Campbell (Verge) House, Parramatta 1838-9 [first draft]
Conrad Martens: Archive | Beagle Journal 1833-4 | Brush Scene, Illawarra 1850-1 | Campbell House 1838-9 (2) | Four bridges? | Illawarra, 1835 | Mullet Creek, Illawarra 1853 | The Picturesque |
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| Conrad Martens, [Landscape near Sydney] 1839. Watercolour and gouache, 44.5 x 69 cm. Signed and dated lower left 'C. Martens 1839'. Collection: State Library of New South Wales. |
[NB: Refer to the updated version of this blog HERE]
During November 2019 a hitherto unknown watercolour by the English artist Conrad Martens (1801-1878) was offered for sale by auction house Bozna Kunstauktionen of Bolzano, Italy for €5,000. The work was done in the Picturesque manner of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century English watercolour school. This method was typified by a formalised structure and artificial placement of real elements of the landscape, all aimed at beautifying and enhancing the view. Nature featured in the Martens painting, through the portrayal of a serpentine river, the presence of a majestic tree with lush foliage surround, and an ominous, impending storm cloud filled sky. Imprinted upon this natural landscape was evidence of human presence - buildings, both commercial / industrial and domestic, a steam boat upon the river, cleared, manicured paddocks, two Aborigines in the foreground attending a fire, and in the background a grand home of the European (British) settlers.
In the opinion of this writer, the painting was the work originally titled View of Parramatta and sold by the artist to Pietre (Peter) Laurentz Campbell (1809-1848) for £15.15 in April 1839. The watercolour was tentatively listed by the Italian auction house as a Landscape near Sydney. No provenance information was provided. Despite this, it appeared to be a genuine work by one of the most famous artists of Australia's colonial period. The auction sale of the work in Italy is perhaps explained by the fact that Campbell left Australia for England in 1841, most likely with the painting in hand and shortly after it was completed. He died there in 1848 and his family eventually settled thereafter in Prussia, or modern-day Germany.
The artist Conrad Martens had arrived in Sydney aboard HMS Hyacinth during April 1835, from England via South America and the Pacific Islands, with a brief period in between as official artist aboard HMS Beagle, alongside scientist Charles Darwin. The watercolour was readily identifiable as a view looking west along the Parramatta River towards the township of Parramatta, located approximately 16 miles (26 km) west of Sydney. Prominent in the finished watercolour was the then distinctive Howell's Mill windmill in the middle distance on the southern shore of the river, and various historic buildings which were seen in other works by the artist (refer 'The Parramatta landscape' section below), including the twin spires of St. John's Church of England. In the background on the hill to the right is a large house - a mansion in the colonial context - with smoke billowing from its chimney, whilst in the foreground the two Aboriginal men are stoking a fire in their camp, located beneath a small hill beyond the property's fence and therein protected from the harsh, heat-laden westerly winds. Their presence is perhaps a subtle comment by the artist on the fate of the Indigenous population of Australia, following the British claim to discovery of the 'uninhabited' east coast by Captain James Cook in 1770, and the subsequent formation of a penal colony there with the arrival of the First Fleet under Governor Arthur Phillip in January 1788. By the time Martens came to paint this view, the northern bank of the Parramatta River was a popular place of residence for some of the colony's wealthier free settlers, and the original Aboriginal inhabitants had been displaced and dispersed, with no compensation for the loss of livelihood, and no legal recognition of ownership or association with their traditional lands.
The watercolor offered for sale appeared heavily faded, most likely as a result of exposure to the Australian sun, with Martens' distinctive blues and greens largely, if not totally, absent in sections of the work, leaving an overall brownish tone with only a hint of grey-blue sky in the distant background, and within the river. The paper on which the watercolour was laid had also been subject to fading and yellowing due to age and sunlight. This degradation is common among paintings and drawings by Martens from the second half of the 1830s and into the following decade. The strong light of the southern continent varied considerably from that of Martens' northern hemisphere English birthplace, and took a toll on the delicate watercolours he produced whilst resident in Australia. His works in oil were generally exempt from such fading, though not as lightly coloured or atmospheric. A digitally enhanced version of the watercolour is included below to provide a suggestion of the appearance at the time of sale, bringing back some of the lost blue and green elements, though without the subtleties of the original's soft, warm tones.
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| Digitally colour-modified version with enhanced blue and green tints and heightened contrast. |
The painting is similar in composition to watercolour views of the Parramatta River by Martens taken from a more easterly vantage point along the river and based on an original pencil sketch dated 25 September 1837. That sketch is reproduced below, from the State Library of New South Wales collection.
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| Conrad Martens, View of Parramatta, Sep. 25th 1837. Pencil sketch, State Library of New South Wales. |
It is a view from the Vineyard property of Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur, and was subsequently developed as finished watercolours for sale by the artist from late 1837. This sketch reveals Martens' skills as a draughtsman, with his use of a sharp pencil and keen eye to record in exquisite detail prominent and picturesque features of the local landscape. The sketch was both closer to the original view as seen in situ by Martens - an almost photographic replication - and the initial phase of the creation of a somewhat artificial, idyllic Picturesque landscape. Martens was primarily a landscape artist working in watercolour (Lindsay 1920, Ellis 1995). He was especially skilled in that regard and less so in the use of oil or production of figurative works such as portraits. In fact, Aboriginal figures in the foreground are often the only one's featured in his landscapes, reflecting their traditional attachment to Country.
