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Goulburn's Carrawarra House is a site with a very long and varied history.
In an article published approximately 40 years ago - and given to listing agent Garry Hall of Ray White Goulburn by the folks at St Clair Historical House - local historian, the late Stephen Tazewell wrote quite a detailed history of Carrawarra.
In it, Mr Tazewell had deduced that the homestead was built from 1882 to 1883, based on a sharp rise in the property's value from what six-time Goulburn mayor Wiliam Davies paid for three lots of land in 1880 (450 pounds total), and the banking advance he used it to secure in April of 1883 (5000 pounds).
He said "it is quite probable that Goulburn architect, Edmund Cooper Manfred was the designer," but he stopped short of confirming this to be the case.
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In 1888 the Commercial Banking Company foreclosed on Mr Davies and, as a tenant, Edgar W Kelso MA commenced a King's College school for boys.
King's College moved in 1890, and in 1891 the Commercial Banking Company sold the property to AB Chisholm, who was a grazier of Lerida near Gunning.
From the same article, it is believed that Chisholm is the one who named the house Carrawarra, taking the word from the local Aboriginal language.
One of Chisholm's daughters carved the mantle piece in the main dining room, and before his death in 1908 Chisholm had acquired four adjoining lots. After his widow also died in 1914, the family sold Carrawarra to the Crown in 1915 for 3000 pounds; the war likely having an impact on its value.
From 1916, Mr Tazewell wrote, it was used as a soldier's club. Later, the education department took it over and from 1920 it became a hostel for high school girls.
That came to an end in 1933 due to the reduced number of paying boarders during the Great Depression.
Read more: 104 Bradley Street, Goulburn
Mr Tazewell then explains that from 1933 to 1940 Mr and Mrs Cunningham ran a guesthouse at Carrawarra, whereupon the education department began extensive changes to create a Ladies College of Domestic Science which they opened in 1941.
At the time of Mr Tazewell's article, that had come to an end as well.
In the years since then, Mr Hall pointed out that it became the property of a religious organisation, and until relatively recently it was leased by NSW Health for the brain injury rehabilitation service.
Mr Hall says that "it is a beautiful old building and it has had a lot of restoration work done. It has hydronic heating throughout, it's on beautiful grounds, and it is a superb location."
Carrawarra House will go to auction, on site, at 1pm Saturday September 21.
Contact Garry Hall of Ray White Goulburn for details, 0425 301 644.
