Heritage Festival 2025: Miss Rose Adcock and her Iron Houses of Snails Bay

Heritage Festival 2025: Miss Rose Adcock and her Iron Houses of Snails Bay

Take a historical deep dive into one of Balmain's most unique residences.

6.1k followers
By Inner West Council Libraries
6.1k followers
Lots of repeat customers 📈

Date and time

Wednesday, May 14 · 6:30 - 7:30pm AEST

Location

Balmain Library

Balmain Town Hall 370 Darling Street Balmain, NSW 2041 Australia

About this event

  • Event lasts 1 hour

Join local historian Ray Stevens for an interesting deep dive into a unique Balmain residential history.

An odd-looking house with vaulted roof and corrugated sheeting for walls. What is this place and how did it come to be here?

A story about two imported iron villas (one of which remains at 235 Rowntree Street in Birchgrove) is also a story about the adventures of Miss Rose Adcock, a 23 year old single woman who arrived in Sydney in 1849. What circumstances motivated her to travel from England to a colonial settlement in Sydney and become an entrepreneurial property speculator and developer?

This story not only looks at the physical and historical information on the pair of portable iron houses that are most likely the best examples in the world of portable houses. The early development of Balmain from pre-settlement days is outlined along with the legal status of William Balmain's land grant and its transfer to John Borthwick Gilchrist.

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Inner West Council Libraries
6.1k followers
Lots of repeat customers

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