Willandra, Ryde, Sydney

Willandra is a Colonial Georgian house in the Sydney suburb of Ryde. It is listed by the New South Wales Heritage Council as a place of historical significance. It was built by James Devlin in the early 1840s and has been associated with several prominent people. During the 1970s it was in danger of being demolished but it was purchased by the Ryde City Council with the assistance of the Federal Government and has been restored. It is now used by two local community groups.

James Devlin was born in 1808 in Sydney. His father was Arthur Devlin, an Irishman who was a leader in the 1798 Rebellion and was captured and exiled to Australia in 1805. His mother was Priscilla Squire, the daughter of James Squire, who was a brewer near Ryde. James’s father died when he was only 12 and his mother remarried. His stepfather was Thomas Small. At the age of 14, James became an apprentice wheelwright and remained in this trade for much of his life. In 1831 he married Mary Ann Hartigan and the following year they had a son James (see photo below). In 1833 Mary died in childbirth and the baby, John, died the following day.

In 1834 James married Susannah Hughes (1810–1906), who was the daughter of Matthew Hughes and Mary Small. Matthew was a schoolmaster first in Sydney and later at Richmond in the Hawkesbury region. James and Susannah had ten children, some of whom are shown in the photos below. James became a relatively influential businessman in the Ryde area and was warden and trustee of St Anne’s Church for many years. His daughter Rebecca Fitzhardinge (see photo below) remembers that part of James business involved the supply of food to several public institutions such as the Orphan School at Parramatta. He also had an orange orchard near Willandra, which was a commercial venture that provided the family with another source of income. The orange orchid is mentioned in some of the advertisements for the sale or lease of Willandra in later years (see below).

In 1841 the Devlins started to build Willandra and by 1845 the family had moved in. Rebecca Fitzhardinge born in 1846 states that she was the first child born in the house. Shortly before they occupied the property James became bankrupt but was released from insolvency in the following year.

The Devlin family lived at Willandra for almost 30 years. The picture above of the house shows some of the family in about 1870 shortly before they left Ryde. In 1874 the Devlins sold the house and moved to Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. According to Rebecca Fitzhardinge, it was first sold to Mrs Jane Darvall and she in turn sold it to Mr John Donald Macansh. He then sold the property to the trustees of Mrs Caroline Manning. (see below). An advertisement for the sale of the house appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1875. At this stage it was referred to as Ryde House and was described in the following terms:

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