By Cathy Jones 2026
‘Kemilworth’, 18 Meredith Street Homebush is a single storey Victorian Italianate house. It is one of a series of similarly designed houses, 16-24 Meredith Street, built by local builder John Waugh from 1889-1891. It is located on the 1878 Village of Homebush Estate and was built in 1889-1890. The house first appears in 1890 Sands Directory for R V Saddington. It was named ‘Tregear’ from 1903 Sands Directory and from 1924 as ‘Kenilworth’. This house was originally numbered 8 Meredith Street and was renumbered 18 Meredith Street Homebush in 1958.
Meredith Street Homebush is located within the site of various 1793 land grants offered to a group of free settlers in an area known as Liberty Plains by the NSW Colonial Government anxious to secure a food supply for the growing colony. The land proved difficult to farm and the settlers abandoned farming activity and moved from their land. Eventually, this land and other land located in the current day Homebush West and Homebush (both sides of the railway line) was regranted to Simeon Lord in 1803 and eventually came under the ownership of James Underwood and became part of the large ‘Underwood Estate’. In 1878, a portion measuring 306 acres located south of the railway line, was subdivided for residential development and marketed as the ‘Village of Homebush’. This subdivision created Burlington Road, Beresford Road, Abbotsford Road, Bridge Street, Coventry Road, Meredith Street, Homebush Crescent (later The Crescent) and Bellevue Street (later Homebush Road).
In November 1888, John Waugh, a builder from Annandale, purchased land from Alexander W S Gregg. Gregg was a resident of Homebush and Principal of Richardson & Wrench, auctioneers and estate agents. Gregg was an early purchaser of land from the 1878 Village of Homebush Estate.
It is assumed that Waugh built and developed the properties to sell or lease. Little is known about Waugh, as research reveals that several builders with the same name were located in the Inner West of Sydney. Searches of newspapers and registers have failed to reveal other information which would assist in accurately identifying the correct person and his personal circumstances.
However, it likely the house was built in 1889 and it is known that Waugh remained the owner until 1893, when the mortgagees exercising power of sale sold the property to Elizabeth Perry (1836-1914), wife of Jonathan Stephens Perry (1822-1908) of Sydney, with a power of appointment. The short period that Perry owned the house, it was leased to R V Saddington. After acquisition by Elizabeth Perry, it was occupied by her son James Simpson Perry (1855-1923) who called the house ‘Tregear’. Perry was a Trust Estate and Finance Agent. In 1889, he married Janet Arnott (1867-1948), daughter of Arnotts Biscuit founder William Arnott. In 1899, they moved to ‘Waratah’ 37 Homebush Road Strathfield. ‘Tregear’ was then leased, except for c.1901 when it was occupied by Perry’s father, with relatively short term rentals of one or two years.
Perry and Walter Lawry made an application for transmission in May 1914, after the death of Elizabeth Perry. Ownership was transferred in May 1915 to Allen Arnott Perry, the son of James and Janet Perry, who appears to have rented the house.
In 1917, the property was transferred to Katherine McDiarmid (1867-1948) of Paddington, who owned it until May 1926. The property was continually leased. In 1924, it was leased to A Boland and the name of the house ‘Kenilworth’ appears. In May 1926, the property transferred to Rupert Cameron Martin, a chemist, who was the nephew of Katherine McDiarmid. According to Sands Directory (until its final publication in 1932/3), the property was occupied by Martin and his wife, Nellie. Martin died in 1935 and an application for transmission was made in December 1935 by Nellie Martin of Homebush, widow and Norman Bruce Martin of Bronte, commercial traveller, as joint tenants.
In August 1961, Joan Louise Allerton and Marjorie Helen Martin were registered as owners. The property was then transferred in September 1964 to Raymond Hallit, shop proprietor and his wife Samira.
References
Fox & Associates, Strathfield Heritage Study, 1986
Mr R C Martin. 1935, July 1. Sydney Morning Herald, p12
NSW Lands Registry
Sands Sydney Directory, published by John Sands [1889-1932]
Strathfield Council Building Registers
Strathfield Council Valuation Lists 1888, 1889, 1890, 1894, 1896, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1914, 1917, 1939, 1960
