Rouse Hill estate is one of the earliest surviving properties in Australia and an extraordinary archive of the lives of the Rouse and Terry families. Take a guided tour of the estate’s house, its grounds and outbuildings and discover the rich collection of objects from over 180 years of one family’s occupation.
Rouse Hill estate is one of Australia's most significant historic properties, outstanding for its unique assemblage of artefacts, furnishings, buildings and original colonial garden. It also provides the most complete document of continuous family occupancy of a country house in New South Wales.
Visiting Rouse Hill estate can be likened to leafing through three-dimensional diaries, each recording the lives of the family who have lived there, and adding to its richness. Take a tour of the estate’s house, its grounds and outbuildings and discover its extraordinary collection of objects, accumulated over 180 years of its family’s life.
BRIEF HISTORY
The free settler Richard Rouse began clearing his farm at Rouse Hill in 1813 and his descendants lived there for six generations. All but 31 acres of the original 1,200 acres of the original estate remains.
At the heart of the estate is a Georgian sandstone house, built between 1813 and 1818 by convict labourers assigned to Richard Rouse. The house still stands today, with its historic interiors and furnishings surviving largely in tact as an essentially undisturbed record of the family’s long history. The rambling country garden, the place for many family picnics and croquet mornings, is one of the earliest surviving European gardens in Australia, with an intact layout.
EVENTS
In addition its regular tours of the property, Rouse Hill estate also runs a lively range of events to appeal to families, special interest groups and all ages.
These events range from an annual outdoor festival called Out of the woodwork, to specialist tours of the collection, school holiday activities as well our regular family fun events known as Dawn Chores and Evening Round Up where you help our farm manager feed the animals.
OPEN Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 10am – 2pm. Guided tours only on the hour. Bookings essential.
CLOSED December – February / Good Friday
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