Martens' profession was developed with some success during his time in England and as official artist aboard the HMS Beagle expedition to South America and the Pacific, prior to arriving in Australia in 1835. His brother Henry was a prominent English artist, working in the area of military scenes. Conrad pursued his art in Sydney from the middle of 1835 through to his death in 1878, taking commissions, teaching, participating in art unions and exhibiting. He derived a livelihood for himself and his family from his art, and his clients were many of the wealthier members of the local community, such as the MacArthur family of Camden and Parramatta, and the Kings of Dunhevid and Tahlee. His romantic watercolours, featuring local landscapes, flora and fauna, buildings and events, proved extremely popular with many of the permanent and temporary residents of the colony, some of whom dispatched the works to family and friends back home in the British Isles and Europe, or took them overseas when they left the colony, as was likely the case with Laurentz Campbell. As such, he often received commissions to paint properties and/or residences. He was also attracted to certain picturesque localities, including Sydney Harbour, the lush Illawarra district to the south, and west towards the Parramatta River and Blue Mountain gorges. Whilst attached to HMS Beagle he had encountered the often wild and picturesque landscapes of South America and the Pacific, including the desolation of Patagonia and Tierra del Feugo, and the tropical forests of Tahiti. His methodology, whilst resident in Australia, was to travel to various localities, alone or with a guide and often on horse, take detailed pencil sketches of panoramas and individual elements, and then work them up back in his Sydney studio as watercolours, or less commonly oils and prints. On some occasions he appears to have made watercolour and oil sketches in the field. A study of his work in relation to Parramatta can help reveal elements of the provenance of the painting under discussion.
Conrad Martens' Parramatta Works
Based on evidence from Conrad Martens' Account of Pictures Painted in N.S.W. [1835-1878] ledgers in the State Library of New South Wales collection (DL MS142 & 143), along with known works in public and private collections and from auction and gallery sale records, we can identify a Parramatta-based group of paintings in watercolour and oil which are possible variants of the aforementioned pencil sketch. A related, and later, sketch of a house is also included in the discussion, to assist in a more precise identification of the 1839 watercolour referred to above.
1837
25 September - View of Parramatta. Pencil sketch, State Library of New South Wales PXC 971 f.2. Reproduced above and the basis for a number of watercolours painted during 1837-8.
10 October - View Parramatta. [Finished painting]. Reference: Account of Pictures. Sold to Captain Phillip Parker King for 12 guineas. Possibly one of the watercolours in the State Library of New South Wales or the Historic Houses Trust collection. King was a former commander of HMS Beagle.
1838
30 March - View of Parramatta. [Finished painting]. Reference: Account of Pictures. Sold to Robert Scott for 6 guineas. Possibly the work On the Parramatta River, oil on canvas, 20 x 26 cm, sold by Goodman & Co., February 1992, lot 158. No image available.
12 November - View of Parramatta. [Finished painting]. Reference: Account of Pictures. Sold to Robert Mackenzie for 15 guineas. Now in the National Gallery of Victoria collection. Reproduced below.
1839
1 January - View of Parramatta. [Finished painting]. Reference: Account of Pictures. Sold to Captain Wright for 15 guineas. Possibly the work Parramatta River, oil on canvas, 28.7 x 45.7 cm, State Library of New South Wales, ML 598. No image available.
20 March - House of L. Campbell J.P. Parramatta, March 20, 1839. Pencil sketch, State Library of New South Wales, PXC 970 f.8. Reproduced below.
4 April - View of Parramatta. [Finished painting]. Reference: Account of Pictures. Sold to L. Campbell for 15 guineas. Likely the watercolour under discussion and featuring Campbell's new house. Reproduced above.
19 April - House at Parramatta. Reference: Account of Pictures. Sold to L. Campbell for 3 guineas. Possibly a copy of the 20 March 1839 pencil sketch.
22 April - House at Parramatta. Copy of above. Reference: Account of Pictures. Sold to L. Campbell for 3 guineas. Possibly the small watercolour and pencil sketch of the Campbell house referred to below, based on the 20 March 1839 pencil sketch.
1859
7 November - Parramatta River. Reference: Account of Pictures. Sketch, sold to Ed. Hamilton for 2 guineas. Possibly the small work Parramatta River, 20.4 x 29.3 cm, sold as part of the George Page Cooper Collection, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 21 November 1967, lot 26. No image available.
Three of the above works are in the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, the State Library of New South Wales, and the Historic Houses Trust, Sydney, and are reproduced below. The whereabouts of other related works is unknown. Lack of provenance information makes it difficult to align all the works referred to in Account of Pictures [1835-1878] with known extant items.
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| Conrad Martens, View of Parramatta 1838, Felton Bequest, National Gallery of Victoria. Watercolour, 45.2 x 66 cm. Note the rich, deep blues and greens of this work, and in the distance what appears to be storm clouds and rain. |
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| Conrad Martens, View of Parramatta 1838, State Library of New South Wales, DL Pg 15. Watercolour, 45 x 66 cm. Signed and dated lower right. Damaged along top edge. |
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| Conrad Martens, View of Parramatta, Historic Houses Trust, Sydney. Watercolour, 44.8 x 66 cm. Not signed or dated. An exquisitely beautiful watercolour and fine example of the artist's best work. |
The Picturesque
The elements of View at Parramatta as seen in the aforementioned watercolours adhered to the Picturesque formula often applied, with much success, by Conrad Martens in his Australian works offered for sale between 1835-78 (Organ 1993). This manifested in the form of:
1) creation of a structured landscape with characteristic depth of field attained through contrasting light and shade and framing features, as exemplified by the works of Baroque French artist Claude Lorraine (1600-1682). In this instance the perspective is provided by a slightly meandering river on the left heading off into the middle distance, with flat to steepish, rolling banks of land on either side. This structure subconsciously forces the viewer's eye to look into the work and focus beyond the foreground and toward the township in the middle distance;
2) a large tree to either frame the complete landscape, or part thereof, or create an initial foreground focus. In this case both are provided, with a small framing tree on the right and a large tree in the central foreground; the left section of the work is free of foreground vegetation, focusing instead on providing a clear view towards the township beyond some distant vegetation which provide a colour balance to the overall view.
