Bronte House: Waverley's oldest property 

Bronte House’s story begins in 1836 when William Mortimer Lewis, Colonial Architect, bought 42 acres of land at Nelson Bay.  He began a house on his land but, when an economic depression hit in 1843, was forced to sell the property before its completion.

Robert Lowe, an English barrister and later NSW parliamentarian bought the property as a ‘country residence’ and finished the house in 1845. He and his wife Georgiana were some of the Bronte House’s most charismatic inhabitants, despite only being in residence for four years.  

The house changed hands quickly over the next couple of years, until the Ebsworth family bought the property in 1882. They were the longest private owners of Bronte House, the family occupying the property over three generations.

In 1948 the Ebsworths sold the house and its grounds to Waverley Council. The Bronte branch of the Red Cross applied to Council to rent two small rooms and the kitchen at the rear of the property. Council agreed and the Red Cross had their home at Bronte House until 1969. An evening card party was held by them each week to raise money for their rent.  

The house was fully restored by Council and is now leased out. Notable amongst recent lessees was Leo Schofield, whose love of the gardens is explored in his book The Garden at Bronte.  

Bronte House is designed in the picturesque style; its features include romantic circular and hexagonal corner turrets, deep bay windows, and pierced wooden tracery. A second story was added to the house in the 1880s.   The house is built of sandstone with a slate roof. It has two fronts, one at the western entrance and the other on the opposite side, with a stunning view over the ocean.