Don Bank Conservation Management Plan

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Consultation has concluded

Submissions close 31 January 2023

Don Bank Museum is the oldest timber house on the north shore, and one of the best preserved cottages of its type in NSW. It was bought by Council to ensure its preservation in 1979, restored, and opened as a museum in 1981. It was listed on the State Heritage Register in 1999.

The CMP review was prompted by two issues. The first was the need to better interpret laundry work at the house. The laundry structure in the courtyard had been demolished during restoration. Its absence meant that the original mangle (press) and various other items associated with the laundry have been ‘displayed’ along the back veranda - exposed to the elements, and without means of interpretation. The second issue was whether the shingle roof should be replaced with another covering of shingles to approximate the material used for the first 50 years of the dwelling’s life, or corrugated iron as was used from 1893. The latter conforms to the period most interpreted within the museum, is considerably more affordable and may provide better rain protection. This roof was last done in 2000 with shingles made from casuarina. The life span of a shingle roof is about 20 years.

This CMP review adds considerably to our knowledge of the early history of the house. Its construction date had been put as early as the 1820s, as one of the first buildings on the Wollstonecraft estate, or the 1840s on a subdivision of that estate then owned and being developed by Alexander Berry. The current CMP puts the date as the 1830s or 1840s.

Have Your Say

Use the online submission form (below) or alternatively, send submissions to:

  • Email - yoursay@northsydney.nsw.gov.au
  • Mail - North Sydney Council, PO Box 12, NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2059

For more information contact Council's Historian, Ian Hoskins on 9936 8100.

Submissions close 31 January 2023

Don Bank Museum is the oldest timber house on the north shore, and one of the best preserved cottages of its type in NSW. It was bought by Council to ensure its preservation in 1979, restored, and opened as a museum in 1981. It was listed on the State Heritage Register in 1999.

The CMP review was prompted by two issues. The first was the need to better interpret laundry work at the house. The laundry structure in the courtyard had been demolished during restoration. Its absence meant that the original mangle (press) and various other items associated with the laundry have been ‘displayed’ along the back veranda - exposed to the elements, and without means of interpretation. The second issue was whether the shingle roof should be replaced with another covering of shingles to approximate the material used for the first 50 years of the dwelling’s life, or corrugated iron as was used from 1893. The latter conforms to the period most interpreted within the museum, is considerably more affordable and may provide better rain protection. This roof was last done in 2000 with shingles made from casuarina. The life span of a shingle roof is about 20 years.

This CMP review adds considerably to our knowledge of the early history of the house. Its construction date had been put as early as the 1820s, as one of the first buildings on the Wollstonecraft estate, or the 1840s on a subdivision of that estate then owned and being developed by Alexander Berry. The current CMP puts the date as the 1830s or 1840s.

Have Your Say

Use the online submission form (below) or alternatively, send submissions to:

  • Email - yoursay@northsydney.nsw.gov.au
  • Mail - North Sydney Council, PO Box 12, NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2059

For more information contact Council's Historian, Ian Hoskins on 9936 8100.