1860s - 1912

Castlefield Street takes its name from a grand colonial home built in the 1860s that once stood nearby, overlooking the beach at Bondi. The house was designed by the acclaimed Canadian-born Australian architect John Horbury Hunt.

Revival of the colony’s economy after severe recession in the 1840s saw prosperous citizens viewing the Bondi area as a place 'admirably adapted to villas’ to retreat from Sydney town. When it became clear the colony was economically viable, social status began to be expressed through villa estates.

‘Castlefield’, originally named 'Glendarrah', remained a feature on Bondi’s southern ridge from 1860s-1910. Charles K. Moore, a Waverley councillor in 1865-66 and chairman in 1867, appears to have built 'Glendarrah'.

It (and much of Its furniture) was bought by the Merewether family in 1882, for £12,000. Edward Christopher (E.C.) Merewether's correspondence reveals something of the building’s history: ‘We heard from one friend that he had a good house on about 10 acres of land at Bondi for sale. I went down and had a look … [The house] is … unusually good and the stables. It has not quite bedrooms enough for [nine children] and … we shall build 3 or 4 more [and] a billiard room … The house … overlooks Bondi Bay … and commands a view of Rose Bay.’

Merewether changed its name to ‘Castlefield’ after an estate in Caine, Wiltshire, England, where he was born. His letters refer to the original plans for 'Glendarrah' as being drawn by architect John Horbury Hunt (1838- 1904). Hunt was a renowned eccentric, notorious for his attention to detail, close supervision of work and the extravagant cost of his domestic buildings. He built few houses before 1881.

Merewether (1820-1893) was a senior public servant, born in London, who arrived in Sydney in 1841 and became aide-de-camp to Governor Gipps and later private secretary to Sir William Denison. All three are commemorated in Waverley street names. On his death in 1893, Merewether’s estate was valued at £235,000.

The fate of 'Castlefield Estate' was sealed by the first subdivision of its grounds in February 1907. The mansion was demolished circa 1912.

Images courtesy the State Library of New South Wales and the Waverley Library Local Studies Collection.