Woodlands is a heritage-listed residence at 1 Werona Avenue, in the Sydney suburb of Killara in the Ku-ring-gai Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Henry Austin Wilshire, and built from 1884. It is also known as Inglewood; Inglenook. The property is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 13 October 2006.
History Woodlands (originally called Inglewood) pre-dates the development and growth of the Ku-ring-gai municipality. It lies within the boundaries of the original grant given to Ku-ring-gai pioneer, Henry Oliver (1821). It remains as one of the most substantial residential properties built prior to the 1890 subdivision of Oliver's holding.
Subdivision of this original block was indicative of the development of large private land holdings into suburban allotments in anticipation of the Hornsby to St Leonards railway line which commenced operation on 1 January 1890. Edward Allyn Braham of Sydney purchased a block of four acres, two roods and twenty seven perches (1.88 hectares) on 4 October 1884 for A£500. Woodlands was built on this block of land. Braham was a gentleman's outfitter of the firm Braham and Mulch.KRGHS, 1996, 45
At the time that Braham purchased the property the Railway Commissioners had not yet acquired part of the land for the Hornsby to St Leonards railway line. On 19 January 1889, the Railway Commissioners acquired a portion of Braham's property for the sum of £134, 17s and 6p.
In December 1890, Braham sold the remainder of the property to George Munro, coinciding with the year in which the railway officially opened. Ethel Turner, her stepfather Charles Cope, mother Sarah, sisters Lilian and Rose, and brother Rex, were amongst the new residents that were attracted to Ku-ring-gai with the promise of a healthy new lifestyle, "clear of air and free from pollution". The Cope family were tenants of the then Inglewood (now Woodlands) from 29 September 1891 until December 1894.
During the time that Ethel Turner resided at Inglewood, she was deeply influenced by the native Australian bushland that provided a fundamental component of the setting for Seven Little Australians. The Cope family's move from Paddington to Lindfield was a pivotal part in the writing of Seven Little Australians. The isolation of the suburb of Lindfield "had an effect, like adding half a dozen hours or so to days that since leaving school had been filled to the very brim; red, lonely roads running up hill and down dale; silent bushland everywhere filled with towering gums and wattles and the songs and flittings of birds; sunrises and sunsets uninterrupted by houses - of course one wrote a book!".From "A Chair in the Sun: The Life of Ethel Turner", p. 76
The three years spent at Lindfield (now Killara) are well documented in "The Diaries of Ethel Turner" (Philippa Poole) with references to social engagements, courtship with her future husband, Herbert Curlewis and most importantly commencement of her literary career. Turner's writing during this period was prolific. Apart from the three books written whilst living at Inglewood - Seven Little Australians (1893), The Family at Misrule (1894) and The Story of a Baby (1894), she also wrote many stories and articles that were published in the Illustrated Sydney News, The Parthenon, Tasmanian Mail, The Bulletin, Daily Telegraph and Town and Country Journal.
Turner and her family worshipped at St. John's Church at Gordon, she was married in that church, and local identities referred to in her diary included the Pockley family at Killara.KRGHS, 1996, 115
The subsequent ownership of Inglewod by Andrew J. Sievers (1895) marked a new chapter in the history of the property with significant changes to both the exterior and interior. During Sievers' ownership the Victorian Georgian style house, a classic Georgian-styled two-storey villa with attic was remodelled and extended in the then more contemporary Federation Filigree style. It is likely that the house was renamed "Woodlands" during this period. Sievers returned from his tenure in Europe as Acting Consul to the Royal Swedish and Norwegian Consulate (1887) with significant ideas that added innovations to his home. Sievers' died in 1916 with ownership passing to Agnes Parkinson. Agnes Parkinson in turn sold the property after six years to John Waugh, a bachelor, for the sum of five thousand one hundred pounds. John Waugh died in 1945.
Following Waugh's death, Eric B. Mills is understood to have purchased Woodlands in 1946. The property acquired by Eric Mills extended from the present day Kiamala Crescent on the north to Treatts Road on the south and encompassed the formal entry to the property from Treatts Road. The lands formerly associated with Woodlands to its north and east were subdivided and offered for auction under the title of the "Waugh Estate" on 27 November 1948. The auction by Hardie and Gorman Pty Ltd was the first on-site auction of vacant lots of land following World War II in New South Wales. The auction drew large crowds as restrictions on the sale of vacant lots in the wake of World War II had been lifted on 20 September 1948.
On 14 October 1948, the land presently forming the eastern boundary of WoodlandsLot C DP 362736 was added to the property as compensation for land resumed by Ku-ring-gai Council on the northern boundary, to allow for the extension of Kiamala Crescent to Werona Avenue. This parcel of land had previously formed a small part of the original estate. The Mills family later subdivided Woodlands on 24 September 1952, and sold the southern lot fronting Treatts Road.Lot 1 DP 91685 The subsequent construction of a red brick house on this lot resulted in the loss of formal gardens and the alienation of Woodlands from Treatts Road. As a consequence the street address of "Woodlands" changed to that of the adjoining suburb of Killara. Mature palm trees still mark the former entry to Woodlands on Treatts Road.
