Goulburn's 'Carrawarra' returns to the Chisholm family clan

It took just 10 minutes of bidding for Gurrundah man and Chisholm descendant Lee Macarthur-Onslow to snap up 1883 former home, Carrawarra on the corner of Cowper and Bradley Streets.

Ray White Real Estate auctioned the two-storey building, owned by the Sisters of Saint John of God Incorporated, at an onsite auction on Saturday, September 21.

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It sold for $1,070,000 following competition from three bidders, which started at $1,025,000. Six registered for the auction, with some asking for contract amendments, giving agent Garry Hall early confidence the property would sell.

The building includes six bedrooms, two bathrooms, two kitchens and sits on a 3740 square metre block.

The auction attracted keen interest from history buffs who perused inside the building, some for the first time.

Mr Macarthur-Onslow was thrilled to acquire a piece of the family's heritage at what he described as "fair value."

"It has a special character," he said afterwards.

"I want to preserve it for the future."

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He plans to restore the structure to a home, into which he'll move from his house near the original Chisholm property, Kippilaw, 15km west of Goulburn.

He is a direct descendant of Kippilaw's original owner and pastoralist, James Chisholm, who had seven sons. Mr Macarthur- Onslow's grandfather, Andrew Seton Chisholm, was one of them.

Another son, Arthur Bowman Chisholm, bought Carrawarra in 1891 and acquired surrounding lots, according to research by the late Goulburn historian, Stephen Tazewell.

Carolyn Chown, who edited The Chisholm Family in Australia 1790-1990, told The Post that 'AB' owned the large Lerida property at Gunning but wanted to move into town for his seven daughters' education.

One of them, Joan Hamilton Chisholm, completed a large wooden carving above a mantelpiece in a lower ground room, featuring Australian birds. It remains a feature today.

Goulburn district man, John Sendall, is the grandson of another daughter, Fannie-Jane Chisholm, who later became Lady Grose. Goulburn Base Hospital nurses' quarters, Lady Grose House, were named in her honour.

"I suspect all of the girls had a go at the carving," he said.

Mr Sendall took a peek inside the home for the first time this week and noted it was "in pretty good order." He was pleased to see it come back into the family.

AB Chisholm died in 1908 and after his widow and second wife, Margaret, passed away in 1914, the family sold the property to the Crown.

The home was built in 1882-83 for prominent businessman, William Davies, who owned 'The Australian Stores' in Auburn Street. He was also mayor of Goulburn in 1863, 1868, 1876-79 and 1883-84, and represented Argyle in the Legislative Assembly from 1877-80, RT Wyatt's History Of Goulburn states.

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Goulburn's Carrawarra House has a lot of history

A sale advertisement in The Goulburn Herald in April, 1887 detailed Carrawarra's eight bedrooms, dining and drawing rooms, breakfast room, servants' dining room, library, kitchen, laundry and pantry. Outside there was a landscaped garden, conservatory, double coach house, harness and forage room, two-stall stable and ornamental iron and wooden fencing around the property.

When the banks foreclosed on Davies in 1888, the home was briefly leased to Edgar Kelso to operate the Kings School before AB Chisholm purchased it, Tazewell's research stated.

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From 1916 it was used as a soldiers' club, and from 1920, a hostel for high school girls under the education department's operation. Later, from 1933 to 1940, a Mr and Mrs Cunningham ran a guesthouse and in 1941, the education department operated a Ladies College of Domestic Science.

In recent years, Goulburn's Brain Injury Unit has occupied the building. It moved out just weeks ago.

Mrs Chown said she was delighted the property would be returned to a residence.

"It's very much been an institutional house because it was also occupied by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and even the Southern Highlands Bushfire Brigade," she said.

"It's really lovely to see the place living to fight another day."

The building's heritage was a key selling point, Ray White sales manager Garry Hall said.

"(But) it was also its situation on a beautiful block so close to town and its B4 mixed use zone," he said.

"The good thing is that the new owners will do it up, which is lovely."

More than 60 parties from Goulburn, Sydney, Canberra and the Southern Highlands viewed Carrawarra before the auction.

Mr Hall said Goulburn was very much following the current Sydney market, rather than Canberra's.

Ray White Goulburn principal, Justin Gay, echoed this view.

"There's competition for property again," he said.

"The number of days on the market have (reduced) and the banks have loosened up their lending," he said.

Mr Gay sold nearby historic property, Hurstville for $2.15m in March.

The agency also continues to market another historic local property, Lansdowne Park for $2.9m.

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