EXCAVATION REPORT I DARLING HOUSE I MILLERS POINT I FOR ...nswaol.library.usyd.edu.au/data/pdfs/22302_ID... · I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I L--1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background

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EXCAVATION REPORT

DARLING HOUSE

MILLERS POINT

VOLUME!

FOR

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING

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May 1994

Mary Casey

Casey & Lowe Associates Archaeological & Heritage Consultants 68 Warren Road, Marrickville NSW 2204

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Tel. & Fax (02) 558 2014 Mobile: (018) 437 564

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VOLUME!

INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.2 Methodology 1.3 Study Area 1.4 Scope of Report 1.5 Limitations 1.6 Acknowledgments 1. 7 Author Identification 1. 8 Abbreviations 1.9 Statement of Significance 1.10 Summary

IDSTORICAL BACKGROUND

1 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 5

2.1 Outline 6 2.2 Allotment 12 7 2.3 Allotment 11 9 2.4 Historical Overview 9 2.5 Caraher Stairs 11 2.6 Historical Chronology 11

ARCHAEOWGICAL EVIDENCE: THE BACKYARD 3.1 Description of the Site 12 3.2 Kitchen 14 3.3 Cesspits 26 3.4 Bathroom and Associated Deposits 34 3.5 Laundry 36 3.6 Other structures 38 3.7 Services 39 3. 8 Yard surfaces and Associated Deposits 41 3.9 Monitoring 43 3.10 General analysis of Structures and Phasing 44

ARCHAEOWGICAL EVIDENCE: THE ALWTMENT 4.1 Description of the Site 47 4.2 Areas Excavated 47 4.3 Monitoring 48

DISCUSSION 5.1 Urbanisation 48 5.2 Archaeology of the Neighbourhood 50 5.3 Socio-economic Indicators 50 5.4 Identification of Gender and Associated Activities 51 5.5 Relationship between Archaeological and Historical Evidence 53 5.6 Further Research 53

BIBLIOGRAPHY


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VOLUME2

ILLUSTRATIONS 7.1 List of Figures 7.2 List of Plans 7.3 List of Tables 7.4 Plates

APPENDICES 8.1 Excavation Permit 8.2 Oral History 8.3 Lists of Contexts 8.4 Minark Database Report, Wayne Mullen 8.5 Photographic Recording Sheet

ARTEFACT REPORTS

9.1 Generru Aims 9.2 Bone and Shell- Dominic Steele 9.3 Ceramics- Mary Casey 9.4 Clay Pipes- Jennie Lindbergh 9.5 Glass and Stoneware - Martin Carney 9.6 Metals- Jennie Lindbergh 9.7 Miscellaneous Artefacts- Jennie Lindbergh

VOLUME3

CATALOGUE SHEETS


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1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

10-12 Trinity Avenue, Millers Point consists of 'Darling House', and a vacant allotment (Fig. 1, Plan 1). Darling House is a two storey Georgian residence built between 1842-1844 (Fig. 2). The shell of the original house is intact but the interiors have been removed. The NSW Department of Housing, with assistance from the Federal government, is building an aged care residential hostel for members of the local Millers Point community.

This work required construction to the rear and northern side of Darling House, and on the vacant allotment. Darling House was identified in the Archaeological Management Plan of The Rocks and Millers Point by Higginbotham, Kass & Walker as having considerable archaeological potential with a high degree of significance. The Heritage Branch, Department of Planning required the Department of Housing to undertake an archaeological assessment of the site to determine the extent of archaeological involvement. Casey & Lowe Associates undertook this assessment in March 1992.I Based on this assessment recommendations were made for the archaeological excavation of the backyard of Darling House and the excavation of test pits and monitoring of the vacant allotment.

Prior to the engagement of the archaeologists the Department of Housing had already performed exploratory work to the rear of Darling House to see if there would be construction difficulties in the area where the lift well was to be d~g. This exposed and removed a section of the sandstone foundations of the kitchen which was erected at the same time as the house. Four test pits were dug in the area of the vacant allotment to test for bedrock depth. A number of core holes were taken to establish bedrock levels. The archaeologists took no role in or offered any advice regarding these

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The name 'Darling House' was adopted for this building by the local community because of the original grant of this land by Governor Darling. The historical evidence indicates that at various times this substantial building had been called Darling House. Thus Darling House was used for this report, as a suitable name for the site.

All material relating to the excavation, such as, artefacts and context sheets, have been headed DH'92 which means Darling House 1992. This is a common method of abbreviation used in archaeology to identify a particular site from all other sites and their excavated material.

1.2 Study Area

The area covered by this report is the rear yard of Darling House, the northern side of the house, and the vacant allotment to the south (Plan 1). The area to the front, or west of the house, was not excavated because of the earlier presence of an underground petrol tank. This fuel tank was removed by the Department of Housing in early 1992. The area to the rear of the house was excavated manually. The vacant allotment was unable to be excavated because of high lead levels in the soiL This phase of the work was monitored during the bulk excavation phase. Three of the four test sondages initially excavated by backhoe in this area were cleaned and their sections photographically recorded. Further monitoring was undertaken on the northern side of the house.

I Darling House, 8-12 Trinity A ~·enue, Millers Point, Baseline Archaeological Assessment, by Casey & Lowe Associates, March 1992, for the Department of Housing.

Casey & Lowe Associates Darling House '92 Department of Housing

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I Figure 1: Location Plan for Darling House, Trinity Avenue, Millers Point. UBD

I I I Casey & Lowe Associates Darling House '92 Department of Housing

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Introduction .•. 2

Edge of quarried rockface

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Caraher Stairs

Trinity A venue

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Vacant Allotment

Plan 1: Darling House and the vacant allotment showing the edge of the rockface, and the sorulilges. Scale 1:100, A. Lowe.


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Introduction ... 3

1.3 Methodology

The excavation was carried out in a controlled stratigraphic manner. It was excavated by hand with three trained archaeologists and assistance from volunteers. All stages of the excavation were recorded on context sheets, planned and photographed in black and white film.

1.4 Scope of Report

This report covers the excavation of the backyard of Darling House, the sondages in the vacant allotment next door and the archaeological monitoring of the allotment. It includes artefact reports (Vol. 2) and artefact catalogues (Vol. 3). A certain amount of analysis has been carried out on the artefacts within their individual contexts. This is included within the main body of the text.

1.5 Limitations

The archaeological excavation took place in areas where there was to be considerable disturbance of the archaeological deposit. Initially this was to include some test pits in the vacant allotment but once some concern was raised about the levels of lead contamination at the site as a whole the project had to be reassessed. The initial soil reports indicated that there were higher levels of lead contamination in the vacant allotment, especially near the eastern part of the site. It appears that the contamination was coming from the Bradfield Expressway which was above the site to the east. This led to discussions with the Work Cover Authority upon how we could approach the site with the intention of excavation.

From these discussions it was decided that the conditions on the vacant allotment, especially the depth of soil deposits, made it unwise to continue any major manual excavation. It was possible to excavate the backyard area because it was damp and there were minimal soil deposits. Thus the initial plans to excavate parts of the vacant allotment had to be curtailed because of lead contamination. It was examined only by archaeological monitoring. This monitoring programme was undertaken during September 1993. This phase of the work required another excavation permit application to be lodged since the previous permit had expired .

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The archaeological assessment of this site includes much of the historical material for this project. It will not be repeated here. Where we have decided to extend the historical research into specific individuals who occupied the site during the identified historical periods that information has been included in this report. A precis of the original Baseline Assessment will be included to provide a general historical background to the excavation report. For details of rate books and directories see Darling House, 8-12 Trinity Avenue. Millers Point. Baseline Archaeological Assessment by Casey & Lowe Associates, 1992.

No archaeological work was done within the house because the original floors had been removed and a concrete slab laid down. This slab was not removed during the works program.

1.6 Acknowledgments

The excavation was Co-Directed by Anthony Lowe and Mary Casey. Franz Reidel was involved in a number of days excavation and drew most of the original plans. All photographs were taken by Anthony Lowe. Volunteer assistance was given by Jennie Lindbergh, Peter Douglas, Elma Haley, Charlie Guiness, Robyn Stone and Norma Lowe. Various archaeologists were involved in the cataloguing of the excavated material: Dominic Steele, Rowan Ward, Jennie Lindbergh, Anthony Lowe and Martin Carney. The archaeological monitoring was undertaken by Anthony Lowe. Wayne


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Introduction ... 4

Mullen provided additional information regarding the urbanisation and demographic make-up of Millers Point.

Many thanks to: Walter Carniato, Department of Housing Jane Lydon, Sydney Cove Authority Mrs Shirley Ball, Residents Association Wayne Mullen

1. 7 Author Identification

The bulk of this report was written by Mary Casey with assistance from Anthony Lowe. Anthony Lowe wrote the section on the monitoring of the works programme and Caraher stairs. All of the site plans included in this report are based on original plans drawn in the field by F. Reidel. Various specialist reports were written by individual archaeologists: Jennie Lindbergh, D. Steele, M. Carney, and Mary Casey.

1.8 Abbreviations

General ccs DH'92 LTO ML NSWAO RAB RG SCA

Ceramics BLTP BLTPPc BLKTP BRNTP BLFiow FEW GRTP LinW ORTP Pc RDTP STW ww WhGiz

Other artefacts

Council of the City of Sydney Darling House 1992 Land Titles Office Mitchell Library New South Wales Archives Office Rate Assessment Books Register of Grants Sydney Cove Authority

Blue transfer print Blue transfer print porcelain Black transfer print Brown transfer print Blue flow Fine earthenware Green transfer print Linear ware Orange transfer print Porcelain Red transfer print Stoneware Willow ware White Glazed

dpbk dry pressed brick sstk sandstock brick

Casey & Lowe Associates Darling House '92

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Introduction ... 5

1.9 Statement of Significance

Darling House, its extant fabric, excavated material and recorded information have historical, archaeological and social significance for past, present and future generations. This material and the site have the ability to illustrate aspects of the early occupation of Millers Point. The site provides evidence of the early site formation processes that transformed The Rocks and Millers Point in the 1840s. The extant structure, in relation to the other local early buildings, through its fabric and configuration illustrates the streetscape of Millers Point during the second-half of the nineteenth century. The artefacts and the information recorded about the archaeological site provide material to reconstruct elements of the occupation of this site: who lived in Darling House, how they lived there and in what way they altered the fabric of the site to accommodate the changing needs of the occupants. All the elements provide evidence for changing urbanisation of Sydney and good comparative material for inter-site analysis.

1.10 Summary

Darling House is the site of a two storey Georgian sandstone house that has been re-developed. This re-development required the removal of most of the archaeological deposits form the rear yard and the adjacent yard to the south; the driveway to the north was also excavated. Prior to the undertaking of this process Casey & Lowe Associates were engaged to undertake the archaeological excavation of the site. This work was undertaken in July 1992.

The site fronted onto Trinity A venue with a sheer rockface behind the house, to the east. The excavation focused on the rear yard of Darling House, most of which was quarried from bedrock. The excavation uncovered the footings of a two-roomed kitchen, two cesspits, the floor of a shed, the foundations of a laundry above an earlier sandstone wall, service trenches, backyard deposits and associated features. In the main these deposits dated from 1842/44 to the early 1900s. The structural remains were well defined and provide good ground plans for comparative structures.

The kitchen contained two rooms with a secure underfloor deposit in the main room. This deposit contained evidence of the various activities undertaken within the kitchen and the ,people who used this room. The evidence relates to the type of food being eaten, where preparation of food was done and the probable area for the disposal of rubbish. Further evidence indicates areas were children were playing, where a woman was sewing and that people were sitting near the fireplace smoking pipes.

