This week, Roy had great plans for where he wanted to go. He has a friend who works in various museums, and she had been telling him all about an historic house she knows which isn’t far from our home, The Pines and Roughley House. Roy loves historic houses, and is always fascinated to see how people lived in the past, so he wanted to make sure to visit soon. When he arrived, he fell in love with the beautiful farm house, and wanted to tell all his friends about it too.
If you would like to visit Roughley House, it is located in Dural (NSW), at 656a Old Northern Road. Set in a beautiful garden, full of old pine trees (which is why it is known as 'The Pines'), the house is a trip back in time, with each room set up as it was when the Roughley Family lived there. The house is just behind the Tourist Information Centre, and to visit you will need to head into the centre and talk to the friendly volunteers. Entry is by gold coin donation, though group tours can arrange to also have morning tea included for $5 per person. While you’re at the information centre, you can also have a look at what other things there are to do in the area. Of course, Roughley House is also open for visits during the regular Jazz in the Pines, held in the gardens around the house. If you are interested in Jazz, make sure to find out when the next Jazz in the Pines concert is!
The Pines and Roughley House is a welcoming, beautiful place, full of history, having been in the same family, the Roughleys, for over 150 years! The Roughley family first arrived in Australia in 1818. Joseph Roughley and his eldest son, James were sentenced to spend 7 years in Australia as convicts having been convicted of stealing. They spent their time as convicts labouring in Parramatta and the Hills District, learning valuable skills which would be very useful in their future lives. Even though Australia was very different to where they came from, the Roughley Family made the best of it, and James married here before moving to Dural. Here he took up 50 acres of land in 1830.
Roughley House was not the first built by the Roughley Family. In total, when James Roughley II died in 1908, the estate was made up of 5 properties. However, Roughley House is very old and has watched generations of Roughleys grow up. It was built in 1856 and the Roughley family lived in it until Clive Roughley, the well loved 'egg and honey man', who had no direct heirs to pass the house onto, passed away. Prior to his death, in 1984, Clive had sold the estate to Hills Shire Council for $1, as long as he could remain living in the house for the rest of his life. If you can't visit the house in person, you can always take a virtual online tour by clicking here.