3) buildings dotting the landscape to add interest, scale and points of focus, such as the windmill, the steamer on the river and a large villa - Newland (Newland's, Newlands) - on the hill to the right; and
4) Australian Aboriginal natives or local European settlers and convicts in the foreground providing both scale and geographical context. The former are used in the Parramatta work under discussion
The overall structure of the View at Parramatta paintings, in presenting a land mass on the right and a body of water on the left, balances and enhances the picturesque qualities of the scene. These elements would reappear in the subsequent finished watercolours with minor variation. For example, the 1838 National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) version is an accurate replication of the pencil sketch along with the addition of picturesque elements such as the large tree and bush in the middle and right foreground. It is also distinguished by darkish tones which are generally suggestive of stormy weather. The slightly faded and damaged State Library of New South Wales version is brighter and sunnier than the NGV copy, as is the Historic Houses Trust version, wherein the original watercolours are better preserved. All three have an almost identical structure. Martens had a tendency to reproduce his favourite views, and this was obviously one of them, resulting in what proved to be a popular suite of works. A brief discussion of some of the prominent buildings within the Parramatta landscape at the time of their construction is presented.
The Parramatta landscape
Utilising various artworks and archival records such as maps, plans, letters and land title records, it is possible to gain a clearer picture of the various buildings present in the Parramatta area during 1839. Those that are relevant to this discussion and feature in the works by Conrad Martens during the period 1837-9 include the following:
* Experiment Farm Cottage, circa 1795 - residence of Surgeon John Harris (Rosen 2007). Located adjacent to Elizabeth Farm on the south side of the Parramatta River.
* Elizabeth Farm, 1797. Built by John MacArthur and subsequently expanded upon by architect and builder John Verge in the 1830s.
* St. John's Church of England, with twin spires. Built by the Reverend Samuel Marsden between 1797-1817.
* Commissariat Store, 1812. Three-storey government stone building situated adjacent to the river's southern shore.
* Pemberton Grange house, circa 1816. Built by the Palmer family. Located on the north side of the river between Newland/s and Vineyard, but at a lower level and close to the latter's jetty and boat house. A later (1855-6) building survives nearby with that name and is now known as Macarthur House. It is located at 8 Melville Street, Parramatta.
* Waddon Cottage, circa 1820. Built by the Palmer family. Located immediately to the east of Pemberton Grange, on the north side of the river.
* Hambelton Cottage, 1824. Built by John MacArthur and located near Elizabeth Farm.
* Howell's Mill buildings and windmill, 1828. Located within the township of Parramatta, by the edge of the river. A prominent feature of the Martens watercolours.
* Vineyard house and boat shed / jetty. Erected around 1835 as the residence of Hannibal H. MacArthur, it was a two-storey mansion designed and built by John Verge. Painted by Conrad Martens in oil and watercolour during 1840. Located on the northern side of the Parramatta River. It was from this location that Martens took his view looking west along the Parramatta River towards the township and various properties lining the shoreline to the north and south.
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| Conrad Martens, The Vineyard 1840. Oil on canvas, State Library of New South Wales. |
The Campbells new house
Bozna Kunstauktionen auctioned watercolour from 1839 differs from the aforementioned Parramatta works by Conrad Martens in that it presents the same view from a point slightly to the west, and right of, the more expansive, earlier Vineyard-based panoramas. As noted above, Vineyard was located east of the Campbell property. The tree which is a central focal point in those earlier works now forms the left border of this closer-in view, whilst the background hilly section to the right is now the focus. What is also unique and distinctive of the 1839 work is the somewhat incongruous inclusion of a large, roundish, two storey residential building on the hill in the middle distance to the right. This building did not exist in 1837 when Martens took his original pencil sketch, nor is it included in the subsequent 1837-8 watercolours. It was, in fact, constructed during 1838-9. As such, it should be noted that the house on the hill to the right in the aforementioned 1837 pencil sketch - seen in detail below and known as Newland/s House - and also present in the three aforementioned watercolours from 1837 is different to the one in the 1839 watercolour.
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| Detail of Conrad Martens' pencil sketch of 25 September 1837, showing Newland/s House on the hill to the right of the view, with Howell's Mill on the left and the twin spires of St. James church in the middle. |
That 1837 house was the property of Jane and Thomas Marsden and referred to at the time as Newland/s House or Villa, with the surrounding property variously known as Newland/s Estate. As seen in the sketch and associated watercolours, it is a substantial, two storey residence overlooking the town of Parramatta. Built in 1835 on behalf of the Reverend Thomas Marsden for his daughter Jane (1808-1885), there are no details regarding the architect or builder who undertook the work. It is a traditional, rectangular-shaped structure with a ground floor awning and wooden columns.
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| Newlands House, Parramatta, circa 1880s. Source: State Library of New South Wales. |
The house was demolished in 1931 to make way for the present Macarthur Girls High School, located on the corner of present-day Thomas and MacArthur Streets, Parramatta. The house in the 1839 watercolour, which is located on a separate parcel of land to the east of Newland/s House, is decidedly different. It is the similarly substantial house portrayed in a Conrad Martens pencil sketch taken on 20 March 1839, some 18 months after the 1837 sketch and reproduced below.
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| Conrad Martens, House of L. Campbell Esq. JP Parramatta 20 March 1839. Pencil sketch, State Library of New South Wales, PXC 970 f.8. |
It would appear that at some point during 1838-9 Conrad Martens received a commission to sketch and paint the house upon its completion. This he did on 20 March 1839, following Laurentz Campbell's commencement of duties as New South Wales Acting Colonial Treasurer on 1 March. Martens, upon preparation of the sketch in situ, appears to have then made use of his original 1837 pencil sketch View at Parramatta as a template to feature this new building in a finished watercolour. The Campbell residence therein becomes the focal point of the right side of the work, with the diminished view of the river and Parramatta township occupying the remainder of the view on the left. The fact that the scale of the house in the 1839 watercolour appears slightly out of proportion - larger - in comparison to the earlier watercolours which featured a smaller, distant image of Newland/s House, may be due to the fact that Martens did not prepare a separate, panoramic sketch of this altered landscape in situ, as he had done in 1837. He may also have felt constrained by the location of the property to do this, in order to include the various aforementioned picturesque elements, rather than producing a more formal, and rather flat work as seen in the Vineyard oil painting of 1840. The exquisite, finely detailed pencil sketch from 20 March 1839 is of the recently completed two storey residence built for Campbell and his family. It is decidedly, and distinctively, circular in its exterior form, reflecting a cross-shaped floor plan. A watercolour version of this sketch was sold at auction by Sotheby's, Sydney, in 1992.
