Booloominbah is a heritage-listed mansion at 60 Madgwick Drive, Armidale, in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Horbury Hunt in the Federation Arts and Crafts style and built from 1884 to 1888 by William Seabrook and John Thomas Brown. Originally a private house for the pastoralist White family, it subsequently became the initial building of the New England University College, the predecessor of the University of New England. It continues to be owned by the university and is now used for university administration and as a cafe, bar and function venue. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 8 November 2006.
History
Indigenous history
Prior to European occupation the area was inhabited by the indigenous Nganaywanya, or Anaiwan, people. The Nganaywanya developed extensive trading networks with their neighbours, based on rich plant and animal resources. The area also provided a rich source of hard volcanic rock for tool making and ceremonial purposes.
After the arrival of Europeans to the Armidale area the Anaiwan people established a semi-permanent camp on Drummond's Hill. From here they established close ties to the large pastoral runs in the area, particularly with the White family. Oral histories indicate that Anaiwan people were employed at Booloominbah as domestic staff.
The White family Frederick Robert White, born in 1835, was the fifth child of James and Sarah White, formerly of the Australian Agricultural Company and a highly successful pastoralist. Frederick White received the wool producing property "Timor" from his father's estate and began expanding the holdings. White married Sarah Amelia Arndell (b.1841), a descendant of First Fleet surgeon Thomas Arndell, in 1860. In the following year he borrowed money from a cousin to buy as second property, "Harben Vale", to the west of "Timor". White became a lay reader in the Murrurundi Church of England and was influential in appointing John Horbury Hunt to design the church of which he laid the foundation stone in 1873. White provided half of the funds necessary to build a second church at Blandford, also designed by Hunt and closer to "Harben Vale". He also had Hunt build a third church at Timor as well as stables for "Harben Vale".
During the 1860s and 1870s the White family worked together to strengthen their holdings by exchanging and sharing land and borrowing money from one another to purchase new properties, for Frederick these were in the Tablelands and included "Mihi Creek", later known as "Rockwood" east of Uralla. In 1877 White bought several small blocks outside of Armidale, possibly with the intention of moving his family there from the Upper Hunter. By then Frederick and Sarah had four sons and three daughters, having lost another three daughters. It was the loss of twin daughters and his mother that almost certainly convinced White to test the prevailing belief that the New England climate was better for the health. The decision to move the family to Armidale was cemented in 1880, when it was announced the new railway line would pass through the town. White bought another 22 blocks of land to the north-west of Armidale, today the campus of the University of New England. While White purchased the land in 1880 it was not until 1882 that the family moved to Armidale. A snap-shot of White's holdings in 1884 reveals he had 14,970 hectares (37,000 acres) at "Harben Vale" with 30,000 sheep and 8090 hectares (20,000 acres) at "Rookwood" with 17,800 sheep.
'The Hill' in Armidale was 160 hectares (400 acres), but was never large contributor to the family's income. The property later grew to 810 hectares (2000 acres) and with the construction of Booloominbah was renamed after the house.
The first plans for Booloominbah were completed in 1882 or early 1883 and revised before tenders were called for the construction in November 1883. The builders, Seabrook and Brown, met with White and Hunt on site in February and March 1884. The details of the contract reveal that Hunt was to direct the construction for a fee of (Pounds)6000, which was to be completed by January 1886. White seems to have changed his mind and decided to halt construction while he took his family to Great Britain and Europe for a year. White also altered the contract, stating that he would now provide all the glass and asked a third set of drawings be made. Seabrook and Brown requested that, despite the delay in full-scale construction, that they be allowed to quarry the stone and lay the foundations, which was probably agreed to. The family returned, apparently some time in 1885, as by Christmas 1886 building was well on its way and was nearly completed in 1887. Due to the extensive nature of the interior decorations, the family did not move in until 1888. Original plans for Booloominbah had included a service wing to the west, which was not constructed at the time, but major additions were built in the mid-1890s, some of which were supervised by Hunt.
Throughout the construction of Booloominbah, White continued to manage his four properties, often travelling to personally supervise them. During 1888 the White families at "Saumarez" and "Belltrees" worked together to run non-union shearers through the blockade. In 1891 eldest daughter Kate married Thomas Richmond Forster and Frederick bought Forster "Abington" and included him in the White family cooperative. Kate came back to Booloominbah to have each of her children, thus fulfilling the family's desire for a true family home.
