Bathurst architecture #6

This is Woolstone House built by Thomas Kite in the 1800s. I love his story.... he was originally sentenced to death in England for stealing £5 from his employer but was sent to Australia as a convict instead. He was allocated a job with Cox who build the road over the Blue Mountains from Sydney to Bathurst in 1813. Luckily for him it was almost complete and all the convicts were given pardons. He was granted 80 acres of land in Kelso ( on the eastern side of the Macquarie River). In a short period of time with good fortune and good management and the help of 4 convicts ( free labour) and 3 ex convicts he built his enterprise to more than 200,000 acres of land and businesses in the central west and Sydney. When he died in 1876 he was worth £800,000 which in today’s exchange rate would make him a very wealthy man.

It’s a beautiful old mansion and I would love to have a look inside....