Bronte House

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About Bronte House

A trip to Bronte House is sure to delight the senses, with the property featuring two acres of undulating subtropical garden bursting with a variety of beautiful flowers, native plants, foliage and immaculately manicured lawns.

We open Bronte House and Gardens to the community four times a year, allowing all to enjoy the gorgeous property. Our open days in 2025 are:

8 March, 10 am - 2 pm
16 March, 10 am - 2 pm
25 October, 10 am - 2 pm
26 October, 10 am - 2 pm

History of Bronte House

One of Waverley’s oldest properties, Bronte House is a historic Gothic-style cottage with a large, manicured garden that merges seamlessly into Bronte Gully. Its story begins in 1836, when William Mortimer Lewis, Colonial Architect, bought 42 acres of land at 'Nelson Bay' (the name given to the bay at Bronte Beach). However, he began building a house and was forced to sell the property before its completion when an economic depression hit in 1843.

Robert Lowe, an English barrister and later a NSW parliamentarian, bought the property as a 'country residence' and finished the house in 1845. He and his wife Georgiana were some of the Bronte House's most charismatic inhabitants, despite only being in residence for four years.

The house changed hands quickly over the next four decades until the Ebsworth family bought the property in 1882. They were the longest private owners of Bronte House, occupying it for over three generations. In 1948 the Ebsworths sold the house and its grounds to Waverley Council.

In 1978, the land was listed on the Australian Heritage Commission Register of the National Estate. In 1981, it was made the subject of a permanent Conservation Order under the Heritage Act 1977 and listed on the State Heritage Register under the Heritage Act 1977 in 1999.

For more information, refer to the Bronte House Conservation Management Plan.

Interested in Local History?

Visit the Waverley Library website.

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