Alexander Watt bought the large block, fronting Keppel and Mitre streets. It was described as “open land”, meaning no buildings and unfenced. Watt did not build on the land, deciding to build his own house on 320 acres close to the edge of town, which he named Esrom. It is now the administration building of All Saints’ College.

Following Watt’s death in 1887, his Estate sold the land in Keppel Street, which was now valued at £6, to Sir Saul Samuel. Samuel arrived free with his mother and brother, Lewis, in 1832 and set up a mercantile firm in Sydney with a branch in Bathurst.

He was the first Jewish legislator in NSW and laid the foundation stone for the Great Synagogue in Elizabeth Street, Sydney. He was colonial treasurer for some years, and postmaster general, and opened the GPO in 1874. But like the previous two owners, he did not build on the land in Keppel Street.

In 1888, the owner was John Belmore Dulhunty, an auctioneer, commission agent and, later, grazier. It was Dulhunty who built the first house on the upper part of the land and called it Monteagle. Some time prior to 1908, he built another house lower on the block and called it Karunda, presumably as a rental, the first tenant being Mr C. H. Stangar, a locomotive superintendent.

Although there is no concrete evidence, it is believed that John Job Copeman was the architect.

Dulhunty was born in 1841 in Dubbo. He married Eva McKillop of Dubbo and they had two daughters, Annie and Eva. He was a pillar of the Anglican Church in Bathurst, and state returning officer before Federation. He died in August 1918, is buried at Holy Trinity, Kelso and his obituary noted that he was one of the best-known figures in the district.

In 1924, both Monteagle and Karunda were put up for auction on behalf of Dulhunty’s Estate by E. H. Taylor & Co. Karunda was advertised as a “very nice brick cottage with large sleeping-out verandah and a carpenter’s shed, four bedrooms and two reception rooms”.

It was at this time that the two properties were subdivided and Karunda was purchased by the Estate of Edmund Thomas Webb in 1926. Webb owned Littlebourne at Kelso, which had been named in 1830 by its owner Thomas Evernden after a small town between Sandwich and Canterbury in Kent, UK where Thomas Evernden’s father was a respected farmer.

Mrs Fanny Edgeworth Webb, nee Byrnes, brought the name Littlebourne with her when she moved into Karunda with three of her daughters, Florence Verona (Verona), Amy Winifred (Winnie) and Clara Irene. The Webb family lived in the house until the last of the daughters died in 1977.

The next owner of Littlebourne was Robert Rickman Slade in October 1977, although the property was not transferred to him for some five years, due to errors in conveyancing.

During this time, the rear of the land and the rear of its adjoining neighbour at 254 Keppel Street were subdivided to incorporate six blocks of land surrounding a newly formed road, named Cardew Place.

Margaret and Ronald Graham owned Littlebourne for a short time, before Francis and Denise Hourigan purchased the property in June 1983. Since 2001, the owners have been Denise Hourigan Thomas and Noel Thomas. These owners engaged John Blackwood, an architect in Orange, to redesign the rear enclosed verandah and design a new kitchen.

With its decorative gables and verandah, the house enhances the streetscape and has a rich history of well-known and well-respected Bathurst families. The National Trust acknowledges its present owners for their care and maintenance of the property.