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| Conrad Martens, Hobartville, watercolour and pencil on paper, 19.5 x 29 cm. Source: Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's, Sydney, 22 November 1992. |
Therein it was listed as Hobartville, by Conrad Martens, though it is clearly the house in the 1839 pencil sketch, and also that in the 1839 watercolour under discussion. The actual Hobartville house is located nearby at Richmond. It was sketched by Martens on 9 August 1838, in a view looking south west towards the Blue Mountains.
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| Conrad Martens, Hobartville and Groses Heads, 9 August 1838, pencil sketch. Collection: State Library of New South Wales. |
Though superficially similar to the Campbell house from a certain perspective, it is closer in design to Newland/s House, being a traditional rectangular-shaped building constructed in 1828 for William Cox upon a design by Colonial Architect Francis Greenway. Leading to the confusion in the auction catalogue entry is the fact that the rear facade, facing the Hawkesbury River, has an hexagonal extension which is angular, and similar in part to the semi-circular arms of the Campbell residence. The Hobartville watercolour appears faded and damaged by rust spotting. However, it nevertheless reveals the outer detail of the original construction of the Campbell house, with the rounded features, wooden verandahs and twin rooftop chimneys. Fortunately, the house has survived through to the present day. It is now known as Broughton House and located at 43a Thomas Street, Parramatta. Unfortunately it has been subject to external additions and alterations over the intervening years, masking the original form.
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| Broughton House, Parramatta, circa 2014. Various extensions mask its original 1838-9 form. |
The building was initially described in a 2002 New South Wales government heritage listing in the following terms:
Originally a fine Regency two storey house with curved bay sections and French doors opening to verandahs. Much altered and adapted. Set in generous grounds with large trees giving shade and privacy.
Fabric: Slate roof with metal ridge capping on rendered brick walls with ashlar markings.
Roof Construction: Hip roof with projecting hips with segmented bays to south and east elevations. A tower with squared onion dome metal roof with tall metal finial above front entrance. Classical arch entrance with half Corinthian columns set on pedestal flank opening.
Chimneys: Wide tall rendered brick chimneys with steps. Octagonal glazed terracotta pots.
Verandah: Slate roof above two-storey verandahs with segmented bays around two roof bays.
Verandah Floor: Tessellated tiles.
Verandah Supports: Three incised timber posts at each corner terminating at verandah roof otherwise posts are paired. Upstairs now enclosed with sliding glazed windows on fibro balustrades.
Verandah Decoration: Ground floor has cast iron valance between two timber rails.
Window Sill: Sandstone.
Window Arch: Victorian label mould above front door.
Exterior Doors: Transom light over French doors with bolection mould panels below and glazed panels above lead out to first floor verandah.
Garden: Once beautiful garden with mature trees and plantings.
Additions: Two bays on west face now demolished.
Architecture Style: Victorian Italianate with Regency overtones two-storey villa.
Front Door: Victorian label mould and stops above semi-circular arch over Front Door. Glazed fanlight above six-panelled timber door (New South Wales Department of Heritage and Environment 2002).
This description was amended in the 2011 heritage listing to the following form:
.... a two storey Regency style stucco brick dwelling with faceted bays to three elevations. Curved bay sections and French doors opening to verandahs. It has a hip roof covered in slate. Arched entry porch rising to a tower with a metal dome topped by a weather vane. First floor verandah bays are glassed in. Original twin verandah posts to both levels. Cast iron valance to ground floor verandahs. Twelve pane sash windows. The hall has an ornately carved timber dog leg double staircase and return landing with elaborate timber balustrades and coffered Jacobean like timber ceiling. A panelled room leads off the hall with finely carved timber fireplace and coloured panes to the twelve paned sash windows. All the main doors have ornate pedimented architraves. The servants' wing exists (New South Wales Department of Heritage and Environment 2011).
Note that in the 2011 listing the building is only referred to as 'Regency style' rather then 'a fine Regency two storey house', thereby diminishing somewhat its significance - an issue which remains to the present day and which this current article seeks, in part, to address.
Architect John Verge
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| John Verge |
Verge is well-known as an architect, but his primary profession prior to coming to Australia in 1828 was as a builder. As a result, he was able to achieve a great deal in his work in the colony during the 1830s prior to retiring to his northern New South Wales properties. His ambivalence about the Australian work - he came to the colony primarily to farm - perhaps accounts for the laxity of record keeping, despite the survival of a single ledger and some plans. As a result, the Campbell house remains 'attributed to' Verge in the various official heritage listings, and his name is often missing in both official and unofficial accounts of the building. There is no reference to the Campbell house in the published accounts of Verge and his surviving work, or in studies of colonial era buildings of New South Wales. Despite this, there is little doubt in the mind of this author that John Verge was involved in its design, if not its construction also. It is also possible that he received input from the Campbells - Laurentz and his wife Barbara Isabella nee Macleay (b.1814).
The building is quite distinctive architecturally, with its cross-shaped floor plan and overall roundish external features. It should be remembered that it's construction came at the end of an intense period of work for Verge between 1830-1837, involving, for example, a role in the design and construction of Elizabeth Bay House, perhaps Australia's finest mansion from the early colonial period. This was in addition to a swathe of commercial and residential buildings within Sydney and beyond, including Tempe House (1835) for the merchant A.B. Sparke. There are similarities between the Campbell and Sparke houses in regard to their prominent semi-circular elements, with one architectural historian of the period noting of the former:
Tempe was really a picturesque country retreat with balancing semi-circular verandahed bows of columns on the main elevation (Tanner 1981).