The cesspits reveal various phases of use and re-use. The original structure contained two cesspits cut out of bedrock. These continued to be used for a number of years and eventually, probably in the 1860s/70s, sewerage and water were connected to the site. Sewerage was only connected to the eastern cesspit and the western cesspit became a coal room. The alteration of the use of the cesspits involved their infilling with rubble sandstone and assorted artefacts. Eventually a second sewerage line replaced the original sewerage line. A bathroom was built, probably about the time the water and sewerage were connected to the site. There was little evidence for the construction of this bathroom. There was a structure, function uncertain, butting the rockface. A dry pressed brick laundry was constructed, in the late nineteenth century, above a demolished sandstone wall which appears to be an early southern boundary wall.

There were various yard surfaces and cobbled paths which indicated the organisation of the backyard and the lack of space in which to dispose of rubbish. Because there was nowhere to dig a rubbish pit the yard surfaces contains a considerable amount of fragmentary artefactual material.

A monitoring programme was undertaken on the area to the south and north of the house. The remains of the foundations of Caraher Stairs were revealed to the north of Darling House. Little evidence of the ephemeral structures were revealed on the vacant allotment to the south.


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Archaeological Evidence: Description of Site 6

2.0 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Outline

The sandstone building, now called Darling House, was built between 1842 and June 1844. The rate assessment entry for 1845 notes that rates were levied on a stone house belonging to Mrs Ferris in Fort Street (this section was later called Lower Fort Street, Upper Fort Street, Trinity Place and finally Trinity Ave.).2 There were original outbuildings, specifically a kitchen, which dated to at least 1844 and were in all likelihood constructed with the house (Fig. 3).3

Darling House may have been the second building erected on this site because the 1837 transfer of land from Susannah Elizabeth Douglass to Michael Gannon and Ux includes a reference to buildings on this allotment. This may be supported by the cost of the land at £101 and the sharp rise in the cost of the land to £140 in March 1839 and the further rise to £200 in November 1839.

It could be suggested that another reason for the rise in the price of the land may have been the inclusion of the two allotments in the one sale although this is not indicated by the description of the property on the Lease and Release and the later granting of land to Michael Gannon and Joseph Ferris as two separate allotments in 1841 with the regranting of town leases.

There were a number of occupants who leased the house from the Ferris family over the approximately 60 years they owned the property. During this period there were changes that affected the nature of the outbuildings and their configuration.

The property was resumed with the rest of Millers Point in the early twentieth century by the Sydney Harbour Trust (SHT) because of the outbreak of plague. The SHT took control of this area in order to clean it up. As part of this process they demolished many unhygienic buildings, especially outbuildings, and covered the backyards of many properties with concrete or asphalt. 4

An oral history of the building undertaken by Brett Newbold proffers descriptions of the interior configuration of the stone residence and the outbuildings (Appendix 8.3).5 This information was supplied by two sisters who had lived in the house and nearby for many years. According to their description the interior of the house was divided by a large hallway. On the ground floor to the left of the hallway there was a large dining/living room with two bedrooms on the right. There were four bedrooms on the upper floor on either side of the hallway. Newbold provided a reconstruction of the earlier ground floor plan of the building (Fig. 4). The stone kitchen was connected to the rear of the house and contained two rooms, one without a window which was used by the early twentieth-century occupants as a breakfast room. There was a bathroom to the right of the backdoor and a timber laundry against the rockface.

According to Newbold Caraher's stairs were partly demolished in 1933, following the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 6 Further information from Mrs Shirley Ball states that Lot 11 had an open air picture theatre on it in the early twentieth century and that later there was a plasterer's workshop with a number of buildings made from corrugated iron. Newbold records the presence of

2 This section has been taken from Casey & Lowe Associates, 1992, ibid; Sands Directories. 3 CCS RAB 1844. 4 Bairstow, 1987, p.3. 5 The historical analysis carried out by Casey & Lowe Associates disagrees in many instances with that presented

by B. Newbold. In this report we do not attempt to examine the historical evidence in minute detail but believe that our interpretation stands as a valid analysis of the historical evidence. B. Newbold's report only became available for the original Assessment the day before it was due and therefore was not really addressed in the Assessment. Where he found historical information we did not examine we have used it. We have also used his oral history of the building.

6 Newbold, op cit, p.l2, 14.


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several corrugated iron sheds and a brick washroom. One was a cooperage and another was used for garaging cars .1

Darling House was first used as a commercial building from 1921.8 The alteration of Darling House into a commercial building happened between 1945 and 1949.9 The last commercial tenant was Lep Transport who had a large petrol tank located in the ground to the west of the building to supply a petrol bowser. 10 It was during the commercial occupation of the house that the earlier interior elements were removed and the construction of the current warehouse configuration took place. Most of the outbuildings were demolished at this time to allow access for trucks to the rear area of the house.

An earlier indication of land use for Lots 11 and 12 was identified by Newbold as a quarry .11 There is strong evidence to indicate that the rockface to the east was quarried. The line of the bedrock on one of the historical plans supports the view that there was considerable alteration to the original topography of this site (Fig. 3.1, 3.4).

The house and property were associated with a number of known individuals. These include Dr Leopold Sachs who resided in the house, according to Sands, between 1861 and 1876. Mrs Rosa Strange who resided in the house in the 1870s and 1880s, was the wife of a noted naturalist who travelled with Sturt. She apparently ran her own school. 12 In the 1930s Roslyn Norton, a wellknown white witch, is said to have lived in the boarding house. 13

A painting of Millers Point in the 1840s shows Darling House in its early configuration and its relationship to the streetscape (Fig. 5). There are some problems with the perspective of this painting but the general feel is accurate. The manner in which Darling House juts out beyond the line of the other houses into the large open space is reflected in the plan from 1901 which showed that the front of the building was erected on Crown Land (Fig. 3.4). The general feel of the area near Darling House is one of discontinuity and lack of planning. Visible in this painting was the variation in the ground levels up to Princes Street behind Darling House and to the south-east. The area of Lower Fort Street, later Trinity Avenue, is a wet, muddy open space. It is likely that part of this area was still being quarried, especially the property to the south-east of Darling House. Darling House has no fences or front garden and there are no plantings. It is likely that the construction of Darling House had been recently completed. The layout of this section of Lower Fort Street contrasts with the orderly design of the northern section of Lower Fort Street with its series of regular houses fronting the street.

2.2 Allotment 12

The following lists are distilled from the information contained within the Darling House, 8-12 Trinity Avenue, Millers Point, Baseline Archaeological Assessment. This information is essential to the development of an understanding of the Trinity Avenue site. The picture they provide of the occupants of Darling House is varied.

7 ibid, p.14. 8 Sands Directory, although Newbold, ibid, seems to be unaware of this. 9 ibid, p.14. 10 Mrs Shirley Ball. 11 Newbold, op cit, p.6. 12 ibid; Sands records that Mrs Rosa Strange operated a school at 75 Windmill Street in 1863 and 1864 but

occupi~ the dwelling from 1861 to 1868. During this period the occupation of 75 Windmill Street was variously attributed to herself and Thomas Strange, one of her sons. Howard Tanner & Associates Pty Ltd, Consen•ation Plan for Windmill Street, Millers Point, 1992, p. 73.

13 Mrs Shirley Ball, pers. comm.


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Archaeological Evidence: Description of Site

2.2.1 Sydney City Council Rates Assessment Booksi4

Date Person Rated Owner/Landlord 1845 James Hill Mrs Farris 1848 H. James Farris 1851-2 Ann Price Joseph Ferris 1855-6 J .B. Ward Joseph Ferris 1861 Empty Joseph Ferris 1863 Elizabeth Farris Elizabeth Farris 1867 Mrs Faris Mrs Faris 1871 Leopold F. Sachs --Ferris 1877 Rosa Strange Mr Ferris 1880 Mrs R. Strange Mr Ferris 1882 Rose Strange Mrs Ferris 1891 Mrs Strange ?

• 1906 John Mackie Ann Macpherson (Mrs Ferris' daughter) 1910 John R. Mackie NSW Gov't (Rocks Resumptions) 1915 John Russell NSW. Gov't 1918 John Mussen NSW. Gov't

Charles G. Rasmussen NSW Gov't. & Co.

2.2.2 Sands Directory

The address is variously identified as Lower Fort Street, Upper Fort Street and Trinity Avenue.

Date 1858-9 1861 1863 1864 1865-66 1867-70 1871 1873 1875 1876 1877-87 1888-1890 1891-1897 1901-08 1909-10 1911 1912-20 1921

1922 1923

Occupant Ward, T.B. Brown, William Sachs, Leopold Ferdinand Sachs, Leopold F. Sachs, Leopold Ferdinand, Dr.

Occupation

Mariner Surgeori

Sachs, Leopold Ferdinand M.D. Sachs, L.F. M.D. Sachs, Leopold M.D. Osborne, George Sachs, Leopold F. Strange, Mrs Rosa George, Mrs no reference to occupants Mackie John R. Mackie Mrs Nellie Gibbons Mrs Kate Mussell John Mackenzie J.H. & Co., Rassmussen Chas. C. & Co., Mackenzie J.H. & Co., Olden Mrs., Marion

M.D.

Boarding house

Lodging house Boarding house manufacturers and importers coopers (vacant lot) Manufacturing chemists

Rassmussen, Wyatt & Brotchie Ltd, coopers

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Full accounts are contained in Casey & Lowe Associates, 1992, op cit.


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2.3 Allotment 11

Very little is known about this allotment. It was not mentioned in the Rate Books or in Sand's Directories. The information that we have came from the oral histories and evidence following resumption in 1901, such as the few entries in the Sands lists above.

2.4 Historical Overview15

The construction of Darling House during the 1840s was linked into the prevailing economic conditions. What was initially the early 1840s depression by 1845 had become a period of economic boom which saw the construction of wharves along the Millers Point shoreline and the movement of associated workers into the area. 16 This boost to the colonial economy was the result of exporting wool to England and whaling. These activities resulted in a spate of construction of residential and commercial properties. Most construction was for pubs, brothels and boarding houses but a number of substantial residences were built in Upper and Lower Fort Street and Crown Road. They were occupied by prominent merchant business people.

' Many of the sandstone buildings in the area were built of locally quarried sandstone. 17 Sandstone was a less expensive building material than bricks. 18 Most rooves were covered with shingles rather than the more expensive slate. A typical cottage, with 2 to 4 rooms, was built of stone with a shingle roof and rented for between 20 to 30 pounds per annum. Approximately 72% of houses in Millers Point had 4 rooms or less. In total there were 299 houses built in Millers Point by 1845.

In 1845 only 16% of houses in Millers Point were occupied by the owner, the remainder being leased.19 This would usually be indicative of a poorer area but the nature of the isolation of Millers Point and the economic and work base of the area made it a location of transients associated with maritime industries. These transients may have included a majority of labourers but there were also artisans, small businesses, wealthy merchants and moneyed professionals. These unusual socioeconomic and demographic factors produced a distinctive local community.

Fitzgerald & Keating are at pains to emphasise the isolation which created many of the di.stinctive aspects of Millers Point. Much of its unusual character was the result of its physical isolation from the rest of Sydney. Until Kent Street was quarried through and the Argyle cut was completed contact with the rest of Sydney was limited. The Millers Point community developed self-sufficient businesses to service the local community and their unusual social patterns. These social patterns were atypical because of the high percentage of unmarried men and the lack of social groups and meeting places for those families that did reside in the area. Thus many social activities happened within the home. For many of the unmarried men a favourite recreation was found at the local pub.

