Carthona, Darling Point, Gothic Revival mansion in Darling Point, Australia

Carthona is a sandstone house in the Gothic Revival style, built on a harbor promontory in Darling Point, New South Wales. It features castellated parapets, tall Tudor-style chimneys, and pointed windows on the ground floor.

The house was built between 1841 and 1845 for Sir Thomas Mitchell, Surveyor General of New South Wales, who lived there until his death in 1855. In the following decades it served various purposes, including as a school for young women.

From 1858 to 1872 Carthona housed a boarding school for young ladies run by the Cooksey sisters, Catherine and Sarah, born in Sedgley, Staffordshire. Their first advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald in January 1858 announced that pupils would be received from 26 January. The school closed after their sister Mary Ann Savigny died in 1872.

The house sits on Carthona Avenue in Darling Point and is easy to spot from the street thanks to its Gothic features, which set it apart from nearby buildings. The promontory location also gives a good view of the harbor, making it a useful landmark when walking around the area.

Thomas Mitchell is thought to have carved many of the keystones of the doors and windows himself, a detail to look for on the stone surrounds. His Aboriginal guide Yuranigh, companion on his fourth expedition, lived briefly at Carthona but left for stockman work, disliking the city.