Archaeology at Leppington House

Some years ago I wrote a post about the history of Leppington House. This early building, situated in the north west corner of the Campbelltown Local Government Area, was built by William Cordeaux and was lived in as early as 1823.

Last Monday I visited the site of Leppington House where an archaeological survey is being carried out by Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd. I met with the Principal Heritage Consultant Karyn McLeod who explained the background of the project, what has been discovered and what plans there are for the site. The visit was most interesting and I learnt much, including some previous misconceptions about the history of Leppington House.

Apart from the Cordeaux occupation, the building was used primarily as a dairy farm and cattle grazing throughout its history. Another misconception was that a carriageway was constructed from Camden Valley Way to the property. No evidence could be found of this. Also, there was no archaeological evidence of a fire destroying the house. It had almost certainly been demolished some time after 1956, almost certainly after a period of being unoccupied. Aerial photographs will be checked in the near future which will hopefully provide a more accurate date of demolition.

The house is a double storey central core with two single storey wings, while it was likely to have been a comfortable family home it is definitely not a grand gentleman's villa. The building was constructed of brick and not stone as previously suggested.

The excavation so far has not unearthed a lot of artefacts. Some of what has been found, I have photographed below. These include coins, glass and building materials.

The Leppington House Park is located within the Willowdale development area, Leppington. The study area proposes to conserve and feature the archaeological remains within a publicly accessible park.

Written by Andrew Allen

Sources:

Karyn McLeod
Principal Heritage Consultant
Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd

Eco Logical Australia 2018. Willowdale Archaeological Assessment  and Research Design. Prepared for Stockland.

The Murrays of Minto

Charles Murray was born in Ulladulla, and married his wife Catherine in 1895. They had a son, Claude Charles and a daughter Gladys Mary.

Charles and Catherine on their wedding day.

Photo - Ancestry 

 In 1901, the Murrays leased out their farm Avondale, at Yatte Yattah, and Catherine took on a mortgage of several portions of Campbellfield, including Dr Redfern’s homestead. The home was re-named Buena Vista, and the family set up a dairy farm. In an article about Minto, J. Hall remembers ‘Mr Murray (Claude’s father), who only boasted one can of milk centred in the body of his spring cart on which he sat, and in rain or heat held an umbrella up, as his old creamy pony jogged along from the Old Redfern home on the hill to the railway station’. Charles passed away in 1912.
Claude went on to become the mayor of Ingleburn from 1934 to 1939, then again in 1948. The farm had grown into a successful dairy, and the Ayrshire cattle they bred were Royal Show winners.  It was reported in the newspaper that Buena Vista Playmate produced 4501b. of butter-fat in 273 days as a mature cow in 1936!

Campbellfield (aka Buena Vista) 1950

Photo - CAHS

The property passed to Claude Charles after the death of his mother in 1958. Claude’s son Jack worked on the farm and also became the local milk carrier, picking up milk cans from the surrounding dairy farms. His friend Bryan Chrystal recalls helping him on his truck, opening the dairy gates for Jack, and helping to unload the empty milk cans and stack the full ones. Most of the smaller dairies would have about six cans of milk. A far cry from the days when Jack’s grandfather Charles would take his one can of milk in a spring cart to the railway station!
The property was sold after 1958, and is now the site of the Minto Marketplace.

Written by Claire Lynch

 Sources
Early Memories of Minto by D. Hall
Grist Mills Vol.4 No. 4 “Minto” by Joan Murphy
Campbellfield, Guernsey Avenue, Minto : a heritage study