By 1861 Millers Point was undergoing changes resulting from the intense economic activity in the 1840s and 1850s. By 1861 there were 400 houses in Millers Point.20 By this stage more than 52% of houses in Millers Point had 5 or more rooms. By 1861 90% of all houses were rented.21

Thus the construction and occupation of Darling House was a mix of contradiction and conformity. It was a large house built of sandstone with 8 rooms. This part of Trinity A venue was once seen as a continuation of Lower Fort Street and later Upper Fort Street. Its construction was clearly an

15 This section is an extract from Casey & Lowe Associates, op cit. 16 Fitzgerald & Keating, Millers Point, The Urban Village, Hale & Jremonger, 1991, p.32f. 17 ibid, p.33. 18 'b'd I I •

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attempt by the owner to build a grand stone dwelling to fit in with the other Lower Fort Street houses. It was built at a time when the majority of houses in Millers Point contained 2 or 4 rooms and were single storey. It was rarely or never occupied by the owners of the property and was always leased out to various individuals such as Dr Sachs and Mrs Rosa Strange, a local school teacher. It was first used as a boarding house in the late nineteenth century.

Darling House was built at a time of fluctuating economic conditions, during the early 1840s depression, which may explain why it was usually leased out. Joseph Ferris appeared to be involved in a number of on going economic concerns. He operated a boat building yard and had been involved with Millers Point from at least 1831 when he ran a pub near the corner of Windmill Street and Lower Fort Street.22 By 1842 he was running the Young Princess Inn next door to his former inn.23

Both these inns were across the road from where Mr and Mrs Ferris built their large two storey house. In 1844-45 he was running the New York Hotel on the corner of George and Argyle Street.24

It is of interest to note the oral history for who built and lived in the house did not always correspond with the evidence. Our conversations with locals indicated that a doctor was thought to have built and lived in this house.25 This local knowledge was probably the basis for the comment in Millers Point, The Urban Village that " 'Darling House', Trinity Avenue, has had a varied history. Originally built for a doctor, its twentieth-century occupants have included artists and a trucking firm. "26 One of the twentieth century occupants who is rembered by the local community was Rosalyn Norton, an artist, eccentric and 'white witch' of the 1930s who stayed in the boarding house.27

The distorted oral tradition about the construction and occupation of Darling House fits in very well with similar research into a number of historic properties in America.28 This article illustrates that oral history often recorded that the builder of a large house in the area was a well known and famous man yet when a historical search on the property was carried out the oral history was found to be inaccurate and distorted in an attempt to mythologise the individual and through them their family or perhaps their neighbourhood. While this is not necessarily the case here perhaps it is an attempt to create a safe respectable middle class occupant of a large house in the area and thereby transform the other occupants of the area through the respectable association.

The remembrance of Roslyn Norton fits into the distortion of the oral tradition identified by Yentsch who noted that where houses were identified and associated with women, these women were eccentric and likely to be associated with witchcraft.29 In this instance the bohemian nature of Millers Point in the 1930s is being emphasised by the remembrance of Roslyn Norton. This is what some of the residents of Millers Point wish to remember, the sensational and unusual part of their past.

It is interesting that the memory of Rosa Strange, who lived in this house for over 15 years and in Windmill and Princes Streets before that, has been lost even though she was the widow of a noted naturalist who died in tragic circumstances and though she supposedly ran a school from 75 Windmill Street.30

22 ibid, p.29, 37. 23 ibid, p.37. 24 Low, The City of Sydney Directory, 1844-45, p.43. At this time Mr and Mrs Strange lived in Princes Street. 25 Mrs Shirley Ball, pers. comm. 26 Fitzgerald & Keating, p.l19. 27 Mrs Shirley Ball, pers. comm. 28 Yentsch, A. ,'Legends, houses, families, and myths: relationships between material culture and

• American ideology', in Beaudry, C., Documentary archaeology in the New World, 1988, CUP, p.S-19.

29 ibid, p.l2. 30 Howard Tanner & Associates, 1992, p. 73.


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2.5 Caraher Stairs

These were a purpose built set of stairs constructed to allow the residents of Millers Point access to Princes Street above. These stairs were built by c.1857 and appear on the 1865 plan (Fig. 3.2).31

No research was carried out to determine the date of construction of the stairs due to time constraints. Caraher was a soap merchant, Owen Joseph Caraher, who arrived in the colony in 1841 and died in 1879.32 He was an Alderman of Gipps Ward, and a Territorial Magistrate. He had a soap factory in the Rocks. 33 The stairs were built of sandstone with a central rail and two timber posts at the western end (Fig. 2).

2.6 Historical Chronology

1788-1842/44 Quarrying of site. by 1823 Land grant to Susanna Ward by Gov. Darlin_g (both allotments}. 1831 Lot 12 sold to Susanna Elizabeth Douglas (LT D406). 1837 Land transferred from Susanna Elizabeth Douglas to Michael Gannon and Ux. 1839 Michael Gannon and Ux transferred the property to Henry Fisher for 140

pounds. 1839 Henry Fisher transferred ownership to Joseph Faris for 200 pounds. 1841 Granting of land to Joseph Ferris (vacant lot to Michael Gannon). . 1842-44 House built and owned by Ferris family, mostly leased out from this date. 1845 House with kitchen and lar_ge yard £RAB). 1848 House with kitchen and shed detached fRAB). 1865 House with kitchen and room behind, shed in SE corner (Fig. 3.2). 1863-1871 House probably occupied byLeopold Sachs (SD) (approx. date range).34

1877-1887 (?) Rosa Strange resides at Darling House (SD, RAB) (approx. date range). 1880 House, verandah, 2 room kitchen, toilet, bathroom, shed in SE corner (Fig.

3.3). 1901 House with attached outbuildings and shed along eastern boundcuy (Fig. 3.4). 1901 Land and House resumed by the Sydney Harbour Trust. 1911-1920 House mainly operated as a Boarding House. 1921 First commercial tenant: Manufacturing Chemists. 1933 Alteration and probable removal of Caraher Stairs. 1945-1949 Demolition of buildings to the rear of Darlin_g House.

31 Newbold, op cit, p.42 n.IS. 32 Newbold, ibid, attached report by Lipson, Kadd and Fotheringham. 33 Brodsky, I., Sydney Looks Back, Angus and Robertson, 1957, p.34. 34 The preference for the Sands Directory information in this instance is that Mrs Ferris is rated in the rate

books. Mrs Ferris possibly had an arrangement with Dr. Sachs to pay his rates.


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3.0 ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE: THE BACKYARD

3.1 Description or the Site

The backyard of Darling House contained the remains of a number of structures and surfaces associated with the occupation of the site from 1844/45 through to the early twentieth century (Plan 1, 2). During the archaeological excavation a number of structures were identified. These included the remains of a sandstone kitchen, two cesspits, a bathroom, a laundry and another structure (Plan 2). In addition there were backyard deposits and service trenches that crossed the site. No features such as rubbish pits were identified. During the monitoring of the building construction in October 1993 extensive sandstone footings for Caraher's stairs were found running along the northern side of Darling House. The geological evidence of the site indicated that it had been sandstone with a horizontal seam of shale at the level at which Darling House had been constructed. This level of the shale made it easy to find a fairly level base for the construction of the building.

3.1.1 Initial Use or the Site

Prior to the construction of Darling House the site had been quarried for sandstone, context #57. 35

There was no evidence of a topsoil layer in the backyard. Early plans illustrate the original line of the rockface (Fig. 3 .1). Considerable evidence was found during the archaeological excavation that the whole of the backyard had been lowered by the removal of the sandstone and shale bedrock. The current rockface and the area of the backyard excavated all indicated the presence of exposed bedrock or its occurrence immediately below the archaeological deposit.

The evidence for quarrying was visible along the northern side of the site where the bedrock shelf had been partly used in the foundations of the kitchen and cesspits (#46, #22, #23) (Plan 2). There were pick marks all along this section of the rockface (Fig. 6, 7, 8 and 9), both above and below ground. Where the yard surfaces were excavated the bedrock was 5 to 1 Ocm below the archaeological deposit. There was a considerable amount of decaying sandstone beneath the archaeological deposit. Much of this would indicate quarrying and/or levelling activity over all of the backyard area of the Darling House site. It is uncertain if the quarrying extended onto the land underneath the hous~ but it is likely.

The monitoring of the site during the construction programme in September 1993 exposed quarried areas (Fig. 10). The eastern and southern sides of the site had been extensively quarried. Both these sides of the backyard had a step down in the bedrock to provide a level yard area for construction. Adjacent to the rockface the sandstone had been removed down to the shale seam.

There were areas of the site where the bedrock was composed of shale. The sides of the cesspits were partially cut through shale. The back fill of the service trench running north-south contained a lot of rubble shale as well as decaying sandstone. It is probable that the sandstone used for the construction of Darling House came from the site. It was common practice in Millers Point for an allotment to be worth more if there was sufficient sandstone for quarrying and construction of a house. 36 Sandstone was the common building material in Millers Point because it was cheaper than bricks and readily available.

35 These numbers refer to context numbers. List of all context number is found at 8.3. 36 Fitzgerald & Keating, op cit, p.33.


-'

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r

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,...- First Sewer

f"Ul Pipe unexcavated

- - - - -+

I • I •

Q --Q (\ Stone Floor

-- -

unexcavated

• ~ ~- --- ----- lJU."'=--Western Cesspit '.-

,,....

-

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,._ Pav:in~'..,.....--,~..L.-~1 -~ ~....--

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~ " ( 0 ~ ---......,

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( I I I Doorway Darling

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Archaeological Evidence: Kitchen 14

3.2 Kitchen

There were substantial remains of the kitchen foundations (#46) and a sub-floor deposit (#14) (Plan 2, 3). There were remains of two rooms belonging to the kitchen.37 In the 1930s Room 1 was a breakfast room while Room 2 was where the cooking was done. The underfloor deposit (#14) of Room 2 consisted of a dark brown humic soil, ranging from loose to compact. It contained a lot of food debris, coal, and charcoal. It covered the full extent of Room 2 and was excavated in a 4 sector grid.

3.2.1 Kitchen

The kitchen was an L-shaped structure oriented east-west and built from cut sandstone blocks, context #46 (Fig. 8, Plan 2, 3). The structure was cut and keyed into sandstone bedrock along the northern and eastern walls. The foundations of the northern wall were built differently to the other extant foundation walls. It was double faced stone with a shell mortar joint running down the centre. The south and west walls were cut into decaying sandstone. These two walls were constructed with single cut stones butted end to end with shell mortar joints. The kitchen's western wall was formed by the eastern wall of the main house. Adjacent to the kitchen's eastern wall were two cesspits (see 3.2).

The kitchen was divided into two rooms. Room 1 was the western room and Room 2 was the eastern room (Plan 2, 3). The dividing wall between Room 1 and 2 is visible in the foreground of Figure 8. There was a worn threshold stone and a square slot cut into the top of the stone in the partition wall of the kitchen (Plan 3, Fig. 11). Note the continuation of the northern wall of the kitchen beyond the partition wall (Plan 3). Two large sandstone pavers remained in situ in Room 1. Room 1 was 4.2m x 2m and Room 2 was 4.8m x 4.2m.

Where a part of the northern wall of Room 2 was gouged out by backhoe a section through the wall was visible (Fig. 9, Plan 3). This revealed two courses of sandstone walling and a sandstock brick wall adjacent to the interior face of the northern sandstone wall (#47). There was a gap between the brick and sandstone wall. This produced a cavity between the two walls.

The construction of the brick wall inside the sandstone wall happened some time after the construction of Caraher Stairs. The occupants of Darling House had complained about the water runoff from Caraher stairs into the main house.38 This apparently affected the kitchen as well. Caraher Stairs ran adjacent to the northern face of the kitchen and the house. It was built on land that originally belonged to the allotment to the north.

The floor of Room 1 was covered by a concrete slab which was removed prior to the commencement of excavation (#8) (Fig. 12) (Table 1). The slab was part of the work undertaken during the late 1940s to turn Darling House into a warehouse/transport facility. At this time two large loading bay openings with concrete lintels were installed with roller doors, one on each floor of Darling House. The concrete slab over the kitchen was laid down at the entrance to the bay doors for trucks to stand on while being loaded and unloaded.

