Graythwaite | The Life and Times of Euroka / Graythwaite

The Life and Times of Euroka / Graythwaite
1800s	[ 1900s \| 2000s ]
	1832	Thomas Walker purchased 39 acres of land in North Sydney from the Crown for 60 Pounds 9 Shillings.
	1833	Walker sold 13 acres of his property to William Miller for 20 Pounds 13 Shillings. This is now largely Shore School.
	Mid 1830s	Walker and Miller built substantial houses almost side by side on the crest of the highest part of the land with commanding views of Sydney and the Harbour. Walker named his property Euroka. These were the first large residences built in North Sydney away from the harbour front.
	Circa 1840s	Walker planted a substantial orchard on the flatter part of the property bounding Union Street. The steep slope between the orchard and the land immediately below the house was terraced for the growing of vines.
	1850	Thomas Walker died leaving Euroka to his wife Julia.
	1853	The Trustees of Walker's estate sell Euroka to George Tuting who on sold it to a wealthy shipowner, Edwin Sayers.
	Mid 1850s	Edwin Sayers added a substantial new wing to Walker's house. The western half of the current mansion dates from this time. Significant formal gardens were established to the south, east and north west of the house.
	November 1855	A bushfire raced over the property setting fire to the verandah, but the house was not badly damaged.
	Early 1860s	Sayers built four significant semi-detached houses out of local stone on part of the Union Street frontage of the property. These were called Sayers' Terrace and today sit at 34 to 40 Union St. These were the first permanent dwellings built on Union St itself.
	1867	Sayers was in financial difficulty and the property passed to his mortgagee who attempted to subdivide and sell the property through Richardson and Wrench. There were no buyers!
	1873	Euroka was sold to Thomas Dibbs, a leading banker, who was in the process of amassing very substantial property holdings on the north shore.
	Circa 1875	Dibbs undertook a major renovation of Euroka. This included demolition of Walker's cottage, the addition of a large extension to Sayers's building adding a third or attic level, building a widows walk around the roof top, extending the verandah and building a new kitchen and servants' quarters.
	Mid 1870s	While renovating the house Dibbs also set about turning the grounds near the house into a spacious and grand parkland. Substantial plantings of figs, pines and other trees were undertaken. This included the planting of figs around most of what are now the western and southern boundaries. At around this time three grass tennis courts were also built on the "middle terrace" below the house.
	1879	Thomas Dibbs sought approval for a major subdivision of the land. This subdivision covered the northwestern part of Union St and created Bank, Ancrum and Euroka Streets. In real estate parlance it was called Euroka Estate.
		Thomas Dibbs also owned the adjoining property to the west around what are now Carr and Clifton Streets. This land too was subdivided and, although not part of Euroka, was given the name Euroka Heights.
	1880	The first dwellings built on the new subdivision were a row of large terrace houses at what is now 20-30 Union St. This terrace was called Euroka Terrace.
	1875 -1882	Euroka was occupied by Dibbs' brother George Dibbs who went on to become Treasurer then Premier of New South Wales.
	1882	Euroka became the home of Thomas Dibbs. At around this time he renamed the property Graythwaite after the ancestral home of his wife. Subsequently the formal garden to the east of the house was dug up and replaced by two tennis courts.

1900s	[ 1800s \| 2000s ]
	1915	Dibbs offered the property to the State as "a Convalescent Home for our Sick and Wounded Soldiers and Sailors and when not required for that purpose as a Convalescent Home in perpetuity for distressed subjects of the British Empire regardless of Sect or Creed".
	1916	After significant building work, the convalescent home was opened under the control of The Red Cross. Various building works were undertaken over the following 30 years including the construction of a major building over what had been the tennis courts to the east of the building.
	1978	Graythwaite was placed on the Register of the National Estate.
	1980	Management responsibility for the property passed from the Red Cross to the NSW Department of Health. It is currently run as a nursing home by Hope Healthcare.
	1994	Shore School tried to acquire Graythwaite under the terms of The Charitable Institutions Act. This legislation allows the Government to sell Crown assets to charitable institutions without having to go to tender. Shore's bid was unsuccessful, in part at least because the trust governing the gift of Graythwaite meant that the Government could not sell it.
	1994 -1995	The Health Department sought Supreme Court approval to "separate the property from the trust", thereby allowing it to be sold. It also had prepared a Conservation Management Plan, which envisaged medium density development of the lower terrace and redevelopment of the buildings around the mansion. These plans were not proceeded with at the time due to concerted local opposition and the looming State election.

2000s	[ 1800s \| 1900s ]
	2001	The Health Department again approached the Supreme Court with a view to obtaining approval to "separate the property from the trust". This application was allowed to lapse.
	November 2001	The Health Department applied to the Heritage Commission for Graythwaite to be placed on the State Heritage Register, the registration to be within the terms of a Conservation Management Plan, which has recently been endorsed by the Heritage Commission and which envisages extensive redevelopment of the property.
	2002-2003	Two large public meetings express strong community support to save Graythwaite and keep it in public hands.
	2005	The Health Department is again seeking Supreme Court approval to sell Graythwaite.
	October 2005	North Sydney Council makes an offer to the State Government to buy Graythwaite.
	March 2005	Graythwaite is nominated for inclusion on the new National Heritage List.
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