By Cathy Jones (2020, updated 2024)
‘Kintore’, 71 Albert Road Strathfield, is a Federation Queen Anne style house, built in 1899 by John Lyon Gardiner, a prolific builder of high quality houses of the Federation period in Strathfield. It is part of a group of three houses at 71-75 Albert Road built by Gardiner.
This property is situated on the original Thomas Rose grant of 1793. The land passed to Edward Powell and by the 1880’s the land was generally owned by William Russell. In October 1888, six acres in the northern part of Russell’s land was acquired by the President and Fellows of Camden Congregational College, with the intention of building a theological college in Strathfield. An additional five perches fronting Homebush Road was added from the Frederick Meredith 1793 grant, thereby the land fronted Albert Road, Homebush Road and Beresford Road.
The Congregational Church was well established in the Strathfield area in the late 19th century with many high profile members in the local community including merchant George Todman, architects Charles Slatyer and Harry Chambers Kent (both sons of Congregational Ministers), and the extended members of the David Jones family (including members of the Jones, Thompson, Nott, Ross and Wilshire families). The Strathfield-Homebush Congregational Church (now Korean Uniting Church) was located opposite this land on the corner Homebush and Albert Road Strathfield. Likely as a response to poor economic conditions in the 1890s, the plan to develop the land became unviable and the College Trustees opted to subdivide the land and offer it for residential sale in 1898. This subdivision includes land in Albert Rd (65-103 Albert Rd), Homebush Rd (25-39 Homebush Rd) and parts of Beresford Rd.
In September 1898, John Lyon Gardiner, a builder of Strathfield, acquired land from this estate with the intention of building a house to be on sold. Garden was a prolific builder in the Federation period in Strathfield and built many high quality houses in Redmyre Rd, Churchill Avenue and Vernon Street. It is likely that the house was constructed in 1899. An entry is recorded in Sands Sydney Directory in 1900 noting J L Gardiner as the occupant (Sands Directory generally references the previous year).
Gardiner registered a condition on the certificate of title (v.1261 f.101) restricting development on the land lot to one dwelling house which “shall include all ordinary outhouses and stabling”.
In December 1899, the property was transferred to Lola Lindsay Thompson (née Hawley), wife of Herbert Lindsay Thompson (1862-1903). Lindsay Thompson was Chief Clerk in the Ministerial branch of the NSW Lands Department. Lindsay Thompson was the brother of Ernest Lindsay Thompson, an architect and Alderman on Sydney Council, Frederick Lindsay Thompson, a dentist and W. Lindsay Thompson, a solicitor. Author Ethel Turner of ‘Seven Little Australians’ fame was the sister of Frederick Lindsay Thompson’s wife Lillian, who was also a writer.
The house name ‘Kintore’ appears on various records including the 1904 Wise Directory and Strathfield Council valuation lists.
Herbert Lindsay Thompson died aged 40 in 1903. His widow Lola Lindsay Thompson continued to own ‘Kintore’ until her death in 1955. Sands Directory records Mrs H Lindsay Thompson operating the private school ‘Rossmoyne’ in Redmyre Rd [near Vernon St] in 1906-1908.After 1915, the ‘Kintore’ was often leased. Tenants appearing in Sands Directory include James R Garland, solicitor (1916-1918), A G De L Arnold (1921), Stephen Herford (1922-1923), Alexander Simpson (1924), W G Geddes ‘Kintore’ (1927-1939), and Mrs Lucy E Whyte, (1930-31).
In April 1956, the property transferred to Gordon Lindsay Thompson, of Manly, marine engineer and Samuel Cook, of Sydney, solicitor as joint tenants. Ownership transferred in May 1956 to Gordon Lindsay Thompson.
In September 1957, an arrangement to purchase the house was recorded on a notice of land transfer from Gordon Lindsay Thompson to Henry George and Peggy Rosina Oag, Taxi Truck proprietor and his wife. The purchase price of the property was £6000 and terms of sale was £40 deposit and £40 per month. The certificate of land title registered change of owner in 1963 to Henry George Oag of Strathfield, taxi truck proprietor and Peggy Rosanna Oag, his wife.
References
Thompson, Herbert Lindsay (1863–1903)’, Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/thompson-herbert-lindsay-19918/text31119, accessed 25 July 2020.
Brenda Niall, ‘Thompson, Lilian Wattnall (Lil) (1867–1956)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/thompson-lilian-wattnall-lil-9263/text15605, published first in hardcopy 1990, accessed online 29 July 2020.
Commonwealth of Australia Electoral Rolls 1903 and 1909.
LandArc Landscape Architects, Strathfield Council Register of Significant Trees, 1985
NSW Land Registry Services, Certificates of Title v.1176 f.91, v.1261 f.101
NSW Land Registry Services, Primary Application 9659
NSW Notice of Land Transfer
NSW Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
NSW Department of Valuer General, Valuation Lists, Municipality of Strathfield
Sands Sydney Directory published by John Sands until 1932
Wise’s Post Office Directory 1904