The new large openings replaced an earlier doorway. The original doorway is visible on Percy Dove's Plan and the Darling Harbour Resumption Plan (Fig. 3.3, 3.4). The northern walls of both the kitchen and the main house were on the same alignment. The doorway into Room 2 of the kitchen was placed in the western wall where there was a worn threshold stone. This doorway faced the doorway in the rear wall of Darling House seen in the above plan.

37 Newbold, op cit, oral history p.13. 38 Newbold, ibid.



I

Archaeological Evidence: Kitchen

1!:: 1::. 'I

Qu.atricd Bedroc:k

46

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Plan 3: Northern half of the backyard showing the kitchen and cesspit foundations. Scale 1:20.


15

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3.2.2 Kitchen: Room 1

The floor of Room 1 of the kitchen was made from large sandstone pavers (Fig. 11, Plan 3). These pavers would have extended further to the south. Remnant structural stone was found to the south of the doorway (#53) but this was probably associated with an exterior paved/cobbled surface such as the one extending eastward from the doorway (#51), (Fig. 13, Plan 2, 4). Most of the paving and walling associated with Room 1 was removed during the laying of the concrete slab (#8). The southern end may have been disturbed with the construction of the bathroom (#56). Rooms 1 and 2 were demolished in the late 1940s, according to the oral history.

m VI 1945-1970s

OJ Commercial

OD lliJ v 1900-1945

OD lliJ IV 1860/70s-1900

[ill III 1840s-1860170s

OD lliJ [ill

II

I 48 I 51 I ~ I 22 I 23 I 60 I Original Construction

[K] I Quarrying

Table 1: Matrix of contexts associated with the kitchen and its occupation deposits. The repetition of #14 and #35 in the matrix indicates its continuity over three phases of the occupation. The lowest number indicates the beginning of its deposition.

•

The 1865 plan is not very detailed but it does indicate a structure extending from the rear of the main house and the cesspits behind that (Fig. 3.2). The plan is not topographically correct in the way it shows the rear of the site extending eastwards beyond the cesspits which actually butt against the rockface. This plan indicates that Room 1 probably stopped short of the extant doorway (Fig. 3.2). There was no physical evidence, either archaeological or structural, to support this location. Dove's plan of 1880 supplied further detail about the nature of the constructions to the rear of the main house (Fig. 3.3). It shows the two rooms of the kitchen with facing doorways and indicates that Room 1 of the kitchen ended at the southern wall and that another room was attached, this being the bathroom. The wall between Room 1 and the bathroom contained a window. The Darling Harbour Resumption Plan indicates that this configuration was extant in 1901 (Fig. 3.4). This later plan appears to be the most accurate of all because the line of the rockface was surveyed and drawn adjacent to the cesspits.

The function of Room 1 as part of the kitchen is uncertain. During the twentieth century the room was used for breakfasts but this may not always have been the case. Because the archaeological deposits for Room 1 were destroyed in the late 1940s there is no certain attribution of a specific function or use other than its association with the kitchen. The use of this room as a breakfast room may have only been while Darling House operated as a boarding house and therefore possibly dates from approximately 1900. Its use prior to 1900 is uncertain but the choices are limited by its


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association with the kitchen. It was probably always used for eating the food prepared in the kitchen but who within the household used it is unclear, either the servants or the tenants.

The removal of the concrete floor (#8) did expose some archaeological remains (Table 1). Alongside the western wall were two large splodges of soil indicating the location of possible features (#35) (Fig. 11). Only one of these deposits had any depth to it: context #55 to the south of the flagging (Fig. 8). Context #35 was completely removed prior to the taking of this photograph. It is possible that #55 was a feature beneath the floor of Room 1 but it is unclear. Context #35 was probably the remains of the undertloor deposit disturbed with the construction of the loading bay (#8). #35 was deposited against the eastern wall.

3.2.3 Kitchen: Room 2

Room 2 was a rectangular room that contained remains of a stone fireplace keyed into the eastern wall (Fig. 15, Fig. 7, Plan 2, 3). The fireplace was a pivotal feature of kitchen activities. All the meals for the household would have been cooked here during the nineteenth century and up until the mid to late 1940s. Water services were eventually connected to Room 2. There was a metal water pipe (#11) and a water waste pipe (#30) running from the south-east corner of the room (Fig. 6). In all likelihood these pipes were attached in the 1860/70s when sewerage was connected (see below).

3.2.4 Room 2: Sub-floor Deposit: Context #14

The presence of under-floor deposits is frequently the result of smallish objects falling through the floor. They were frequently deposited if there was a timber butt-boarded floor or a timber floor with holes in it. Often holes would develop in the boards as the floor got damp and rotten and small objects such as pins, coins and marbles would fall down the holes. This was the type of deposit excavated within the kitchen foundations above the quarried bedrock.

All the artefacts from this deposit were generally dated to the second-half of the nineteenth century (1850-1900) and possibly into the beginning of the twentieth century. The undertloor deposit was gridded into four squares and excavated within these sectors (Plan 4). Hopefully these sectors will allow us to discern some spatial patterning of activities within the kitchen. This analysis will begin with an examination of the various artefact categories within this context and proceed to an overall view of the context and the activities happening in all the four sectors.

Bone and Shell Bone and shell are important indicators of the types and variety of food being consumed within a household. They in turn may mirror socio-economic choices, taste and preference. The undertloor deposit of the kitchen revealed that the main meat being consumed was: sheep, beef, and poultry. Approximately 40% of the bone found on the site came from this context. Numerous common Rock Oyster shells (saccostrea commercia/is) were found within the kitchen deposit. Rodent bones were found in all four sectors of the grid but there was no evidence to indicate rodent gnawing on other faunal remains. Only 10 rabbit bones were from this deposit. These are commonly found on sites throughout Sydney.39

Table 2 provides a breakdown of types of faunal remains and their relationship to cuts of meat. All the bone from this context showed evidence of sawn butchery marks, indicating professional butchery. There were a large number of ribs, probably sheep or pig, indicating a preference for this cut of meat which was versatile to cook. Or it may reflect that the number of ribs per meat carcass is much greater than any other anatomical element. But the occurrence of few other types of elements associated with whole or half carcass indicates that they were probably a preferred cut of meat.

39 Steele, D., see Volume 2:9.2 this report.


- . ·~--·--. --· - . --

I

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Archaeological Evidence: Kitchen

