By Cathy Jones
9 Meredith St was built c.1883. Frank Sutcliffe, an engineer, is listed as the owner and occupier of house. During Sutcliffe’s occupation, the house was called ‘Evelyn’. This house would have been one of the first built on the Underwood Estate, which was subdivided in 1878. By 1889, the house ownership of the house transferred to Henry Edward Vaughan (1842-1901). Vaughan tenanted the property until c.1900 and renamed the house ‘Kilwinning’.
Vaughan was a valuer, land and estate agent. His business was titled and located at Henry E Vaughan & Son, Valuators, House, Land and Estate Agents, Nos 1 & 2 Vaughan’s Chambers, 142 King Street Sydney. Vaughan had multiple interests in business and local government. He was a director of the Equitable Building Society and a licencing magistrate for the district of Campbelltown. He served as an Alderman on Glebe Council from 1883 to 1885, Campbelltown Council from 1892-1894 and Katoomba Council from 1899 to 1901. Notices of his death in 1901 referred to his well known involvement in Freemasonary. He was initiated into the Lodge Kilwinning at Newton in 1868. He named the house in Homebush ‘Kilwinning’ an obvious allusion to his Lodge membership. At the time of his death he held the position of Grand Register and was living at ‘Kilwinning’ at Homebush, the house that he previously rented.
The house was frequently rented during Vaughan’s ownership. From 1890-92, the house was rented to Horace Bately Allard, a public accountant, who named the house ‘Chaddesden’. Samuel Wilkinson Moore, MLA, leased the house in 1898-1899 for a short time and was at the time, the NSW Member for Bingarra [1894-1910]. He later served as a Minister, representing the Free Trade Party and later the Liberal Party. By 1900, the Vaughan family returned to live in the house called ‘Kilwinning’.
While Henry Vaughan died in 1901, the house was held in his Estate until 1948, when his widow Alice Selina Vaughan died. The estate transferred ownership to Phyllis Vaughan, a widow residing at ‘Kilwinning’. In May 1949, the property was sold for £1678.
References
Department of the Valuer General NSW – Valuation List – Valuation District of Strathfield
“Death of Mr. H. E. Vaughan’, 1901, January 9. The Campbelltown Herald (NSW: 1880 – 1919), p. 2. Retrieved May 8, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102169208
‘Death of a Prominent Freemason’, 1901, Lithgow Mercury, 8 January, page 2
Henry Edward Vaughan, Sydney’s Alderman, City of Sydney Council, viewed at https://www.sydneyaldermen.com.au/alderman/henry-edward-vaughan/ on 8 May 2020
Fox & Associates, Strathfield Heritage Study, 1986
‘Late Henry Edward Vaughan’, 1901, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 January, page 6
The Late Alderman H. E. Vaughan, J.P. (1901, January 11). The Mountaineer (Katoomba, NSW : 1894 – 1908), p. 2. Retrieved May 8, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article190718709
Radi, Spearitt & Hinton, 1979, ‘Samuel Moore’, Biographical Register of the NSW Parliament 1901-1970, ANU Press.
Sands Sydney Suburban Directory (Redmire and Strathfield) 1881-1932
Wise’s NSW Post Office Directory
Strathfield Heritage 