In 1902 the youngest son turned 21 and White transferred ownership properties one to each son. White died in the following year, leaving an estate thought to be valued at £55,134. From this he gave substantial sums to the Armidale and Grafton Church of Christ diocese for building works, to be undertaken by Hunt. He also gave money for missions to New Guinea and Melanesia and to the Indigenous people of North Queensland. Hospitals in Armidale, Murrurundi, Muswellbrook, Sydney and the Prince Alfred Hospital also benefited.
Sarah White continued to live at Booloominbah for the remaining 30 years of her life. Between 1916 and 1919 Sarah turned over the service wing for the use of the Red Cross as a convalescent home for wounded World War I servicemen. In 1922 some of the land around Booloominbah was sold off and the remainder was leased as small farms. Sarah died in 1933, leaving the house to whichever of the grandchildren would buy it within 12 months. In the Great Depression, none of the children seem to have been in a position to purchase the property and it was discussed that perhaps the house would have to be sold for £6000.
University College and University White, who had some formal education, obviously valued it for his children. He sent his sons to The King's School, Parramatta, and made extensive clauses in his will regarding the provision of education for his grandchildren, including university or higher education should they desire it. It is therefore fitting that son-in-law Thomas Forster proposed the house be donated to a fund established to create a university college in Armidale. The idea of a university in Armidale was first floated in 1922 as an extension of the schools already in existence. In the opening decades of the 20th century the traditional view of universities as only for the very wealthy was being challenged as academic state high schools exit exams became acceptable entry standard to university.
The drive for a university in Armidale was also driven by the New England New State Movement (NSM), a quasi-political organisation with links to the Country Party who wanted to form their own state, seeing very little similarity or shared interest with the Sydney-based government. When local member David Henry Drummond, who sympathised with the NSM, became the Minister for Education in 1927 he moved quickly to establish a teachers' college in Armidale. In 1934 Drummond suggested that if a sum of £10,000 could be raised the Government would be more willing to support a university college.
By 1936 very little headway had been made and it looked unlikely that such a sum could be raised. It was in this climate that Forster suggested that the donation of Booloominbah to the Government might force the issue. A secondary concern was the unwillingness of the University of Sydney to consider the proposal, funding was tight and it was only when they saw an opportunity to increase their budget that they were convinced. The sum was barely raised, the commercial and professionals of Armidale making very little contribution, leaving the efforts to the surrounding graziers. With that the Government rushed through amendments to the University Act in the last weeks of 1937.
Alterations were already planned before the confirmation had come through, they were quickly implemented and teaching began on 15 March 1938. Alterations to convert Booloominbah from a house into a university were reasonably extensive and included wiring for electricity, removal of walls in the kitchen and scullery to create a dining hall and the conversion of the laundry into a kitchen. The largest alteration was the construction of a flat for the warden, which required the demolition of the kitchens chimney, an integral part of Hunts design. Other smaller modifications were made, a door between the former morning and drawing rooms for example.
The first warden, Dr Edgar Booth, wanted to create a family atmosphere. In the first years all students lived in Booloominbah, its Lodge or Sub-lodge and everyone ate together in the dining hall. In later years, when the student population grew, townhouses had to be rented for the additional students, they still ate together in the dining hall, being picked up by bus at 8am in time for breakfast and then returned after dinner.
In 1945 there was 180 students attending the University College and a staff of twenty. The relationship with the University of Sydney was becoming increasingly strained, with constant calls for the college to become autonomous. Staff wanted the ability to approve students study paths and teach subjects specific to rural needs, agricultural and veterinary science, for example. In 1944 the college had drafted a bill in the hopes that the New South Wales government would give them autonomy. The University of Sydney agreed in May 1945 that they would work towards autonomy in seven years. The intervening World War II, political manoeuvring and more prevarication by Sydney University meant the University of New England did not come into existence until 1 February 1954.
The political arguments resulted in very little money for the college. As a result, student numbers remained low and Booloominbah retained its central role in the life of the college, only two other permanent buildings having been constructed. The library was the most rapidly expanding element of the college, it slowly expanded from room to room. In 1948 students protested when administrators decided to brighten up the building by painting the walls and skirtings white. The students were particularly distressed at the loss of the "scrolls, texts and decorations. They are unashamedly Victorian, we know, but Bool would be illogical with out them.".Mitchell 1988, p.59 Around this time the roof tiles were replaced with no appreciation of the traditional English style they had contributed to.