I

Western VQ -r ~ Cesspit )_ D

~~~~)~,~~~ ~=r-1~v~/~~~~--~·J-'~2=~E~==~~~:~~ ......._. \.-j:::=::!.,::'-.::-::;;-'0 ~ ' ~l.., JI---~~""':!:!L========~:=watcr __ r-, - _1:11 ) " • Pipe r 1/ ,_.. zz.n r-

~ ·.'---' ( 0 11 Brick I= 'I II Cavity 11.20

~ '7 Wall _ r- Q ~~~

r= ':1 v I'"" I4A I4B ;=o

{Lr":"' '-;.--- ~

rr-

14C

n

Kitchen Room2

Kitchen Room!

11.12

140

_,_ .

Cobbled )''>-.,. Pavin:

0 Re!Tuiant r-

-

+ Stonc ,._ ./

Yard Area

/( Site of Ba!hroo

Surface F ( · A

18

<:: -.r?)\._(; --__,,,--~0~0 Q QJ1(

c=====~------------~~~~~ ' ..r-r.

J Loadin: Bay

~ Brick

0 Monar

~Cement

Plan 4: Plan of kitchen with context #14 and location of 4 sector grid. Scale 1:20.


lm

----------------------------------~~--~-~--~-~·-~---=-=--· .. =•W -.;-.-.-;-.,O><•""''-•~--~·-····-··-·· ..... -

I

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Archaeological Evidence: Kitchen Artefacts 19

Reasons for this preference may be that they were cheaper, easier to cook, or could be used in numerous dishes. After ribs the next most common elements were legs and the bones from the spine. The faunal remains reveal the range of available meat in Millers Point during this period.

Element Part of Body Sheep Cattle Unid Cut Meal Metatarsals Foot 8 waste marrow/

stock Carpal Ankle 3 I waste marrow/

stock Calcaneus Heel 4 Phalange Foot 3 1 Femur Thigh 5 roast, steak Humerus Fore leg 4 arm joints roast Astragalus Foot 4 Pelvis Pelvis 6 2 leg & loin fried,

chops grilled ·Scapula Shoulder blade 2 blade-bone

steaks Tibia Hind leg 1 joint roast, steak Incisor Tooth 1 2 Metacarpal Front foot 2 Rib Rib 9 71 (pig cutlet, stew, fry,

or chop grill, roast sheep)

Long Bone Leg 4 51 rump, loin roast, steaks

Tarsal Ankle· 2 waste marrow/ stock

Vertebrae Spine 39 neck chops marrow/ stock

Unid 97 unid unid TOTAL 43 21 258

Table 2: Breakdown of body elements in relation to species within Context 14. Based on catalogue sheets included in D. Steele's report on the faunal material (see 9.2).

Total 8

4

4 4 5 4 4 8

2

1 3 2

80

55

2

39

• 97 322

The bone count identifies that the species of much of the bone from the site was not identified. What this actually means is that the species could not be separated beyond pig or sheep. Of the identified species sheep was the most popular followed by cattle.

Clearly meat and shell fish were an important part of the consumption habits of this household. The meat and animal by-products would have been used in stews, roasts, rissoles, brawns, bacon, potted meats, pies, fricassees of cold roast meats, tongue, ham and soups. Still, we know very little about the perishable food products of vegetable and grains which would have been a central element of table fare.

Types of vegetables that would have been eaten were carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, turnips, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, celery, and marrow. Fruit such as oranges, lemons, strawberries, bananas, apricots, peaches, apples, dried currants and sultanas. Grains would have included lentils, wheat in bread and flour, rolled oats. Nuts comprised almonds, coconut, and cashews. Herbs used were parsley and mint. Condiments used were mustard, cayenne pepper, chutney, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Dairy products include cheese, butter, milk and cream. Another fresh food was eggs. Chocolate and sugar were commonly used in cooking. We had little evidence for perishable material on the site.


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-•··· .-----o=T-:-.·-.


Glass The glass items found in this context (fable 3 and 4) further illustrate the types of food products which were prepared, used and stored within the kitchen. While the number of sherds from beer/wine and gin bottles was very large (281) the number of vessel types (17) was one less than the storage containers (18) found at the site. The number of items does suggest that alcohol was at least stored within this room. There were 18 items related to the storage of pickles, chutney and Lea & Perrins sauce. These sherds were a small percentage of those found within the kitchen. These latter items denote that the occupants were purchasing prepared commercial products.

General Specific Item Type #of Sherds Mark Function Function

Food Storage Beer/Wine 207

Food Storage Wine 2

Food Storage Gin 71 Food Storage Beer 1 Food Storage Pickle/chutney 10 1 Food Storage Sauce bottle 1 1 Food Storage Unid 53 Food Serve Tumbler 11 Medicine Pharmaceutical 27 1 Building Mat. Window Window 62 Unid Unid Unid 18

463 Table 3: Breakdown of Context 14 with regard to the identified use of specific glass items. Based on glass catalogue sheets (see 10.5).

Among the glass items found, aside from those used for food storage, were parts of tumblers used for drinking liquid, medical pharmaceuticals, and 62 fragments of aqua coloured window pane glass. The kitchen apparently had aqua coloured window panes at some stage. This window glass was found throughout these contexts as well #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #15, #18, #20A, #32, #39, #40, #42, and #43. All these contexts were outside the kitchen. There were a number of unidentified glass items.

Alcohol Store Window Ph arm Serve Unid Totals 14A 102 (5) 21 (7) 14 (1) 3 (1)* 4_(3) 17 14B 49 (3) 20 (5) 16 (1) 1 (1) 4 (5) 15 14C 107 (5) 30 (4)_ 14 (1) 22 (1) 8 (1) 7 (2) 14 140 23 (4) 2 (2) 18 (1) 1 (1)* 8 (1)_ 4 (3) 12 Total 17 items 18 items 1 items 3 items 2 items 13 items 58 Table 4: Breakdown of the spatial patterning of the glass items within Room 2 of the kitchen. 4Q

The overall picture of consumption given by the bone, shell and glass from this context is indicative of both consumption, preparation and food storage happening within the kitchen although the meat is being purchased from a professional butcher. These points will now be examined in the light of the ceramic evidence.

Ceramics This context contained a range of ceramics types used for various functions. The majority of ceramics fall into the functional category of tableware (fable 5, Table 6). Approximately 79% of

40 The number in ( ) equals the actual number of items as opposed to fragments of sherds. * means that fragments of the items were found in two or more sectors.


----------------------------------~~-=--=--=-=·---=~ . -~; ___ .,....__-· -~·-;,__-,. ____ ~--•-·.......;.. .. ___ l,.. ___ ,. __ ,·

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the ceramics were tablewares. Of the remainder 9% were items used for serving, 2% for storage and 1% for cooking preparation and for ornamental purposes and 7% were unidentified.

Context Table Serve Store Prep' Orna Game Other Unid. Total

14A 14 5 3 22 14B 10 10 14C 21 3 2 1 1 1 3 32 140 33 1 1 35

Total 78 9 2 1 1 1 7 99 Table 5: Breakdown of specific function categories of all the ceramics found within context #14. This table was extracted from the ceramics report by M. Casey and the catalogue sheets (see 9.3, 10.3). (This table refers to items not sherds.)

Function Type 14A 14B 14C 14D Total Table Cup 5 5 9 9 28 Table Saucer 3 2 6 3 14 Table Plate 6 4 7 17 Serve Platter 1 1 1 3 Table/Serve Bowl 1 2 1 4 Table Egg-cup 1 1 Serve Jug 3 2 2 7 Store Jar 3 3 Prep Basin 1 1 Table Base stand 1 1 Table Misc. 10 10 Unid. Unid. 3 2 4 1 10 Total 22 10 32 35 99

Table 6: Breakdown of ceramics from context #14 into function and type. This is based on the information contained in M. Casey's ceramic report (see 9.3).

The range of items found within the tableware function provide an interesting insight into the food consumption habits within this household (Table 6). The largest number of individual household shapes was the cup and the third most common ceramic item was the saucer. Thus there were a large number of cup and saucers found within this context. The second most common item was the plate. This includes various sized plates: table, supper, twifflers and muffins.41 The range of tableware products is fairly predictable as is their function. -

Metals This analysis is based on J. Lindbergh's report on Metals (See 9 .6). There was a small quantity of metals found throughout context #14. All sectors contained fragments of wrought iron nails, and an assorted variety of other screws and nails. There was one crudely made cup hook in 14A. In general the fragments of metal were uninformative about the configuration of the kitchen other than to say that wrought nails were probably used in the initial construction of the kitchen joinery and were deposited during the construction/demolition of the kitchen.

Miscellaneous Context #14 contained an interesting array of artefacts within the miscellaneous grouping. This group includes all manner of items: coins, utensils, buttons, sewing equipment, marbles, toys and slate pencils (Table 7). The 'Total' columns indicate that many more items were found in sectors

41 Miller, George, "Revised Set of CC Index Values for Classification and Economic Scaling of English Ceramics from 1787 to 1880", Historical Archaeology, 25 ( 1) 1991, p.ll.


•

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·- ·-··--- ·-- . ·-~·


14C and 140. In all, they contained approximately 68% of all Miscellaneous items found within context #14.

This suggests that the majority of activities associated with these items were confined to the western half of the kitchen. There were a number of activities other than cooking, preparing, storing and eating food taking place within the kitchen. These other activities, identified by the miscellaneous items, were sewing, playing of games and writing.

The activity of sewing was represented by pins, thimbles, buttons and studs. The presence of the thimbles, in particular, indicated that sewing was taking place rather than just the odd button falling off clothing. It is notable that buttons were found with regularity throughout all the sectors. A few pins were found in 14A and 14B but 70% of the pins were found in 140 and none were found in 14C. The location of the artefacts associated with sewing suggests that the majority of activities connected with sewing were associated with 140. The distribution of the sewing artefacts is somewhat contradictory because of the presence of the buttons and a thimble in 14C. The nature of post-depositional impact upon these items is unclear.

Children were playing games in the kitchen. A number of marbles and one toy were found. The type of marbles found fall into two categories: those items made specifically as marbles for playing with and glass stoppers from Codd patent bottles which were commonly reused on sites as children's

Item Specific 14A 14B 14C . 14D Total Function

Coin Currency 1 1 1 3 Token Currency 1 2 3 Bottle Foil Storage 1 1 2 Bottle Wire Storage 1 1 OOfr) 1 12 Cutlery Flatware 1 1 2 Slate Pencil Writing 4 8 5 17 Char. Pencil Writing 1 I Pins Sewing 4 4 20 28 Safety Pin • Fastening 1 1 2 Thimble Sewing 1 1 1 3 Buttons Fastening 5 5 8 5 23 Stud Fastening 1 1 Glass Bead Adorn. 1 2 1 4 Gl Stopper Storage 1 1 2 4 Gl. Marble Game 1 1 Lime. Marble Game 2 2 Cer. Marble Game 6 5 11 Ornament Deco. 1 I Chain Link Adorn. 1 1 2 Doll Toy 1 1 Knob Furniture 1 1 Unidentified Unid. 2 2 Total 23 17 34 52 126 % 18 14 27 41 100

• • Table 7: Table of Miscellaneous items found m context #14 and their grid location •

marbles. No Codd patent bottles were found within the kitchen thus it is likely that all the Codd •

patent marbles were deposited during their secondary use as children's marbles. In total 18 marbles were found and the majority of these came from sectors 14C and 140. This implies that children


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were generally playing marbles in the western half of Room 2. That is, away from the fire, the centre of kitchen activity, and out of the way. In addition, they may have been playing in Room 1 and the marbles came through into the western part of Room 2.

Seventeen fragments of slate pencil were found within context #14. This indicated a frequent use of writing implements within the kitchen. Slate pencils were used to write on slate writing tablets. No evidence of slate writing tablets was found within the underfloor deposit. Slate pencils were easily broken and lost and are more commonly found than slate writing tablets. The presence of these pencils does indicate that some of the individuals occupying and using the kitchen could read and write. Slate pencils were used to produce erasable writing. They were commonly used by children within a school classroom. This is probably not the case in this instance. Although Mrs Rosa Strange who leased this house for a number of years was a school teacher she appears to have run her school at 75 Windmill Street from 1861 to 1864 and possibly to 1868.42

Other items of interest from the miscellaneous artefacts were a strip of early plastic which suggests that this deposit was open up until the early twentieth century. Other items were a part of an ornament, an 1888 centenary commemorative medal and a few glass beads. These are indicative of taste in dress and decoration but the sample is too small to say anything in detail about these items. A number of coins and tokens were found as were a few items of bottle foil and closure wire. The coins have a variety of dates ranging from the 1830s to the Victorian period. Overall, the majority of miscellaneous items were found in sectors 14C and 140 with 41% of miscellaneous artefacts within context #14 coming from 140.

Clay Pipes The majority of clay pipes were made from a white clay fabric, commonly called kaolin. Fragments of pipes were found in all 4 sectors of context #14 (fable 8). In this instance there were equal numbers of fragments found in 14A and 140 with a few less in 14C; very few pipe fragments were found in 14B. J. Lindbergh's report (see 9.4) comments that most of the clay pipes found at the site were Scottish in origin. It is uncertain if this is through consumer choice or through availability of pipes. The presence of so many stem pieces in 14A, 43%, may indicate that most of the smoking took place within 14A. The presence of pipe stems may show that when the stems were broken or shortened this was done where the individual was smoking. 14A is the area to the left of the fireplace. Thus it is likely that whoever was smoking did so most frequently near the fireplace and occasionally in the areas near the door. The lack of material in 14B probably indicates that no one was sitting in that area smoking for any sustained period.

