The original sandstone cottage - the front section of the present house - was built in 1858 by John Andrews of the Andrews family of funeral directors and monumental masons, who were responsible for many of the more ornate tombstones in the Camperdown Cemetery. You can see the elegant Andrews family monument in the extraordinary old churchyard of nearby St Stephens.

The sandstone used to construct the cottage was quarried nearby in the suburb of Pyrmont in the 1850s. This beautiful yellow stone was the preferred material for Sydney's prominent public buildings of that era.

The second section of the cottage was added around 1890, and the kitchen and bathroom area in the 1950s. Layers of history documented by changes to the fireplace and windows have been preserved but the new look is contemporary and clean-lined.

The new sandstone veranda flagstones and doorsteps were quarried recently near Sydney, at Mount White, while the replacement veranda poles are over 100 years old and came from a farm in the Hunter Valley. The living area features a long desk made from a stunning single piece of wood from the Dungog (NSW country) area.

The kitchen benchtop and bathroom vanity benchtop were made from the old timbers taken from the house’s 1950s false ceiling.

The slab of sandstone forming a bench seat in the courtyard was the hearthstone in the original cottage.

Learn more about the history of Australia Street by clicking here.