Tulkiyan

About

Tulkiyan is a heritage-listed former suburban residence and former house museum at 707 Pacific Highway, in the Sydney suburb of Gordon in the Ku-ring-gai Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Bertrand James Waterhouse of Waterhouse and Lake, and built by Mr Ochs; garden laid out by Mr Mottram. The property is owned by Ku-ring-gai Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 27 May 2005.

Historians are uncertain about the origin of the name Gordon. Like Willoughby, it probably commemorates General Sir James Willoughby Gordon who, as the quartermaster-general in England when the First Fleet sailed for NSW in 1787, would have been responsible for outfitting the fleet.

One of Gordon's pioneer settlers was Robert McIntosh, who is commemorated by McIntosh Street. In 1832 he planted an orchard, which was situated opposite today's St. John's Anglican Church, on the corner of St. John's Avenue and the Pacific Highway. Another pioneer was John Brown, known as the Squire, who through his trade as a timber-cutter, became prosperous. He first acquired land in the 1850s on the site of the present Ravenswood Methodist Ladies' College. This was also site of the first post office, which opened in 1860, and the brick cottage that housed it still stands in the school grounds. Because the suburb was part of the area known as Lane Cove, this was the name of the first post office. The confusion that resulted caused it to be renamed Gordon in 1879, and the site of the post office was changed.

Brown's ambition was to own a square mile of land and to this end he acquired several parcels, until by 1870 he had bought land as far down the North Shore as St.Leonards, where he had a large timber yard.

St. John's Church of England, Gordon is another historic point of interest. It was built in 1872 and its rectory in the 1890s. In 1817 Governor Macquarie donated (pounds) 10 towards the building of a small wooden structure, which came to be used as a church, community centre and meeting place. A larger 1832 church was destroyed by bushfire in 1862 and an 1873 church designed by Edmund Blacket was begun and later expanded as the parish grew.

When the railway was extended to the North Shore in the 1890s, these suburbs experienced enormous growth and suburbanisation. A subsequent increase in subdivision and land sales changed the character of the area, attracting affluent residents with a tendency to build large houses on substantial areas of land. In due course, many of these estates were further subdivided, and further homes constructed on smaller parcels of land ('Bill').

The Gordon railway station opened in 1890. A shire encompassing the area from Willoughby to Hornsby was formed in 1906 and called Ku-Ring-Gai, after the Chase, which had been established in 1894. In 1928 it became a municipality with its headquarters in Gordon (designed by architect, artist and writer, William Hardy-Wilson) on the Pacific Highway.

Tulkiyan was built on part of the 16 hectares (40 acres) of land that had been granted to Michael Ansell on 30 June 1823. In 1824, the 40 acres was sold to William Fowler, who then leased it to Messrs. Giles and Ritchie. It was further mortgaged to Samuel Lyons, an auctioneer, who, in 1843, finally disposed of the property to Robert McIntosh II who was already a landowner and occupier of other substantial properties in old Lane Cove.

Following ownership by Hanna McIntosh, 12 hectares (30 acres) of this land was offered for subdivision in 1895 as Deposited Plan 3267. Lavinia McIntosh obtained title to Lot 3 of Section 1 in 1906, selling to George Chapman in 1912 who in turn transferred his title to Mrs Mary Donaldson in 1913.

In 1913, Lot 1 Section of the McIntosh estate was purchased by Mrs Mary Donaldson, wife of merchant William Donaldson, who ran the City Free Stores in Kent Street, Sydney (along with three other properties located opposite, between the present Bushlands Avenue and St. John's Church). The land was one rood, 32 perches in area, and accessible to the railway station. The choice of lot by Mary and William Donaldson was made because of its location: half-way between the Chatswood and Warrawee Bowling Clubs.

Mary Donaldson had admired the houses of several of her friends built by architect B. J. Waterhouse of Waterhouse & Lake Architects. Shortly afterwards the Donaldsons commissioned B. J. Waterhouse of Waterhouse & Lake Architects to design their new home. The original cost of the house was £2,147. The house was designed as a two-storey villa, constructed in brick with a terracotta shingle roof, and designed so that the majority of rooms had their own private outdoor area or patio. Homes opposite the Donaldson property, between the present Bushlands Avenue (formerly Gertrude Avenue) and St John's Church were Cranbrook (occupier Patrick Deery), Kai-Ora, (occupier George West), and Kinawanna (occupier Rev George Brown, a Methodist missionary). The Ku-ring-gai Shire Council was also temporarily occupying the St John's Church of England Hall, a wooden building facing the main street.

