ABOUT one million hand-made bricks were used to build historic Macquarie at O’Connell and other convict-built buildings on the property.
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The former home of Blue Mountains explorer William Lawson has been restored to its former glory by new owners Paul and Bonny Hennessy over the past six years, along with the two-storey convict barracks beside it.
Now the Hennessys are opening several of the restored rooms of the homestead and surrounding buildings to the public for an open day on Saturday, March 24.
Former Governor Marie Bashir will be on hand to unveil a commemorative plaque on the restored barracks that date back to the 1820s.
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Macquarie was built on 1000 acres of land granted to Lawson by Governor Lachlan Macquarie after he charted a road across the Blue Mountains with Gregory Blaxland and William Charles Wentworth in 1813.
Lawson was also granted convicts to help established the property, though just how many remains something of a mystery.
“An experienced bricklayer who worked on the restoration estimated there are approximately one million bricks here that would have been all made on-site by the convicts from materials sourced on the property,” Mr Hennessy said.
“Lawson recorded that he had 28 convicts at a time here and about 100 spread over his various properties but how do you reconcile those numbers?”
The standard of workmanship throughout the original homestead is also surprising given few – if any – of the convict labourers would have been skilled workers.
Dame Marie will become the third governor to have visited Macquarie when she attends the open day later this month.
Governor Macquarie’s diaries reveal he visited the property when it was owned by William Lawson and Sir Charles FitzRoy spent 10 days at the property in the 1840s.
Hundreds of people are expected at the open day, including a representative from the Macquarie Bank, National Trust members from Bathurst, Sydney and the Blue Mountains, and members of many heritage associations.
The Macquarie Male Singers will entertain the crowd and there will be tours of the formal rooms of the homestead and also the outside buildings.
Along with the plaque to be unveiled by Dame Marie, the Hennessys will unveil a display of the names of all the convicts known to have stayed at the barracks.
The day will start at 10.30am and admission is $10. Proceeds will be donated to the Bathurst Community Op Shop.
