Bonnyrigg House, Heritage site in Bonnyrigg suburb, Australia.
Bonnyrigg House is a colonial Georgian residence built with brick walls, a corrugated iron roof, and painted cedar woodwork located on Cartwright Street. The building sits in a suburban setting near Sydney and represents early European construction methods in the area.
The land began as a location for a female orphanage in 1804 when the colonial governor granted it for this purpose. The site later shifted its use in 1826 when it transitioned to house male orphans instead.
The house takes its name from Bonnyrigg, a Scottish estate, though the source does not record who chose it. Its other names recall its use: Male Orphan School, The Homestead and Schoolmaster's residence. The upper floor served as a court house where magistrates met, and the first master to occupy the residence was William Walker.
Bonnyrigg House stands on the top of a rise at Cartwright Street, Bonnyrigg, in the City of Fairfield, about 30 km west of central Sydney. The homestead is owned by the Department of Planning and Environment and was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The upper floor once served as a courthouse for meetings of magistrates.
James Busby, farm manager from 1825, planted a vineyard here and taught the orphan boys viticulture; wine from these grapes was first exported from the colony in 1831. He also dug freshwater bores northeast of the Master's House and later donated over 400 European grape varieties to the Sydney Botanic Gardens in 1833.
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