Author: Liz Gorman, Emily Pickering
Client: Private Client
The object of this Heritage Impact Statement is to assess the impact of alterations and additions on the heritage qualities of the residence at 24 Thomas Avenue, Roseville (study site) and the Garden of Roseville Estate Conservation Area within Ku-Ring-Gai LGA.
European activity in the area now known as Roseville began in 1805 with the establishment of a government timber-cutting camp around the Fiddens Wharf Road area. Powered by convict labour, the camp consisted of sawpits, huts and the wharf at the Land Cove River. In 1814 the camp reportedly consisted of one free overseer/resident supervising 48 convicts; assigned to a range of tasks including felling, sawing, shingle-splitting, land and water transport, wheelwrighting and blacksmithing. The camp was abandoned in 1819, when the area had been stripped of the desirable species of trees.