the people who did such justice to the restoration, Bathurst based architect Henry Bialowas, the local firm Tablelands Builders and Sydney engineers, Hughes Truman Ludlow.

“The area can be freezing and the interior of Bunnamagoo bore witness to those conditions ... from our latter experiences a hugely difficult place to heat despite its thick walls and lined ceilings. This was one of the first permanent constructions outside Bathurst,” Hughes says.

Henry Bialowas says the conservation brief was a hard call.

“While being mindful of the significance of the homestead, we were asked to explore the potential for extra accommodation on the site – at one stage considering extra pavilions separate from the main building.”

The conservation work was prompted by a leak in one of the original soapstone walls. Over the years, the rudimentary mortar that bound the random shaped stone had been leached away by the rain and harsh, cold conditions until, as Bialowas says, the building was basically a pile of rocks under a roof.

“When we first looked over the building we could put our forearms into some of the holes between the stones, such was the degradation.We desisted when a resident snake announced its presence.

“One of the walls had bowed out so badly that, at its worst point it, it was nearly 200 mm out of true and in danger of collapsing. The wall was one of the major rectifications we carried out, dismantling it and numbering each stone to enable its reconstruction true to the original,” Bialowas says.

“Simon Wiltshier from Hughes Truman Ludlow guided us to a solution to prevent the stone collapsing in the future.

“Acting on his advice, we inserted stainless steel tubes in between the stones and pumped a chemical grout into the cavities, effectively stitching the walls in place and sealing the inner render against the conditions outside. The interior walls, ceilings and corners were replastered in the same free form style as the original ... few lines are straight or corners at right angles in this building and any attempt to rectify this would have destroyed the original.

“We were well served with building materials on site, able to go out and collect stone from areas that Stuart Hughes had noted on the property and shaping it to suit.”

It was always Paspaley’s intention that Bunnamagoo would continue as a working property – its historical significance balanced by the fact that it sits on excellent grazing and agricultural land – and this led to the decision to keep more modern additions to the original structure.

As is often the case with working properties, aesthetics come second to making a living and additions to Bunnamagoo over the years, the most recent dating from the 1970s, were decidedly unsympathetic to the original. A brick section, forming the downstroke of a capital “T” running off the back of the building, was revamped more in keeping with the original wing – new doors, windows and joinery echoing the Georgian theme – then bag rendered and lime washed. This provided much needed extra accommodation, bedrooms, ensuite and a new kitchen.

Bialowas and the team from Tablelands Builders were highly satisfied with their work, the architect particularly so when the job won him one of three National Trust awards he picked up this year for conservation architecture.

Peter Bracher, who oversees Paspaley’s pastoral interests in New South Wales and was the client representative on the project, capped it all off with the observation that the work exceeded his expectations.

As all architects will tell you, Bialowas included, that is the highest praise they can receive.

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