Saumarez homestead near Armidale built in 1888 for Francis White a wealthy pastoralist. Second storey added in 1905 when his wife went to England for a year.
Image by denisbin
Saumarez.
Henry Dumaresq from the Channel Islands, Jersey, named Saumarez after a property in Jersey. He squatted on land at Saumarez Ponds in 1834. Dumaresq sent his stockmen up here but always lived himself at Muswellbrook on the Hunter River. Saumarez was his head station in New England and he soon had over 100,000 acres of land under leasehold which included Tilbuster Station upon which the city of Armidale now stands. The runs extended from Uralla to beyond Armidale. In 1856 Dumaresq sold his run on to Henry Thomas. He held the run during the period when the government land acts were trying to break p the big runs and open up the land for closer settlement. Thomas took this opportunity to acquire freehold land on his Saumarez run and soon had 12,000 acres freehold. Thomas built a modest three roomed brick house on the run in the 1850s which is still standing. It is near the six roomed timber cottage that Henry Dumaresq built at Saumarez in the 1830s. In fact Henry Dumaresq had his assigned convicts build the cottage as they did most other early structures on Saumarez. In 1874 the nature of Saumarez property changed as it was sold to Francis White, the second son of James White of Edinglassie at Muswellbrook. Francis White took on a property of 20,000 freehold acres. He had properties in the Hunter, at Armidale, Guyra, in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
In 1886 Francis White was doing well, he had paid off the mortgage on the property and so he decided to build a mansion homestead on Saumarez for his residence. A single storey residence was completed in 1888 by a local Armidale builder. After his Uncle Frederick White of Booloominbah died in 1903 Francis decided he needed to entertain on a grander scale to maintain the White family prominence around Armidale. So whilst his wife and daughters were on a holiday in Europe had had a second storey added to the house in 1905/6. The new storey incorporated many Art Nouveau stylistic features. The White family lived in the house until it was donated to the National Trust in 1984 but they only donated the house. The White family still own the Saumarez property of around 6,000 acres. Saumarez House is surrounded by 5 acres of gardens. The house itself is gabled but with symmetrical facades and verandas. The house is built around a courtyard with one side for the Whites and the other for the servants and services such as the kitchens, laundries, butter rooms etc. The family wing contains two large drawing rooms and an elaborate Edwardian stair case. Front entrances were designed to impress visitors. The Whites used Saumarez for official functions, garden parties, tennis parties etc. The house walls are of Flemish bond brick work. The interior joinery on doors, windows, fireplace surrounds etc is Red Cedar. Native flowers are used on the stained glass work including Flannel flowers, waratah, native Lillies etc. Whites three daughters made much carved wooden work for the house.
