Author: Dr Sue Rosen
Client: Private Client
This statement forms part of the Council application for the demolition of the existing dwelling and the construction of a new residence in the Beecroft North Precinct of the Beecroft Cheltenham Conservation Area.
The area of Beecroft on the former Field of Mars Common has a rich history, primarily associated with timber-getting, and, after the land was cleared; market gardens and orchards. Click on the green tags 'Beecroft', 'Epping', 'Carlingford' and 'Field of Mars Common' above to learn more about the early history of the area.
The Great Northern Rail line from Sydney to Hornsby, opened in 1886, stimulated some of the first land sales at Beecroft, which were made in 1887, on the western side of the railway line. The study site was part of a subdivision advertised on 26 July 1887. The auction notice described the land as ‘exceedingly rich’ with an elevation of 700ft and views ‘over the whole of the southern portion of the county of Cumberland, including Sydney and suburbs, and the waters of Botany Bay’.