The Campbell house featured timbered posts rather than the Greek columns of Tempe, and the semi-circular elements extended beyond mere verandah bows. More importantly, there is an obvious difference between the Campbell (Verge) house and the Jane and Thomas Marsden family residence Newland/s as seen in the 1837-9 View at Parramatta landscapes by Conrad Martens. The National Gallery of Victoria copy clearly defines the rectangular exterior of the Marsden property, whilst the semi-circular nature of the Campbell house in obvious in the 1839 watercolour. These are reproduced below.
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| Detail from the National Gallery of Victoria copy of View of Parramatta, showing Newland/s House on the hill to the right and Howell's Mill on the left, with the twin spires of St. John's church in the middle distance. |
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| Detail from the Historic Houses Trust copy of View of Parramatta, showing Newland/s House on the hill to the right and Howell's Mill on the left. |
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| Detail from the Conrad Martens 1839 painting of the Campbell (Verge) house. Notice the similarity to the earlier pencil sketch, and the overall rounded structure with circular roofing. |
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| William Meadows Brownrigg, Plan of the town of Parramatta and adjacent properties, 4 July 1844, E.D. Barlow, Sydney, map in 4 sheets. Source: State Library of New South Wales, M M4 811.1301/1844/1. |
Therein, on the top right, next to the text 'Mrs Thos. Marsden', is the cross-shaped floor plan of the 1838-9 Campbell (Verge) house, with two out-buildings also evident. On the left hand side of the image, below the words 'Henry Harvey (P)' is seen the rectangular floor plan of the 1835 Newland/s House, with a smaller structure alongside. This was the state of ownership of the two properties as of 4 July 1844, with Marsden's now owning the Campbell house, and Newland/s House in possession of Henry Harvey. An explanation of these and subsequent ownership changes, and the confusion arising therein, is presented below.
Controversy and confusion
Despite the availability of information in regard to the two buildings under consideration, there is a deal of confusion in the literature surrounding the Campbell (Verge) building. This is due to a variety of factors mostly associated with the passage of time and scant documentary evidence. The Campbell building has, for example, since the 1970s played a role in the continuing debate over the age of Australia's oldest house - Parramatta's Experiment Farm Cottage (c.1795). This has largely been the result of a misreading of an 1839 letter by Elizabeth Macarthur of nearby Elizabeth Farm, and factors in the design and construction of Experiment Farm Cottage. Of the latter, certain architectural experts deem it untypical of design and construction capabilities in the colony during its first decade of European settlement and therefore date it to the 1830s (Rosen 2007).
Laurentz Campbell's departure from the colony in 1841, and death just seven years later in England, has also meant that there are precious few records of his activities whilst resident in Australia, apart from a brief entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography (King 1969) and more recent, focused work by Rosen relating to the Experiment Farm Cottage issue. The Marsden family property dealings in regard to the Newlands Estate - upon which land the Campbell (Verge) house was built in 1838-9 - is complex and made more so by the death of the two reverends - Thomas and Samuel - in 1837 and 1838 respectively. Also adding to the confusion is the assertion that at one stage both buildings bore the name Newland/s, though this seems highly unlikely. Finally, though the Campbell building still exists, it has been heavily modified and the version as seen in the Martens sketch and watercolour is not readily identifiable to a bystander. The building has never restored, or its original form substantially exposed. Its attribution to John Verge also remains unverified. As a result, the official New South Wales government heritage listing confuses it on numerous occasions with the earlier Newland/s House (1835). This official confusion remains in place at the time of writing, and its listing under the name Broughton House further removes it from its colonial heritage (December 2019).
As noted above, the person behind construction of the modern-day Broughton House was Laurentz Campbell. Though little known today, he had a somewhat checkered career in New South Wales as a public servant between 1832-41, despite a promising start prior to arriving in the colony. As a young man he worked closely with Governor Richard Bourke in South Africa between 1826-1828. After arriving in Australia in 1832, he obtained official positions under Bourke from 1834 as Police Magistrate at Maitland and then Parramatta. In 1834 he married Barbara Isabella Macleay, daughter of Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay. Barbara's sister Fanny, in a letter dated 12 March 1834 to her brother William, noted at the time concerns by Alexander in regards to Laurentz's ability to handle his finances:
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| Placard, 31 May 1838. Source: State Library of New South Wales, ML MSS 9723. |
This negativity - which was in many ways part and parcel of life in Sydney at a time when the transformation from penal colony to free settlement was in full swing - was balanced in part by testimonials from colleagues and community following Campbell's work at Maitland and Parramatta between 1836-9, and his relatively successful period as Acting Colonial Treasurer (1839-41), despite the opposition from Gipps. All in all, it seemed as though Campbell and his wife were keen to make a life for themselves and their young family in the colony, judging by Laurentz's chosen career path as a bureaucrat and his investment in property both in Sydney and beyond. For example, during 1837, whilst Police Magistrate at Parramatta, Campbell purchased the Mortimer Lewis designed Dunbar House at Watson's Bay on Sydney Harbour. He named it Zandoliet, possibly after the Belgian town of Zandvliet, and the family lived in it for a number of years. It also survives to this day.
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| Frederick Charles Terry, [Zandoliet / Zandvliet] Watson's Bay, circa 1840s, watercolour, State Library of New South Wales, ML199. |
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| Frederick Charles Terry, Watson's Bay, 1854, watercolour, Private collection. |
... Mr Riddell has two years leave of absence from his duties as Colonial Treasurer. Mr Laurentz Campbell, who has been our Police Magistrate for the last three years, is to take Riddell's place - & he is already gone to Sydney. His little wife & three little ones, who are our near neighbours & have occupied a new cottage on the Estate of the late Dr. Harris, follow as soon as they can get a house in Sydney. Mr Campbell is a most vigilant & active Police Magistrate and has kept the Town of Parramatta and its neighbourhood free from robberies and disturbances ..... (Macarthur 1839)
The following chronology may assist in understanding the use of the land and house on the north shore of the Parramatta River, expanding upon the d discussion above.