The house and remnant grounds of Woodlands (Ingelwood) have remained in the ownership of the Mills family and at the time of preparing this information (2006), William J. Mills was the listed owner. Mrs Patricia Mills the wife of Eric B. Mills had an interest in Ethel Turner and wrote an article about her in "Descent" the genealogical magazine in 1967.
Ethel Turner (1870–1958)
Ethel Turner was born on 24 January 1870 at Balby, Yorkshire England, second child of Bennett George Burwell (d. 1872), a commercial traveller and his wife Sarah Jane (née Shaw). Burwell died in Paris during Ethel's infancy. In 1872 Ethel's widowed mother Sarah Jane Burwell married Henry Turner, a widower with six children. They were to have a daughter Jeannie Rose (b.1873). Ethel and her older sister Lilian Wattnall Burwell (1867-1956) took their step father's name and were known by it throughout their professional careers. Turner, a factory manager, fell into financial difficulties and left only 200 pounds when he died at Coventry in August 1878.Australian Dictionary of Biography
In 1879 the twice widowed Mrs Turner migrated to NSW with her three daughters, Ethel, Lilian and Rose. Also in her care were her step daughter Lucy Turner and another child known as Annie. On 31 December 1880, Sarah Turner married Charles Cope, a clerk of the NSW Lands Department. The following year, Charles and Sarah had a son, Rex (b. 1881). At this time they lived at Woollahra, moving to Paddington in 1885 remaining there until 1890. Turner's autobiographical novel "Three Little Maids" (1900) describes her mother's struggle to maintain her family in genteel poverty and presents the third marriage to Charles Cope as a means of rescue.
Ethel and her older sister Lilian Turner, who would also become an author, attended Sydney Girls High School.Ethel from 1883 -1888 Their literary careers began with the magazine they established at school called the Iris.
In 1889 following her graduation from school, Ethel and Lilian founded and co-edited a literary magazine, entitled The Parthenon. The Parthenon consisted of romantic fiction, serial stories, essays, poems, household hints, reviews and letters. By Turner's admission, many of the contributions were contributed by herself and Lilian under various pseudonyms, with the children's page largely being Ethel's responsibility. The Parthenon which lasted for three years sold about 1,500 copies per month and made £50 annually for its editors.
The Parthenon had already been in circulation for two years when the Cope family moved to Lindfield in September 1891. Ethel Turner's diaries likened the move to the house in Lindfield (now Killara) to "being buried alive to live in a quiet little country place after the bustle and excitement of town life." The lapse of The Parthenon, and Ethel's subsequent contribution to the Illustrated Sydney News in the form of the children's page prepared Ethel for what she referred to as her "grand work". The move to Lindfield served to provide her with the inspiration for this undertaking.
On 24 January 1893, the day of her birthday, Ethel Turner began writing Seven Little Australians. Nine months later in October Turner wrote "Finished 7 Little Australians, hurrah. Now I only have to copy out 7 chapters and it is ready to go and hunt for a publisher." The writing of Seven Little Australians was completed while sitting in a low hanging branch of an apple tree in the orchard within the grounds of "Inglewood". At other times she wrote inside the house both in the drawing room and the bedroom that she shared with Lilian.
Seven Little Australians was a watershed in Australian children's literature due to its depiction of an Australian rather than British family. The conflict and melodramatic aspects within the family life of the fictional Woolcott's have ensured the universal longevity which has made it popular worldwide.
Following the publication of Seven Little Australians, Turner wrote The Family at Misrule" in 1894 and The Story of a Baby in the same year. In December 1894, the Cope family moved to a house they had built in Powell Street, Killara called Bukyangi. By 1896 a further three books were written and published by Turner – The Little Duchess, The Little Larrikin and Miss Bobbie. In April of this same year she married Herbert Raine Curlewis (1869–1942), Barrister at Law, and later Judge of the Industrial Arbitration Court (1917) and the District Court (1928).
Ethel and Herbert Curlewis moved to a rented cottage at Mosman while building their own house Avenel which overlooked Middle Harbour. This house, Avenel was where Ethel lived for the rest of her life. From 1897 until 1928 Turner wrote and published a further thirty six books. She also became Editor of Sunbeams a weekend coloured comic supplement of the Sydney Sun until 1931. At the peak of her editorship, Turner who called herself Chief Sunbeamer received four thousand letters in one week. It was also during her editorship that Turner encouraged the creation of the iconic comic strip character Ginger Meggs.
Ethel and Herbert Curlewis had two children, Ethel Jean Sophia (1898–1930) and Adrian Herbert (1901–1985). Jean Charlton (née Curlewis) who was also an author died of tuberculosis in March 1930, Ethel was said to be so affected by her daughter's untimely death that she did not write another book.
Ethel Turner's son Sir Adrian Herbert Curlewis (1901–1985), was a Judge, surf life-saver and administrator. He graduated from Sydney University and was called to the Bar in 1927. He served in Malaya in World War II and was a prisoner of war from 1942 to 1945. He was a New South Wales District Court Judge from 1948 to 1971, retiring at the age of 70. He was also President of the Surf Life Saving Association of Australia from 1933 to 1974, and President of the International Council of Surf Life Saving from 1956 to 1973.