A year after the house was completed, 1916, a timber framed garage was built near the north-west corner of the house, to accommodate Mr Donaldson's first car, a Studebaker. This was subsequently demolished because of white ant activity following Council's acceptance of the property (in 1985). It is understood that Mr Donaldson attempted to extend the curtilage of the property to the east, however the neighbour Mr Underwood who used his property as a market garden declined to sell off any of his land.

Mary Donaldson's three children inherited the property in 1950. Margaret Helen Scott Donaldson obtained title in 1975, on the death of her sister, Mary Isabella (Maisie), retaining title until the July 1985 Deed of Trust transferred ownership to Ku-ring-gai Council.

Mary Donaldson had been born Mary Scott, descended from the family of Mungo Scott, a successful flour miller, of Melbourne. The Donaldsons moved to Sydney around 1900 when Mr Donaldson took up a position as accountant at the new Mungo Scott Flour Mill at Haberfield (now Summer Hill ) - the mill was opened by his father-in-law. The Scott family was a family of means, and Mary Donaldson had, until her death, title to Tulkiyan. Miss Donaldson's father came from a family of lesser means, and was a banker prior to his marriage into the Scott family.

William and Mary Donaldson had three children: William Jnr. ('Bill'), Mary Isabella (Maisie), Margaret Helen Scott. None of the children married. Margaret Donaldson moved to Tulkiyan at age 10, when the home was completed in 1914. She lived there all her life.

The house continued in family ownership until 1994, when Margaret died (aged 91) and based on her wishes, Tulkiyan became the property of Ku-ring-gai Municipal council for the use of the community. The (property and) house was acquired (the title deeds of the property and ownership of much of the contents were transferred by Margaret to Ku-Ring-Gai Municipal Council in 1985 with a provision for life tenancy; i.e. Council received the house in a fully furnished condition.

A detailed summary report on the property was prepared in 1987, a detailed inventory in 1994, a valuation of important artefacts in 1996, a conservation management plan in 1998 and a plan of management in 2000. Council agreed to form a committee to assist with the management of the property in June 2002 and the Tulkiyan Management Advisory Committee has been active since, assisting with management issues, overseeing works associated with grant funding and the process of placing a custodian/caretaker in the house. The property has been open for public inspection on a casual basis. Over the last decade a consensus emerged that the property was being under-used as a public asset. A number of tentative steps were attempted to overcome this situation, including recruitment of a caretaker (discontinued after a short period) and the preparation of a discussion paper on the future of use of the property. Resolving the future of the property has emerged as a priority for Council. There is also a specific concern that the implementation of measures designed to increase community use be matched by increased earned revenue. A detailed electronic inventory of all material held at Tulkiyan was prepared in 2002 (536 individual records) and an Interpretation Plan for the property in 2002-3.

As the house has remained in the one family, and as the family did not have any need for major change, little structural alteration was made over the years. B.J. Waterhouse himself was summoned in the early stages to advise on minor details. The family nicknamed him "Mr Monday Tuesday" because of his tendency to say that he would come on Monday or Tuesday, and then fail to turn up. He also had no car and the family used to suggest that one of the reasons he failed to come was because he was waiting to be called for. The Donaldsons were introduced to B.J. Waterhouse through their friendship with Mrs A. B. Davidson of Neutral Bay.

1914 photographs of the house and setting show a site devoid of significant vegetation. According to (Miss Donaldson) oral history accounts, the property had been used previously for grazing cattle owned by the McIntosh family. According to the same source, B. J. Waterhouse designed the front fence and garden incorporating, it is believed, the design of the front path to the lych gate, the planting of lily pilly (Acmena/ Syzygium smithii ) on either side of the gate and the driveway entrance to a non-existent garage (built a year after occupation, by an unspecified builder.

The garage was not designed by Waterhouse but "put up" by one, "Teddy". William's friend, Mr Bond, had persuaded him to buy a Studebaker. Later, William bought a Dodge.