Campbell & Marsden properties at Parramatta - a chronology
1834
10 September - Laurentz Campbell marries Barbara Isabella Macleay, daughter of Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay. At the time, Macleay is supervising the design and construction of Elizabeth Bay house by John Verge and others.
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| Conrad Martens, Elizabeth Bay 1839. Watercolour, 44.8 x 65.4 cm, National Gallery of Victoria. |
1835
The Reverend Samuel Marsden builds Newland/s House / Villa at Parramatta for his daughter Jane and her husband the Reverend Thomas Marsden.
1836
October - Laurentz Campbell is posted from Maitland to Parramatta as the Police Magistrate. He and his family take up residence in a house near the Government Paddock, on the south side of the river.
1837
1 January - Laurentz Campbell purchases 8 acres from the Reverend Samuel Marsden on the northern side of the Parramatta River. The property is located east of Thomas and Jane Marsdens' Newland House and almost directly opposite Experiment Farm Cottage which is located on the south side of the river.
25 September - Conrad Martens sketches View at Parramatta, with Newland House on the hill to the right (north side of the river) in the middle distance. Rosen (2007) states erroneously that this is evidence of the construction of the Verge house for L. Campbell. However, the house in this 1837 sketch - Newland Villa - is very clearly a rectangular construction, and not distinctively semi-circular like the later (1838-9), Verge designed house for Laurentz Campbell.
24 November - Laurentz Campbell purchases 15 acres 3 roods from the Newlands Estate of the Reverend Samuel Marsden. This brings his holdings up to 23 acres 3 roods.
1838
February - Laurentz. Campbell purchases 7 acres from the Reverend Samuel Marsden, next to his already purchased acreage and extending to the north to present-day Victoria Road. This brings his holdings up to 30 acres 3 roods. At some point Campbell then contracts (?) John Verge to design a construct a house for him on this property. Verge had recently completed working on Elizabeth Bay House for Campbell's father-in-law Alexander Macleay.
12 May - Reverend Samuel Marsden dies. His property is subsequently sold and purchased by members of the family and the general public.
The Campbell family reside in a house adjacent to Elizabeth Farm.
1839
February - The Laurentz Campbell property at Parramatta is acquired by Jane Marsden - daughter of the Reverend Samuel, and wife of that latter's cousin the Reverend Thomas Marsden (1806-1837) - through a Lease and Release, with a 1 year lease followed by purchase. Rosen (2007) states that for this lease period the family of Campbell made use of the property, though no evidence is provided for this and the Elizabeth Macarthur letter of 6 March 1839 (reproduced below) indicates they were living in a cottage on land next Elizabeth Farm on the south side of the river.
1 March - the property Newland/s, containing Newland/s House, is transferred to Jane Marsden for £1500.
6 March - Elizabeth Macarthur of Elizabeth Farm writes a letter to her son Edward Macarthur in England, referring to the nearby 'new cottage' occupied by Mrs Campbell and her children on the land of the late Surgeon John Harris. It is assumed by some that this reference is to Harris's Experiment Farm Cottage (c.1795), though it was very likely a reference to a later, and recently completed cottage built on his property next to Elizabeth Farm. Rosen (2007) suggests that Macarthur has made a 'slip of the pen' and meant, instead, the the new, two-storey, Verge designed building. This author would suggest that there was no error by Macarthur, and the letter should be read as is.
20 March - Conrad Martens sketches 'House of L. Campbell Esq. J.P. Parramatta March 26, 39'. This is of a seemingly completed two-storey house, as designed and built by John Verge. On the pencil sketch the words ' House of' are partially erased, suggesting that at the time, or shortly thereafter, Campbell was no longer the owner of the house, but was nevertheless the commissioner of the pencil sketch.
4, 19 and 22 April - Laurentz Campbell purchases from Conrad Martens the finished watercolour View of Parramatta (£15.15) and a sketch, plus copy, entitled House at Parramatta (£3.3. each). Rosen states that the watercolour is the one at present in the Historic Houses Trust collection. However, that view dates from the 1837 pencil sketch and shows Newlands House (1835) on the easterly hill in the distance, not the closer in Campbell house (1838-9).
4 October - Newland/s House and Rangihou Cottage are offered for sale as part of the breakup of the Newland estate (Sydney Morning Herald). Having purchased the Campbell house, Jane Marsden has no further use for Newland/s House and attempts to sell it. She subsequently finds this difficult to achieve in the short term.
1840
1 January - Newland Villa is offered on a 3 year lease by (Mrs.) Thomas Marsden (Sydney Morning Herald). It is possible that Mr Henry Harvey takes up the lease.
1841
May - Mr. Henry Harvey advertises for a gardener for Newland Villa. At some point during this year he acquires it from the Marsdens (Sydney Morning Herald). He also then leases it out and leave Parramatta to take up farming elsewhere.
A plan is published of part of the Newlands Estate at Parramatta as offered for sale by Mr Stubbs of Sydney. It shows the location of Newlands House.
 |
| Plan of 37 allotments at Parramatta / being part of the estate of Newlands, late the property of Mr. Marsden for public sale by Mr. Stubbs. Lithographic map, W. Stubbs, Sydney, 1841. Plan shows the location of 'Newlands, the residence of Mr. Harvey.' |
Jane Marsden leaves Australia for England with her two children Samuel Edward (b.1832) and Anna (b.1833). She retains ownership of the Campbell (Verge) House and returns to Australia in 1870.
P. Laurentz Campbell and his family leave Australia for England. Their property Zandoliet at Watson's Bay - sometimes known as Tandalie - is subdivided and offered up for sale (Derricourt 2008).
