- Linnwood
Linnwood is a historic home in the suburb of Guildford in Holroyd,
Australia . It is situated at 25 Byron Rd, Guildford and is listed as a state significant building on the New South Wales Heritage Office heritage register. [cite web
title =Linnwood
work =
publisher =Heritage Council of New South Wales
url =http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_02_2.cfm?itemid=5052822
accessdate =2007-06-23 ]History
Completed in 1891, Linnwood was an innovation for its time having the first telephone in the district and generating its own electricity. A newspaper article of the 1890’s described Linnwood as “being one of the most perfectly finished domestic establishments in the Southern Hemisphere – a home that is just a dream of every convenience and comfort”. A summerhouse and a small hall were erected on the site and the first Presbyterian Church Services in the area were held on the property. Linnwood was designed and built by George McCredie as a home for his wife Susan and their children.
George McCredie died in 1903 and his wife and children remained in Linnwood until 1917 when the property was advertised for lease. From 1917, the Education Dept. leased and subsequently purchased the property as use as a Boys Truant School. From 1921 Linnwood was now known as the Guildford Truant School for Boys. 1n 1923, approval was given to build new dormitories and extra outbuildings including a laundry and shower block.
Around 1930 the number of boys being sent to the school was dwindling and by 1936 conversion from a Truant School to a residential girl’s school for State Wards aged 14 years and up was completed. Linnwood continued to be used in this way for the next few decades and by 1966 was seen as a Special Training School for Home Science for girls from deprived backgrounds. It was not strictly an orphanage, but used for girls who, for various reasons, could not live in their own homes. The girls were taught housekeeping, cooking and needlework as well as being schooled on site in Linnwood's own schoolroom. In 1976 Faulds House was officially opened on the property. With changes in the welfare system, homes like Linnwood gradually became superfluous to the Dept. and by 1999 all homes on the estate were virtually empty.
Linnwood is now managed by The Heritage Office of NSW in partnership with Holroyd City Council and The Friends of Linnwood.
Notes
References
* [http://www.linnwood.holroyd.nsw.gov.au/ Linnwood website]
*Linnwood Summer House souvenir programme outlining "90 years of pilgrimage" 1984-1984. published by Holroyd & District Historical Society, 1984. See Libraries of Australia website at http://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.auExternal links
* [http://libapp.sl.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus/ENQ/PM/FULL1?312818,I Photo of official opening of Faulds House, Byron Rd, Guildford]
Further reading
*Sydney good walks guide (4th ed.) p 76; Lawrence, Joan; Alexandria: Kingsclear Books, 2007 (isbn: 9780908272891).
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