History of Arthur McElhone Reserve

Arthur McElhone Reserve is at the corner of Billyard and Onslow avenues, Elizabeth Bay, in front of Elizabeth Bay House.

Elizabeth Bay House was built for Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay from 1835 to 1838. Even before it was built, work began on the landscaping and elegant outdoor entertainment was held here from 1829. Indeed, the cost of the landscaping works was so heavy that it served as a constraint on the completion of the house.

The park is sited on the lawn area within the original carriage loop in front of Elizabeth Bay House. This location provided clear views out to the harbour, while at the same time enabling the building to be viewed as an elegant marine villa in a wild, picturesque setting from the harbour. The scene was featured in several Conrad Martens paintings and the lawn was famous from the 1840s for its massed bulbs from the Cape of Good Hope, brought by the Macleays and visiting botanists. These included ixias, sparaxias and freesias.

Elizabeth Bay House was subdivided in 1927. Land in front, lots 4, 5 and 6 of this subdivision, remained unsold. These lots were acquired by the Sydney City Council in 1948, and the garden was designed by council employee Ilmars Berzins, an immigrant from Latvia who was reputedly the first formally trained landscape architect in Australia. The new park was named in 1950 after Arthur McElhone, an alderman for 44 years who died in 1946. The reserve features an ornamental lake with a stone bridge, and it enjoys panoramic views down to the heads of Sydney Harbour.

Further reading

Scott Carlin, 'Elizabeth Bay House: a history and guide', Historic Houses Trust, Sydney, 2000

Mayne-Wilson and Associates, 'Draft Heritage Study and review of Proposed Landscape Master Plan of the McElhone Reserve', 2001