Clay Pipes 14A 14B 14C 14D Total Bowl 5 6 11 Mouth Piece 3 4 3 10 Stem Plain 11 3 3 17 Stem Marked 5 1 8 6 20 Spur 1 1 Total 19 4 17 19 59

Table 8: Clay pipe elements and their distribution throughout context #14.

Building Materials Little building material was found within Room 2, in context #14. #14A contained a fragment of a clay brick with cinder inclusions. This was probably deposited with the construction of the inner brick cavity wall (#47). 14C contained four tessellated floor tiles. The relationship of these four floor tiles to the type of floor in the kitchen is unclear but they are unlikely to have been part of the original floor surface. ·

42 Howard Tanner & Associates, Conservation Pwnfor 75 Windmill Street, Millers Point, 1992, p.73.


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Archaeological Evidence: Kitchen Artefacl'i 24

Coal Lumps of coal were found in the kitchen. Predictably they were found near the fireplace in #14A and #14B. 14A contained 5 lumps of coal and 1 of coke. 14B contained 4 lumps of coal.

Overall Analysis The accompanying tables provide a considerable amount of information from which to analyse the spatial patterning of activities within the kitchen. Table 14 provides a summary of the distribution within each sector. The highest occurrence of glass and ceramics was in 14C and 14D with a little less in 14A. Table 9 shows that almost 48% of these items are tableware of which most were found in 14D and 14C. It is likely that the tablewares were stored near the doorway between Room 1 and Room 2. This may support the view that Room 1 was used as a breakfast room and servant dining room and that items were being stored nearby to lay the table for meals.

Context Table Serve Store Prep' Orna Alco'l Wind. Other Unid. Total % 14A 14 7 5 5 1* 1* 6 39* 25 14B 10 5 3 1* 1 5 25* 16 14C 21 4 6 I 1 5 1* 2 5 46* 29 14D 33 2 2 4 1* 1* 4 47* 30

Total 78 13 I8 I I I7 4(I) 5 (4) 20 157

% 50 8 11 0.6 0.6 11 2 3 13 100 Table 9: Grouping of ceramics and glass showing the occurrence of items and functions in relation to the under-floor deposit within Kitchen: Room 2 (#14). The* refers to one item found in more than one part of the kitchen. In the totals these are counted as individual items for each sector but are only counted once per item in a type.

Table 10 provides an overview of the functional distribution of numerous items. Again 14C, 14D and 14A are all grouped closely together and 14B has a lower percentage of food/functional items. In Table 11 8% more items were occurring in 14D than in 14C and 9% more than 14A. The rise in items for 14D was the result of a high number of sewing pins. The majority of children's marbles and toys were found in 14C and 14D. Almost no faunal or shell material was found in 14D. 14A had 18% of the faunal material and 7% of shells. 14B contained 47% of faunal remains and 76% of shells. 14C had 33% of the faunal debris but only 10% of shell material.

Function 14A 14B 14C 14D Total Food/Table 15 10 21 34 80 Food/Serve 10 3 6 1 20 Food/Store 5 5 6 2 18 Food/Prep 1 1

. Pers/Orna 1 1 Food/ Alchol 5 3 5 4 17 BM/Wind. 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* Other 1* 1 2 1* 4 Unid. 6 5 7 4 22

43 28 50 47 168/163 % 25 16 29 30 100 Table 10: Grouping of food related items, serve, table, storage, etc and their distribution within the four sectors of #I4. This includes a number of miscellaneous items.


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Function 14A 14B 14C 14D Total

Currency (M) 2 3 1 6 Flatware 1 1 2 Cleric/Writin 4 8 5 17 Sewin 4 5 1 21 31 Fastenin 6 5 8 7 26 Pers/Adorn 1 1 3 1 6 Game 2 1 6 5 14 Doll/Toy 1 1 2 Furniture 1 1 Kaolin pieces 19 4 17 19 59 Fuel 6 4 10 Total 45 21 47 61 174 % 26 12 27 35 100

• • Table 11: Grouping of Miscellaneous items into functional categoraes within each sector of context #14 • The highest frequency of items occurs in 14D with 14C and 14A close behind. There is a drop to #148.

Type 14A 14B 14C 140 Total sheep 13 11 18 1 43

Ph! 1 6 7 chicken 5 10 10 25 cattle 13 7 1 21 bird/fowl 2 5 7 rabbit 7 4 11 fish 13 1 14 rodent 4 24 7 1 36 unid 55 121 91 1 268 Total 78 207 143 4 432 % 18 48 . 33 1 100

Table 12: Illustration of the nwnber of fragments of bone per sector. The highest percentage of faunal material was in 14B with the next highest in 14C. There was almost no material in 14D.

Of the faunal material found in 14B most of the identifiable portions were 50% or more intact (Table 12). Only 34% of the unidentified bone were fragmentary elements. The remainder of the unidentified were known elements that were not attributed to a species. Thus the faunal material in 14B are not simply small fragmentary scraps that fell off the table but indicate a deposition of scraps and rubbish in this part of the kitchen. This deposition could indicate a variety of activities: disposal of rubbish, falling down from a table, falling out of a rubbish bin, taken there by a dog, cat or rat. Two-thirds of the rodent bones came from 14B. There was a definite deposition of oyster shells in the south-east corner of the kitchen (Table 13). Context 14B includes an area close to the fireplace.

Shell type 14A 14B 14C 140 Total oysters 7 88 8 5 108 other shells 2 1 4 2 9 Total 9 89 12 7 117 % 8 76 10 6 100

Table 13: This table illustrates the distribution of individual shells per sector on the grid. The overwhelming proportion of shell remains was in 148.

Casey & Lowe Associates I

~~----

Darling House '92 Department of Housing

--------------------------------~-------~-~--·~-:..c.,_.---.-_---.-.-... ,.---..-...__ ... _.__,., __ I I

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Archaeological Evidence: Cesspits 26

Category 14A 14B 14C 14D Total Ceramics & 25 16 29 30 100 Glass Food 25 16 29 30 100 Function Misc. 26 12 27 35 100 Faunal 18 48 33 1 100 Shell 8 76 10 6 100 Total 102 168 128 102

Table 14: Final table showing the occurrence of various categories in percentages within the four sectors of #14.

The conclusions about the spatial deposition of this material would indicate that the activities in 14B with its low levels of glass, ceramics, and miscellaneous and its high levels of faunal and shell remains were different to the rest of the kitchen (Table 14). Perhaps its association with the fireplace and the amount of faunal remains indicates that it was the centre of food preparation at various times. Following the completion of meals the food debris was stored underneath a table or some other piece of furniture and slowly faunal and shell material collected in this corner of Room 2. Much of the bone material found in deposits outside the house was associated with ash and charcoal so possibly most of the faunal remains were being burnt because of the lack of places to dispose of the rubbish. Once they were burnt they were then deposited around the yard (see contexts #6 and #9, 3.8).

The spatial analysis of 140 and 14C would indicate that tablewares were being stored in this half of Room 2. Various other activities were occurring in these two sectors and 14A which indicate that a similar range of activities were happening. More sewing was apparently happening in 140 than 14A and 14C or perhaps pins and sewing equipment were stored in 140.

3.3 Cesspits

Two cesspits (#22, #23), cut into bedrock, were located adjacent to the eastern wall of Room 2 of the kitchen (Plan 2, 3). Initially partial remains of cement and brick surfaces (#52, #59) were visible in this area (Fig. 16, Plan 5). The two surfaces lined up with a rendered face and other marks on the rockface which indicated that a narrow skillion roofed structure with a rendered eastern wall had stood in this location (Fig. 17). It was assumed that a cesspit would be found here.

With the removal of the remnant cement and brick surfaces the basic configuration of the structure revealed that it contained two rooms. The excavation of the initial debris of bitumen and sand (#15) exposed two separate deposits (Table 15). In the western room a coal deposit was found (#24) which indicated the possible use of this room for coal storage after it ceased to be used as a cesspit. The eastern room contained evidence of two stages of sewerage pipes (#29, #49) cut through fill (#19).

3.3.1 Construction of Cesspits

The cesspits were cut into bedrock and shale. The northern wall of the cesspits was a continuation of the northern wall of the kitchen, Rooms 1 and 2 (Fig. 16, 17 and 18, Plan 3). The extant foundations consisted of cut sandstone blocks sitting on cut bedrock. The eastern and the lower part of the northern walls of the cesspit were solid bedrock. The two cesspits were excavated as one large pit and then a rubble partition wall was constructed, the top of which was a large sandstone block (Fig. 18, Plan 6). This rubble probably came from the excavation of the pits. The block had cuts for floor joists. The flooring was timber boards which rested on the ledges at the edge of the pit. There were cuts in the threshold stone for the door jambs (Fig. 18, 19).


-- ------ --------------------'

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I

Archaeological Evidence: Cesspits

22.50

)C. 22.$6

.. X

21.12 Brick

Surface ~~~~~

11.19

11.11

46

22.15

47 Brick LJ Cavity b Wall

22.42 bilumen

Fireplocc

21.20

Kitchen Room2

14

Yard Area

M 46

27

~ Brick

0 Mortar

t2J Cement

"1.~

• lm

11.18

0

\

22.29

n

Plan 5: North-eastern corner of the site following the cleaning of the site. The two floors (#52, #59) are visible above the cesspits.


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------ -- Eastern

a 43 Cesspit

<:::> .... 21.51 • 22 "l (base) "l

22.27

22.31

23 Western

( 21.45 (base) Cesspit

I

[J[_j22.19

22.33

lm

Plan 6: The cesspits following the completion of excavation. The dividing wall was constructed by placing a large stone block on rubble shale. The levels within the cesspits were taken from their likely base, underneath the remaining fill levels. The timber floor in the western cesspit was exposed near the completion of excavation.


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To the south of the western cesspit (#22) was the remains of a cobbled stone path (#60) (Fig. 15, Plan 3). This was probably linked to remains of another pathway (#51) that lead from the rear doorway of Darling House.

es ern essp• w t c 't E t C as em 't essp•

v I 59 I I 52 I Floors above cesspits 1900-1945s

SHT

debris over toilet I 15 I debris over toilet

I 16 I sand and rubble

II 29 ~ second sewerage pipe

IV coal debris I 24 I 1860/70s-

1900

wood ash I 25 I ~ 49 II first sewerage pipe Occupation

post services

brown sand with sandstone rubble I 31 I I 19 I fill cut by sewerage lines m Pre 1860170s

brown sand with frags. of coal etc I 33 I I 42 I grey/brown sand and rubble Occupation .

brown sand with timber planks I I I I brown sand and rubble

pre-sev1ces

39 43

western cesspit I 23 I I 22 I eastern cesspit II 1842-1844

I 57 I I Pre 1842

Table 15: Matrix of the deposits associated with the cesspits. Double borders indicate services.

Eastern Cesspit The deposits from the eastern cesspit were associated with stages of use and infilling of the cesspit. There was the cement floor (#52) of the early twentieth-century toilet which was sewered by the second phase of sewerage pipes (#29) (Fig. 19, Plan 5). Beneath this was context #16 which contained wrought nails attached to timber. These were probably remnants from a timber floor and this deposit may have been associated with the removal of the floor. This early floor was replaced later with the cement flooring (Fig. 16).

Context #16 was immediately above the disturbance from the sewer. The removal of this deposit exposed two lines of sewerage pipes into the eastern cesspit (Fig. 19, Plan 3). This indicated two stages of sewer connection. The second sewer line (#29) saw the redirection of the sewerage pipes across the site away from buildings (Fig 5, 25, Plan 2, 3). The first line was an early salt-glazed earthenware pipe (#49) (Plan 3). This sewer trench closely followed the eastern rockface before it turned to the west along the southern perimeter towards Darling House (Fig. 10). This pipe was cut and broken when the later sewerage line was connected.

Prior to the connection of this toilet to the sewer line it was used as a cesspit. When it ceased operation as a cesspit and became a sewered toilet contexts #19, #42 and #43 were deposited (Plan 6). Context #19 was the fill around the sewerage pipes. The contexts below this, #42 and #43, appeared to be the same deposit but were excavated in two spits to see if there was any variations between the


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upper and lower levels that were not visible in the matrix of the deposit. There were a number of sherds from both deposits which joined together. This tends to indicate that they were the same deposit. Contexts #42 and #43 were probably deposited within a short space of time. The cesspit was closed when the first sewerage line was connected. The cesspits had to be filled to support the laying of the sewer line (#49). The cesspit was subsequently reopened for the laying of the second line of sewer pipes (#29). The lower part of context #42 was not excavated because of rising ground water levels at the base of the pit and because the development would not disturb to this depth.

Thus in all likelihood the main fill of the eastern cesspit was sealed by the end of the 1870s but possibly as early as the 1860s. The speed or nature of the deposition is uncertain but it was probably deposited in a short space of time and possibly represented a single event to fill the cesspit prior to it being turned into a sewered toilet.

