The Redmire Estate was subdivided in 1867 and smaller lots of land were offered for sale. The first property built was Thomas Henderson’s ‘Seven Oaks Farm’, a dairy farm located around Victoria Street Strathfield.

The oldest houses still standing in Strathfield are ‘Fairholm’ (now Strathfield Gardens Retirement Village in Cotswold Rd) and ‘Llandilo’ (now Trinity Grammar Preparatory School on The Boulevarde), both built in the late 1870’s.

Many other land grants began subdivision and gradually Strathfield and Homebush began to develop as a residential district. Strathfield and Homebush were considered desirable places to live as the railway, which was first established in Homebush in 1855, enabled businessmen to travel to work in the City each day. As land was plentiful, many wealthy businessmen built lavish mansions on large blocks of land. Many of these homes still exist today such as ‘Mount Royal’ (Australian Catholic University) and ‘Brunyarra’ and ‘Lauriston’ (Santa Maria Del Monte).

Strathfield contains a wide variety of housing types and many were built in Victorian and Federation styles. These homes are an important part of the built heritage of Strathfield.

References

Fox and Associates, Strathfield Heritage Study Vol. 1 and 2, Strathfield Municipal Council, 1986.

Jones, Cathy, ‘A short history of Strathfield’, Strathfield District Historical Society Newsletter, January 2005.

Jones, MA, Oasis in the West: Strathfield’s First One Hundred Years, Allen and Unwin, 1985.

Kohen, James., The Darug and their Neighbours: the traditional Aboriginal owners of the Sydney Region, Darug Link in association with Blacktown and District Historical Association, 1993.

Strathfield Municipal Council, Strathfield Information Sheet: some notes on the Municipality of Strathfield, 1974.

Turbet, Peter, The Aborigines of the Sydney District before 1788, Kangaroo Press, 2001.