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Rouse Hill Estate

Rouse Hill House : Block O: also known as the brick cottage [ephemera]

Uncovering stories beneath the floor at the Rouse Hill Estate overseer’s cottage

In June 2026, an archaeological team led by Matthew Kelly from Stratum Archaeology excavated beneath the timber floor of the sitting room in the overseer’s cottage at Rouse Hill Estate

Five minutes with a Farm Manager at Rouse Hill Estate

We spoke with Andrew Scarsbrook, Farm Manager at Rouse Hill Estate, about the unique balancing act of managing a historic working farm, caring for its livestock and landscape, and preserving the heritage values that bring its past to life for contemporary audiences

A glimpse behind the scaffold – conservation works at Rouse Hill Estate

Digital Content Coordinator Gabriella Florek took an enlightening tour of ongoing conservation works at Rouse Hill Estate to understand some of the finer details of caring for a complex heritage site

Rouse Hill Public School c1918

Ringing the bell

Celebrating 150 years of Rouse Hill Public School

The ‘crooked R’

At Rouse Hill Estate, reminders of the property’s rural past are everywhere, from fence lines and machinery to farm buildings and the myriad odds and ends stored inside them

The refreshed visitor centre at Rouse Hill Estate

Layered histories: refurbishing the visitor centre at Rouse Hill Estate

Refreshed and renewed, the refurbished visitor centre at Rouse Hill Estate, on Dharug Country, offers visitors an invitation to explore the property and discover its richly layered history

The exterior of the service wing of the main house and the arcade

Rouse Hill conservation works 2024–25

After detailed condition inspections of the state heritage–listed Rouse Hill Estate, MHNSW’s Capital Works and Heritage teams have begun a large-scale conservation project that will sensitively address a range of identified issues at the site

Jar of jam / preserve with spoon and rustic bread on wooden board in kitchen at Vaucluse House

History with flavour

Good food and generous hospitality were part of the rhythms of domestic life at Rouse Hill House. A collection of cookbooks and handwritten recipes accumulated over more than a hundred years remains in the house, and provides a taste of the family’s culinary repertoire through times of boom and bust

Chenille curtain sunburst design

Furnishing textiles in Australia: 1850-1920

The Caroline Simpson Library holds numerous examples of textile furnishings provenanced to NSW homes dating back to the 1850s