Western Cesspit The deposits within the western cesspit showed no indication of sewer pipes. Beneath the brick floor (#59) the top layer contained bitumen and sand (#15) (Plan 5, Table 15). Below this was a deposit of coal and coal dust (#24) and a layer of wood ash containing chunks of charcoal (#25). Below these were fill layers of crushed sandstone and sandstone rubble in a brown sand matrix with. lenses of shell mortar (#31). Beneath this was fill of brown sand with fragments of sandstone, coal and charcoal (#33). The differences between contexts #33 and the next layer #39 were few except that it contained dark brown splodges and the remains of wooden floor planks, and it was waterlogged (Plan 6). This deposit was not completely excavated because of rising ground water levels.

When the sewerage line was connected to the eastern cesspit it was not connected to the western cesspit. It is likely that at this stage the western cesspit went out of use and it was turned into a coal room. The transfer in use from a cesspit to a coal room happened prior to the construction of the brick floor (#59) because of the coal deposit (#24) beneath this floor (Fig. 16). It is unclear what it was used for following the construction of #59 but the location of the flooring suggests that the superstructure of the two rooms was extant. Contexts #24 and possibly #25 were associated with the use of this room as a coal store. These deposits were below the brick surface. Clearly there were three stages of use for this room.

Contexts #31, #33 and #39 were associated with the end of the use of this building as a cesspit. There was a similar matrix in these three contexts though there were sufficient differences to excavate them as separate units. The presence of the timber planks in #39 indicated that the timber floor collapsed at one stage (Fig. 20, Plan 6). The location of the planks in the lower level of the fill does suggest that it was an earlier floor that collapsed or perhaps a floor existing at the time when the cesspit was filled in and turned into a coal room.

The use of this room for coal storage without evidence for an intact floor indicates that context #31 may have been associated with the deliberate filling in of the cesspit when it was no longer needed, once the sewerage line was connected to the eastern cesspit. The presence of sandstone rubble in this deposit would support a deliberate attempt to backfill the cesspit prior to its change of function and to provide a solid base and surface for the coal room.

The deposition of #31 is problematic because it contained two glass artefacts possibly dating to the 1920s and 1930s. After careful consideration of these two artefacts and the ramifications of dating this context to the 1930s these two artefacts are viewed as having contaminated this context following excavation of the deposit. The reasons for viewing these two artefacts as later contaminants is that contexts #25, #31 and #33 all contained matching fragments from a Willow pattern pearlware platter. This would make #33 and #39 because of their stratigraphic relationship and comparative ware association a 1930s deposit. This is basically unacceptable within the scenario of deposition of the eastern cesspit.


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The ceramics in #42 and #43 within the eastern cesspit revealed a consistency of dating with many pieces of pearlware with an end date of 1880 {Table 16, 17). There were a number of fragments of a green/black transfer printed ceramic belonging to a set with a base mark dating from 1851 (#42: cat. 79-82; #43: cat. 09). The glass and stoneware material probably falls into an end date between 1860-1880. It is likely the fill of this cesspit was deposited in the 1860s or 1870s.

Ware Chinese BLTPPL Willow BLTP BIFiow RTP OTP GRTP BL Fibre BLKTP GRIBLTP ww WGL

5 6 8 9 10 14 16 18 20A 208 25 31 33 39 42 43 45 Tobtl

3 1 1 2 1 8 3 2 7 1 31 3 3 2 9 19 11 13 1 105

3 8 22 2 12 1 1 3 5 8 14 7 10 3 2 1 102 9 1 26 5 32 1 5 8 3 1 2 3 19 14 3 132 1 2 1 17 2 .., 3 ., 3 3 1 37 - -

1 4 1 1 7 14 1 3 4

2 1 3 1 3 1 1 1 1 4 1 19 2 5 3 4 1 15

1 1 10 1 8 1 1 .., 25 -2 1 5 1 3 1 . 1 ..,.., 3 1 40 --

35 29 2 101 5 12 3 3 3 3 12 12 1 1 222 11 14 3 48 8 10 8 1 .., 4 3 12 12 7 1 144 -54 66 9 229 26 134 8 24 16 13 12 25 36 86 86 34 9 867

Table 16: Comparison of ceramic wares and patterns across the most useful contexts. Underlined numbers contain matching fragments.

Although there were no matching ceramic pieces between the two cesspits there is enough comparative ceramics to suggest that the two cesspits were backfilled at the same or similar time. Table 16 provides an overview of the ceramics found throughout the site within the most useful contexts. Table 17 closely examines the ceramic wares and patterns found in the two cesspits. The occurrence of approximately half the BLTP pearlwares on the site from the two cesspits does indicate some concordance. The majority of other BLTP pearlwares were found in the kitchen (#14). The other few sherds found were distributed among a variety of contexts. This ware pattern is commonly dated between 1830 and 1880. It should be noted that the Willow platter with sherds spread between #25, #31 and #33 was pear/ware. If the western cesspit was backfilled -at some considerable time later there should be a wider diversity in the wares found.

Wt es ern c •t essp1 Eat s ern c •t essp1 Ware 31 33 39 42 43 Total %

Chinese I 2 3 1 1 4 1.5 BLTPPL 2 9 19 30 11 13 24 54 20 Willow 14 7 10 31 3 2 5 36 13.5 BLTP 2 3 19 24 I4 14 38 14 Blue Flow 3 2 3 8 3 3 11 4 RTP 1 1 1 7 8 9 3.5 GRTP I 4 5 1 1 6 2 BLK Fibre 5 3 8 4 I 5 13 5 BLKTP 1 I 2 2 2 4 1.5 GR/BLTP I 1 22 3 25 26 10 ww 3 12 15 12 1 13 28 I0.5 WGL 4 3 I2 19 12 7 19 38 14.5

147 120 267 100 Table 17: Comparison of wares and patterns found within the fill of the two cesspits. Underlined numbers indicate matching fragments from the same item.


%

1 12 12 15 4 2

0.5 ., -2 3 5

25.5 16

100

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Archaeological Evidence: Cesspits Phasing & Artefacts 32

3.3.2 Phasing and Analysis of Cesspits and Associated Layers

The floors (#52, #59) above the cesspits indicate that they were the last surfaces associated with the use of the two rooms. These rooms were demolished in the late 1940s. The cement floor (#52) above the eastern cesspit was the only floor or surface above the second sewer line (#49). Thus the construction of this floor was probably related to the laying of the second sewer line. It is likely that this phase of activity and the relaying of the sewer line were associated with the resumption of Darling House by the Sydney Harbour Trust in 1901. The date the new sewer line was put through is uncertain but the glass from #15 does indicate a 1920s date. Thus contexts #15, #16 and #29 would appear to be associated with the early twentieth century and phase V of the occupation of the site.

The use of the western room as a coal room probably began during phase IV of the occupation of the house. Context #25 was a deposit that contained willow pattern pear/ware ceramics that matched a plate found in #31, and #33. Whether this was because it was deposited at the same time as #31 or shortly after or through some contamination from #31 is unclear. But it is probable that the use of the western room as a coal room commenced soon after the alteration of the room from a cesspit. The use of this room for the storage of coal would not have required the construction of a floor as the dirt floor would have suited this purpose admirably. The construction of a brick floor above this cesspit may indicate a change in function of the western room. The brick floor was at approximately the same level as the original threshold and therefore operated as a surface in relation to this threshold. What other use this room had during the twentieth century is unknown but it may hav-e served as a general purpose store room.

3.3.3 Cesspit Artefacts

The artefacts from the two cesspits contain a variety of information about the practices, tastes and habits of the residents of the house. The artefacts from the cesspits have a limited chronological span because the pits were probably sealed between 1860 and 1879. This is unlike the kitchen deposits which were deposited during the life span of the kitchen, up until the late 1940s .

. The nature of the deposition of these fill levels was partially addressed in the section above but we will now examine the artefacts for more information about the occupation of the house and any light they may shed upon the above stratigraphic analysis. Table 18 sets out the type and number of artefacts excavated from the two cesspits to allow for easy comparison between the cesspits and the deposits within each pit. A copy of a table included in the ceramics report (Vol 2:8.4) is duplicated here for ease of use (Table 19) and a similar table addressing the functional categories of the glass and stoneware artefacts has been constructed (Table 20).

These tables emphasise the intrinsic nature of many of these artefacts as being associated with the preparation, consumption, serving, and storage of food and beverages. Only a few of the artefacts recovered from the two cesspits were associated with other activities. Other artefacts were linked to construction and sanitation: nails and drain pipe. Aside from these two predictable activities associated with the alteration of cesspits to a sewered toilet and a coal room, the remaining functions identified in these contexts were writing, recreational activities, smoking, ornaments and apparel. Based upon this analysis it is likely that most of the artefacts disposed of during the filling in of the cesspits were refuse taken from the kitchen. The filling in of the cesspits would have been seen as an opportunity to dispose of any available rubbish.


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Archaeological Evidence: Cesspits Phasing & Artefacts

Wt es ern c 't essp1 E t as ern c 't essp1 #31 #33 #39 #42 #43

Ceramics 28 sherds 39 101 168 104 41 2 sherds of 9 sherds of 23 sherds with 19 sherds of 17 sherds of pearl ware pearl ware end date 1880 pearlware pearlware

Glass 9 83 172 264 134 97

Sealed post Sealed post Sealed pre Sealed post 1850-1870 1860s 1850-70 1850-70

Stoneware 0 8 9 17 7 1

Metals 19 Crags. 19 13 Crags. 5 Crags.

15 Crags., wrght 12 nail Crags. 4 nail frags. nail, 3 rosehead - last used in 1860s

Bone 0 6 items 56 items 62 23 items 0

4 cattle, 2 23 gen. sheep 5 sheep, 18 sheep and cattle with unid., rodent

unid long bones, .

gnawmg rodent gnawing .

Mise 0 0 5 items 5 2 items 1 item

charred wood, bone handle curtain ring part shoe, slate and button pencil and pencil holder, glass ornament

Bldg Mat 0 0 0 6 frags. drain 1 frag. drain pipe pipe

Kaolin 1 stem 2 stems 3

538

Table 18: List of the number and type of artefacts found in the fill deposits of the cesspits. This table is based upon the specialist reports and catalogue sheets in Vol. 2 and 3.

Context Table Ser·ve Store Prep Orna Game Other Unid Total % s 25 0 1 1 1 2 30 5 6 39 1 2 1 2 45 8 8 7 2 1 10 2 9 55 11 3 2 2 4 77 14

10 27 1 28 5 12 2 1 3 0.5 13 2 2 0.3 14 (A-D) 78 9 2 1 1 7 98 17 IS 6 1 7 1 16 7 1 1 9 2 18 16 1 1 18 3 20A&B 38 2 3 2 1 1 47 8 31, 33, 39 67 7 2 5 81 14 32 7 7 1 42,43 83 4 1 2 1 1 2 94 17 45 9 1 1 11 2 Total 468 39 10 7 7 2 6 28 567 % 83 6.7 2 1 1 0.3 1 5 100

Table 19: Distribution of ceramic items across functional categories and contexts.

33

145

231

8

18

23

3

7

435

•



-. -·- . - '- ---· --·~"--"' ·- . ··- -

Archaeological Evidence: Bathroom 34

Context Serve Store Phar Wind Game Orna Other Unid Total % 5 2 8 2 2 3 1 3 21 6 6 2 8 1 1 4 4 20 6 8 1 4 2 1 2 10 3 9 3 17 3 3 1 12 39 12

10 1 8 1 3 2 15 5 12 3 1 4 1 13 2 2 0.6 14(A-D) 2 37 4 4 3 15 65 20 15 5 1 2 8 2.4 16 1 2 3 1 18 1 8 2 1 1 6 19 6 20A&B 10 2 2 1 3 18 5 31,33,39 2 24 2 3 7 13 51 15 we 32 1 1 2 2 6 2 40 2 2 1 ' 9 14 4 42. 43 EC 16 1 2 3 5 27 8 45 1 3 1 1 2 2 10 3 Total 18 158 22 25 7 1 21 80 332 % 5 48 6.7 8 2 0.3 6 24 100

Table 20: Stoneware and glass items sorted according to their specific function. Taken from a number of important contexts. This table is based upon the glass and stoneware catalogue sheets.

3.4 Bathroom and Associated Deposits

The main evidence for the existence of a bathroom are historical and oral sources. Dove's 1880 plan shows the location of a single storey structure which extends from the southern wall of Room 1 to the north of the extant window (Fig. 3.3) (see section 3.2.2). Newbold discusses the construction of the bathroom and suggests that it was built by 1887 based on a plan of that dat~. 43 It is clear from the Dove plan of 1880 (Fig. 3.3) that the bathroom was built by that date. It was probably built at the same time as the first sewer line (#49) was connected to the cesspits.

There was some physical evidence extant on the rear wall of Darling House to verify the location of a structure to the south of the doorway. A section of this wall between the window and the roller door was repainted (Fig. 12). The repainting extended to 2 courses short of the upper floor window. This area was probably the extent of the bathroom. The upper line of repainting was probably the location of the roof line of the bathroom.

The main physical evidence for the location of the bathroom (#56) was the position of various services, a waste water pipe (#50), a metal water pipe (#11), and a gully trap (#17) immediately to the south (Fig. 13, 14, Plan 2, 7) (Table 21). This was similar to the location of a gully trap adjacent to the south-eastern corner of Room 2 (Fig. 6, 8, 16, Plan 3). The water pipe carried water into the bathroom and the waste pipe took the waste water away.

There is some sub-surface evidence supporting the construction and position of the bathroom. Once context #6, a yard layer, was excavated a deposit, context #18, was exposed (Fig. 14). Context #18 was a deposit directly to the left of the rear door of the main house (Fig. 14). Context #18 was a deposit of grey silty sand mixed with sandstone rubble containing a large quantity of decayed bone as well as some ceramic and glass. Most of the bone from this context was too decayed to remove