1842-3
The Campbell family settle in England. Laurentz becomes a member of the Board of Trade, London.
1844
January - Mrs. Perrier commences classes for girls in her Academy at Newlands Villa. Henry Harvey retains ownership of the property.
4 July - On the Brownrigg plan of Parramatta and the Vineyard Estate, Mrs. Thomas Marsden is listed as owner of the property containing the Campbell (Verge) House. Henry Harvey is listed as (P) owner of the property containing the original Newlands House.
1845
Newlands Estate and dwelling is offered for sale by Henry Harvey.
1856
Neil Stewart moves to Parramatta and subsequently purchases Newland/s House. It was later known as Athole House.
1864
William Woolls, former teacher at King's School and operator of an Academy at Harrisford, Parramatta since 1841, moves to the Campbell (Verge) house.
1876
The Campbell (Verge) House is sold by Mrs Mary Marsden (Jane's sister) to Thomas Kendall Bowden (1830-1879) for £2,000. It is renamed Bowden House. Bowden had a wife and 8 children at the time of his death three years later.
1880s
1893
Neil Stewart refers in an invoice to his residential address as Newlands.
1897
20 August - Sarah Emily Richards purchases Bowden House for £2,000.
1906
James Swanton Vickery, on behalf of Sarah Emily Richards, discharged a mortgage of £4,100 on the property containing the Campbell (Verge) house.
1908
Percival Stacey Waddy, headmaster at King's School, purchases the Campbell (Verge) house for £3,500. It is then leased by him to the King's School.
1909
The former Campbell house is known as 'the Farm House.'
1910
The former Campbell house is renamed 'Broughton House' by headmaster Waddy.
1913
Neil Stewart dies at Athole House, formerly Newlands House. The property is subsequently sold.
1916
6 June - The King's School council purchases the former Campbell house from Waddy.
1928
The Newlands property is cited as owned by Mrs Robert Betts. The Betts' and Marsdens were related by marriage in a number of instances.
1931
Athole / Newlands House is demolished and in 1934 the land becomes part of the Macarthur Girls Domestic / High School, and the corner of Thomas and Macarthur Streets, Parramatta.
1965
December - King's Schools sells the land containing the former Campbell (Verge) house to Panoramic View Units Pty Ltd for £60,000. It is subsequently subdivided and developed.
1971
24 July - the land containing the Campbell (Verge) house is purchased by Parramatta Convalescent Home Pty Ltd. It operates for a period as Parramatta Nursing Home.
The Campbell (Verge) house is known as the Anglicare Thomas Street Lodge.
 |
| Birds Eye View of Parramatta (detail) Sydney, 1877. The Campbell house is seen on the right foreground, with a large tree next to it; further to the west is Newland House. Across the river from the Campbell House are the large Commissariat Store buildings. Source: SLNSW ML XB1B Parr 01. |
The Conrad Martens watercolour View of Parramatta 1839, plus associated pencil sketch Residence of L. Campbell, Parramatta, and the misnamed watercolour Hobartville are important additions to the historic record in regard to the development of Parramatta and, in a small way, to the controversy surrounding the legitimate claim of Experiment Farm Cottage (circa 1795) to the oldest house in Australia. The Campbell (Verge) House is at present known as the Anglicare Thomas Street Lodge, located at 43 Thomas Street, Parramatta. Though allocated State Significance by the New South Wales Department of Environment and Heritage, its historical significance has not been given true recognition, nor its association with John Verge. As noted by the Department: It is the sole remaining home of a series of quality residences which faced south over the Parramatta River such as the Vineyard (Subiaco), Newlands (Athole) Pemberton Grange and Waddon Estate (Palmer Family). Yet, that same entry also states, erroneously, that: It is important for its close associations with the prominent Marsden family for whom it was built. Furthermore, it is not listed on the Wikipedia entry of John Verge buildings (Wikipedia 2019b), nor is Verge mentioned in the Wikipedia entry for Broughton House with largely replicates the Departmental listing. As such, it is hoped that this current research will correct much of the confusion to date over Newland/s House and the later, John Verge designed and built, Campbell (Verge) House. As an extant example of the work of Verge, the Campbell (Verge) House is another significant element of the surviving colonial architecture of New South Wales from the 1830s, standing alongside his other extant works such as Rockwell House (1831), Lyndhurst (1833), Salisbury Court (1834), Elizabeth Bay House (1835), Camden Park (1835) and Tempe House (1836).
 |
| Conrad Martens, Tempe House, 1838. Watercolour, 44 x 65 cm. Collection: Art Gallery of South Australia. This residence was designed and constructed by John Verge for Alexander Brodie Spark. |
Life and Career of P. Laurentz Campbell (1809-1848)
1809
- P. Laurentz Campbell born, son of Ronald and Charlotte Campbell.
1822
- Cadet at Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
1826-8
- Private Secretary to Richard Bourke, Acting Governor, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.
1829
- Assistant Clerk to the Council, Cape of Good Hope.
1830
- June: Ensign, 55th Regiment, India.
- November: transfers to the 89th Regiment.
1832
- 2nd Lieutenant, 21st Regiment, Royal Scotch Fusileers. Travels to New South Wales.
1833
- 7 February: arrives in Sydney aboard the Rosalin Castle.
- 19 September: attends wedding of Edward Deas Thomson to Anna Maria Bourke at St. John's, Parramatta.
1834
- 12 March: Fanny Macleay letter to her brother William mentioning the affair between Laurentz Campbell and their younger sister Barbara.
- 10 September : marries Barbara Isabella Macleay in Sydney.
- October: appointed Police Magistrate, Maitland.
- 24 October: Fanny Macleay writes to her brother William regarding the marriage of Laurentz Campbell and her sister Barbara and their move to Maitland.
1835
8 July - daughter Elizabeth Charlotte born at the Government Cottage, Maitland.
1836
- 24 September - wife gives birth to a son, Ronald Macleay.
