Around 1870 a small cottage was built on the grounds of Thomas Holt who had begun building a grand residence known as ‘Sutherland House’ in the location of present day Holts Point Place Boat Ramp on the shore of the Georges River. The cottage along with two other cottages likely provided accommodation for groundskeepers and their families. In 1918 Sutherland House was destroyed by fire, but over 150 years after it was first built, one of those cottages still stands, now known as ‘Gunyah’.

After falling into a state of disrepair extensive heritage and engineering investigation works were undertaken to determine the original and most significant parts of the building to inform how a sensitive addition might be created to enable the original cottage to be restored and preserved for future generations.

Ironbark Architecture’s Sutherland Shire architect and design team proposed the construction of a modern addition to be built behind the existing cottage that when viewed from the street is obscured from view by the original building, allowing for the amenities required of a modern family home, whilst preserving the fabric and curtilage of the historic building.

 Location:
Sylvania, Sydney, Australia

Completed:
Under Construction

Builder:
Freshbuilt Constructions

Photography:
Ironbark Architecture
@freshbuiltconstructions
@restoringgunyah