Arnprior, Larbert

Arnprior is a heritage-listed homestead and farm at Mayfield Road, Larbert, in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1827 by William Ryrie. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 November 1999.

Arnprior has associations with the Ryrie family, dating to the 1820s. Scottish-born Stewart Ryrie (1778–1852) immigrated to Australia in 1825 on board the Triton with his second wife Isabella Ryrie (née Cassels) and the six children from his first marriage. Ryrie's two eldest sons were William (born c.1805) and James (born c.1806). Stewart Ryrie had served as a deputy assistant commissary general in the British Army during the Peninsular War in 1808–1815, stationed in Spain and Portugal. On arrival to Sydney in October 1825, Ryrie took up an appointment as the deputy assistant commissary general, based at the Commissariat Stores at Circular Quay. On 22 September 1826, William and James Ryrie wrote to the Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay, stating their intention to "reside on the Land to be granted to us" as they were unable to find suitable work in Sydney. In c.1827, William Ryrie was granted Portion 4 of the Parish of Larbert in the County of Murray. Ryrie's grant encompassed 2560 acres and was a roughly rectangular parcel of land located to the north of the Shoalhaven River and to the north-east of the Village of Larbert. It appears that Ryrie's grant had earlier been occupied by a William Bradbury. It appears that Bradbury held a Ticket of Occupation for the land he had been living on at Curraduck-bidgee (Kurraducbidgee) prior to 1826. 'Bradbury's Station' is shown on Robert Hoddle's 1824 map of the Braidwood District, roughly in the vicinity of Ryrie's grant. Bradbury later moved to the Bungonia area. William Ryrie's land grant was named Arnprior in memory of Isabella Ryrie (née Cassels)'s family home in Scotland. The 1828 census indicates that a house on William's 2560-acre land grant, Arnprior, was under construction at this time, as was a house on his brother James's grant Durran Durra. The census recorded that there were 18 people living at Arnprior including workforce of eleven (ten of whom were convicts or ex-convicts). It also recorded that there were 35 acres of cleared land and 23 acres cultivated land at Arnprior, compared to one acre cultivated and cleared land at Durran Durra. Arnprior had 553 head of cattle and 1100 sheep, while Durran Durra had 75 cattle and 540 sheep. The house on William's land holding faced the Shoalhaven River, but was set back from it, possibly because the river was known to regularly flood. Physical inspection of the house suggests that it began modestly (comprising four rooms) and was added to over the nineteenth century to accommodate the extended Ryrie family. The house eventually had thirteen rooms. Stewart Ryrie retired in 1829. The following year, he arrived at Arnprior to live with his wife Isabella and their three young children: John Cassels (b. 1826), Alexander (b. 1827) and David (b. 1829), and it became the family home. William's younger brothers Donald, then 18 years old, and Stewart, aged 16, also lived at Arnprior. Another resident at Arnprior in the 1830s was the Greek-born shepherd Ghikas Boulgaris (a.k.a. Jigger Bulgary) who was married to Mary Lyons at the property in 1836. Their two youngest children, Xanthe and Catherine, were born at Arnprior. In 1837, William Ryrie advised the Governor of New South Wales on the best routes and staging posts for a postal service between Melbourne and Sydney. In January 1840, the Arnprior land grant was formalised. The 1841 census showed that 48 people were living at Arnprior and Durran Durra in that year. The two properties had been amalgamated following the death of Ja

Monument data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).