- 29 September: appointed Police Magistrate, Parramatta, and supervisor at the Female Factory, Parramatta.
1838
6 June - appointed Trustee for Savings Bank.
- daughter Sophia Constancia born.
- purchases land at Parramatta and begins construction of a new residence there.
1839
- March: Acting Colonial Treasurer.
- December: a daughter named Barbara Eveline is born at Zandoliet, Watson's Bay.
1841
- March: term as Acting Colonial Treasurer ends. Decides to return to England due to ill-health.
1842-4
- Member of the Board of Trade, London.
1845
- Secretary, Manchester and Leeds Railway Company.
1846-8
- Secretary, London and Southwestern Railway.
1848
- 4 October - dies suddenly at his residence, 62 Chester Square, London, aged 39.
References
Broadbent, James, The Australian Colonial House: Architecture and Society in New South Wales 1788-1842, Hordern House, Sydney, 1997.
-----, Dupain, M., Evans, I. and Lucas, C., The Golden Decade of Australian Architecture: The Work of John Verge, David Ell Press, Sydney, 1978.
Broughton House, National Trust Heritage Register, n.d., item 9235.
-----, Heritage Study of the City of Parramatta, 1974.
-----, Register of the National Estate, 14 May 1991, item 003092.
-----, Local Environmental Plan, City of Parramatta, 27 February 1997.
-----, New South Wales Heritage Register, 1 October 1999, item 01302.
-----, Conservation Management Plan - Broughton House, 43A Thomas Street, Parramatta New South Wales, Caldis Cook Group (CCG) Architects, 2016.
-----, New South Wales Department of Environment & Heritage [webpage], accessed 1 November 2019. Available URL: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5051402.
Brown, Shylie, Broughton House - State Heritage Inventory form, 1999.
Campbell of Craignish [webpage], Wikipedia, 2019. Available URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell_of_Craignish.
Cherry, Derelle, Alexander Macleay: from Scotland to Sydney, Paradise Publishers, Kulnura, 2012, 452p.
Derricourt, Robin, Watson's Bay, Sydney Journal, 1(2), June 2008. Available URL: http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ojs/index.php/sydney_journal/index.
Earnshaw, Beverley and Hughes, Joy, Fanny to William: The Letters of Frances Leonora Macleay 1812-1836, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales, Glebe, 1993, 195p.
Ellis, Elizabeth, Conrad Martens: Life and Arts, State Library of New South Wales Press, 1995.
Gibbs, Shallard & Co., Town and district of Parramatta, New South Wales. Bird's eye view and inset of buildings, 1877. Supplement to the Illustrated Sydney News, November 1877.
Howell's Wind and Water Mill - Parramatta [webpage], Parramatta Heritage Centre, City of Parramatta Council, accessed 9 December 2019. Available URL: http://arc.parracity.nsw.gov.au/blog/2014/10/07/howells-wind-and-water-mill-parramatta/.
Jack Ian, From the President's Desk - The Historian and Heritage, Presidential Address to the Royal Australian Historical Society, 27 April 2010.
King, Hazel, Pierre Laurentz Campbell, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, Canberra, 1969.
-----, Richard Bourke, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1971, 312p.
Lindsay, Lionel, Conrad Martens: The Man and His Art, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1920. 2nd edition 1968.
Macarthur, Elizabeth, Macarthur Papers Volume 10 - Elizabeth Macarthur Journal and Correspondence, 1789-1840, State Library of New South Wales, ML A2906, 6 March 1839.
Martens, Conrad, Account of Pictures Painted in N.S.W. [1835-1878], State Library of New South Wales, DL MS142 & 143.
-----, House of L. Campbell Esq. JP Parramatta 20 March 1839. Pencil sketch, State Library of New South Wales, PXC 970 f.8.
-----, [Landscape near Sydney] 1839. Watercolour and gouache, 44.5 x 69 cm. Signed and dated lower left 'C. Martens 1839'. Source: Bozna Kunstauktionen, Bolzano, Italy, 1 December 2019 [Auction].
Parramatta Heritage Centre, Parramatta's Rangihou Reserve and its Maori history [webpage], Research Services, City of Parramatta Council, 11 September 2013. Available URL: http://arc.parracity.nsw.gov.au/blog/2013/09/11/parramattas-rangihou-reserve-and-its-maori-history/.
Preston, Harley, John Verge, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, Canberra, 1967. Available URL: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/verge-john-2757.
Proudfoot, Helen, Heritage Study of the City of Parramatta, 1974.
Rosen, Sue, Australia's Oldest House - Surgeon John Harris and Experiment Farm Cottage, Halstead Press, Sydney, 2007.
-----, What's in a picture? The use of images as historical evidence, brought to the reader courtesy of the Australia's Oldest House Debate [webpage], circa 2010. Available URL: https://suerosenassociates.com/australias-oldest-house/australias-oldest-house.
Tanner, Howard and Stringer, Richard, Architects of Australia, Macmillan, South Melbourne, 1981.
Verge, Will Graves, John Verge - Early Australian Architect: His Ledger & His Clients, Wentworth Books, Sydney, 1962.
Walker, Meredith, Broughton House, City of Parramatta Heritage Study, 1993, item 564.
Wikipedia (a), Broughton House, Parramatta, Wikipedia [webpage], accessed 1 November 2019. Available URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broughton_House,_Parramatta.
----- (b), John Verge, Wikipedia [webpage], accessed 28 November 2019. Available URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Verge.
Wright, Henry Press, The Story of the 'Domus Dei' of Portsmouth: Commonly Known as the Royal Garrison Church, Cambridge University Press, 2012, 282p.
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Conrad Martens: Archive | Beagle Journal 1833-4 | Brush Scene, Illawarra 1850-1 | Campbell House 1838-9 (2) | Four bridges? | Illawarra, 1835 | Mullet Creek, Illawarra 1853 | The Picturesque |
Michael Organ
Last updated: 29 July 2022.
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