43 Newbold, op cit, p.45, n. 23.



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Archaeological Evidence: Bathroom 35

intact. This deposit was raised above the surrounding deposits and its removal revealed a row of stones running east-west (#53) (Fig. 13, 14). These stones were probably part of an earlier path or surface leading from the doorway prior to the construction of the bathroom. It may have connected up with the remains of a stone path nearby (#51).

The reasons for suggesting that this line of stones was earlier that the construction of the bathroom was their stratigraphic relationship to context #18. Context #18 appears to be an occupation deposit with a very discrete location, within the presumed confines of the bathroom. Thus in all likelihood #18 was an occupation deposit associated with the use of the bathroom or a layer that was deposited prior to the construction of the bathroom. The lack of structural evidence for the bathroom may indicate that it was constructed with lightweight material, such as, weatherboard with a timber floor.

There were a variety of artefacts from #18. The ceramics were all tablewares and generally accorded with a date range between the 1840s and 1880s. The glass artefacts were associated with storage, pharmaceuticals and serving. The miscellaneous items were a general mix of items associated with sewing, writing, and playing of games. This deposit's contents were very similar to the underfloor deposit, #14, in Room 2 of the kitchen.

Unstratified

Construction of loading bay

Demolition of Bathroom

Use of Bathroom

Accumulated yard layer

Construction of Bathroom

Occupation Deposit

I 1 I [I]

m OJ m m

10

Services 50 17 37 ~'====n-~-iF===:!I

11

Occupational Deposits I 32 I 38 I

Remnant stone surface & Yard I 53 I 9 I 51

Re-deposited Packing 8B Quarrying m

I

VI 1945-1970s

v 1900-1945

IV 1860170s- 1900

Occupation

Post -Services

m 1840s- 1860/70s

Occupation

Pre-Services n

1842-44 Original

Construction

I pre-1842/44

QuarryinJ! of site

Table 21: Matrix of contexts associated with the demolition and construction of the bathroom.


•


Archaeological Evidence: Other Structures

22.J2

Stone" Floor

-;,

22.11

II=

Water

11. /P Pipe:

Cobbled Pavin,

Sl

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!J.JJ

cnvcl •nd cintl~ 0\'cr crushed sancl-atmc

0 D ,.,~."Y::::t-------.... l>edrock

0

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Stone cut Dr:. in

11.11

+

I •

\ • I •

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\ uneacavated

II

. I

service (scw.r) tr<n<h

L

[

Concrete relainint wall

~ Brick

G Monar

tzJ Cement

lm

Plan 7: Southern half of backyard showing the laundry, area of bathroom, side wall, additional structure and various service trenches. Scale 1:20.


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' . - . -.. ~ . . ..


Context #32 was directly beneath the service trenches (Table 21). It was an amorphous deposit of charcoal with a few pieces of iron fragments and a quantity of burnt bone mixed with grey silty sand. The glass artefacts from these two contexts were generally storage and pharmaceutical items. Context #32 contained eleven fragments of bone. Context #38 was another lense of charcoal near #32. Both these deposits may have been deposited when the sandstone paving (#53) in this area was in use. Beneath #32 and #38 were contexts #34 and #36. Both were layers of redeposited stiff sand. This material was the decaying sandstone which is the top of the exposed layer in the backyard. These two layers had been compacted down to make a base or surface probably for the earlier sandstone paving #53.

3.5 Laundry

The laundry was a structure on the southern side of the backyard (Plan 2, 7). The remains consisted of a dry-pressed brick structure (#21) with a rectangular configuration. The full extent of this structure was not excavated because of the presence of a large fig tree in the south-east corner which, at that stage, was not to be removed. It is likely that the structure extended to the rockface.

The excavation of the top layer, a demolition deposit (#7), exposed the laundry structure (Fig. 20, Table 22). Context #7 was humic deposit containing early dry-pressed shale bricks, some sandstock bricks and sandstone rubble. This deposit was riddled with tree roots. To the south of this deposit was a low L-shaped brick and cement retaining wall which appears to have been the property boundary between the two allotments.

The excavated dimensions of the laundry, context #21, was 2.8m x 2m (Plan 7). The southern and western walls were butted against the retaining wall (Fig. 22). There were a series of bricks laid on edge in the centre of the northern wall indicating the position of the doorway. In the south-east corner was a raised brick platform, only part of which was exposed during excavation. Figure 22

humic demolition deposit

reticulated water diversion

brick structure/laundry 21 rr=====;~--'

stormwater drain 28 !!.-====+---. deposit of silty sand and rubble 20

27

sandstone flagged floor 26

early sewer pipe trench m sandstone structure/wall

VI

1945-1970s

Commercial P.eriod

v 1900-1945

Boarding House Period

IV

1860170s-1900

Occupation

Post -services

ill II

Original Construction

Table 22: Matrix of the deposits and structural phases of the laundry and associated structures. The reticulated water pipe was not included in this matrix because the line that leads into the laundry (#61) was a diversion from the main reticulated water line (#11).


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- ·-- ----- - --- -- ·-· -·--·-·-· -······ ·- -- ··------------ ·-'---'·--~- ---'·-·-·-·'"""'-'-:_.. ___ .

Archaeological Evidence: Other Structures 38

shows the laundry after context #7 was excavated. This exposed a metal water pipe (#61) which crossed the middle of the laundry. The southern end of the pipe was resting on some bricks. This metal water pipe connected to a service trench which ran west towards the house (Plan 2, 7). This section of water pipe was a diversion from the main reticulated water line (#11) that ran from the rear of the house. The presence of the water pipe would indicate that water was connected to this structure and that it was probably used as a laundry.

The probable use of this structure as a laundry is supported by the oral history report (Appendix C). The position of the laundry though does not accord with the description in the oral history which placed it at the back of the yard against the rockface. It is actually in the corner of the site and probably the end of the building was against the rockface.

Context #20 was beneath #7. It was a deposit of dark grey silty sand with fragments of cut blocks of sandstone and sandstone rubble, charcoal, and fragments of slate. This deposit may be the demolition of context #48, a sandstone structure whose foundations were found beneath #20 (Fig. 23, 24). The interpretation of #48 is problematic. Only part of the structure appears to be a wall with faced stone and some rubble core fill. This wall extended to the west under the L-shaped retaining wall. To the south of this apparent wall were large blocks of sandstone laid in a line but as· Figure 23 illustrates they are not laid level nor do they directly butt the stone wall. The removal of this structure during monitoring revealed that to the south, underneath the stone wall, was a ledge cut into the bedrock (Fig. 10). The wall was sitting on bedrock. Bedrock is visible in between the wall and the doorstep (Fig. 23).

The stones to the south of the wall may have been deposited in this manner to provide a level and stable surface when the stone wall was demolished. The function of this wall is uncertain. It may have been a boundary wall between the two properties or the rear wall of a structure. It may have served both functions. The 1865 historic plan locates a structure at this point. Our stone wall #48 was probably this structure. The construction technique of this wall is similar to the northern wall of the kitchen with quarry-faced stone. It is possible that this wall/structure was built with the construction of Darling House in the 1840s. It was definitely there by 1865.

Immediately north of the stone wall was a drain pipe (Figure 24). This was cut into bedrock and was the line of the original sewer connection (#49). This trench ran to the east towards the rockface and then turned north to meet the eastern cesspit. It ran as close as possible to the rockface. The line of this trench was not evident prior to the monitoring programme but it became visible once the remaining features were removed by backhoe (Fig. 10). The broom is sitting on the eastern line of the trench and the southern trench is the dark line cutting through the shale. This service trench was exposed with the excavation of context #20.

A later Y-junction connected the sewer line (#49) to the a main stormwater pipe trench (#30) that ran north towards the kitchen (Plan 2, 7). Connected to this was a drain immediately north of the laundry wall. Further to the north, beyond the drain, another pipe ran off from the stormwater line eastwards towards the rock, context #28. The second sewer pipe, context #29, that connected with the eastern cesspit, turned off on a diagonal line to the north-east.

3.6 Other structures

The flagged stone floor (#26) of a third structure was found against the rockface to the north-east of the laundry (Fig. 25, Plan 2, 7). This flagged floor covered an area of approximately 3.4m by 1.9m and possibly extended another 1.9m to the south. There are a number of cuts in the rockface which indicate that this structure was connected to it. There was a square cut post hole (#27) which was cut through the flag stone. At the northern end of the flagging was a sandstone block that was probably part of the end wall. Between the flagging and the rockface was a raised ledge of bedrock. Near the southern end the stone floor was cut by a service trench (#28).


•

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----· - --- .. -··. --------- -· __ _. _________ , ____ .

Archaeological Evidence: Other Structures & Services 39

Figure 10 shows this area after the flagging was removed and some of the shale shaved off to lower the back of the site. What we see is a distinct rock ledge, part of which had a grooved channel which caught water running off the rockface. This lead to a drain which fed into a stormwater pipe (#28). This pipe trench cut through the flagged floor which does not appear to have been resealed. This pipe was one of a number of pipes that fed into the main stormwater line, #30, between the laundry and the kitchen. The lines of #28 and #30, as well as the line of the second sewer connection #29, are visible in the foreground of Figure 25.

The extent of this structure and nature of its superstructure is difficult to determine. The flooring appears to extend almost as far as the sandstone wall/structure although it does not appear to be directly associated with it (Fig. 24). This part of the paving is above the original sewer line connected to the cesspits, #49.

3. 7 Services

The services found during the excavation have been discussed throughout the last two sections. Some of that information will be reiterated here but included in this section will be an interpretation of these services. The type of services found within the backyard were sewerage, reticulated water and stormwater.

Sewerage As discussed in Section 3.5 and 3.6 there were two sewerage lines (#49, #29) into the backyard and the eastern cesspit (#23) (Fig. 18, Plan 2, 3). The connection of the sewer lines signalled the end of the use of the cesspit and the introduction of a sewered line which connected into the main metropolitan sewerage and drainage system. The provision of sewerage services to Millers Point was slow. By 1851 when the sewer lines ran along George Street North in the Rocks they were also running along Windmill and Lower Fort Street.44 The sewer and stormwater lines were all connected into the sewer. The separation of the two lines only recently happened in Millers Point.4S

The first sewerage line into Darling House was a salt glazed ceramic pipe (#49), broken fragments of which were found in the lower fill levels of the cesspit. Four fragments of a .salt glazed coarse earthenware drainpipe and two fragments of coarse stoneware drainpipe were found in #42 and a lone fragment of coarse stoneware drainpipe was found in #43. These are the lower levels of the fill of the eastern cesspit.

These fragments are similar to the original coarse earthenware sewer pipe from context #49. The coarse stoneware pipe from #42 and #43 supports the interpretation of the cesspits being filled in for the connection of the sewer line (#49) (see 3.3). Earthenware pipe similar to fragments in #42 was found in context #16, the initial fill of the eastern cesspit. The diameter of this pipe was 70mm (c. 3 inches). This is too small for a sewer line and was probably associated with a stormwater line. The sewered toilet went out of use in the late 1940s when it was demolished. At some stage another toilet was erected on the vacant allotment adjacent to the retaining wall and one was installed inside Darling House, in the south-east corner of the building (Fig. 26).

The reasons for the connection of a second sewerage line are unknown. Possibly the original line was blocked and/or had a poor flow and because it was inaccessible due to the construction of additional structures in the yard it was decided to replace the line. The date the second sewer line was laid is unclear but it was laid after the construction of the structure associated with the flagged stone floor (#26).

44 Fitzgerald & Keating, op cit, p.30; Kass, A Socio-Economic History of Miller's Point, 1987, p.41-42. 45 Casey & Lowe Associates, Archaeological Monitoring, Lower Fort Street, Millers Point, January 1993 and

Archaeological Monitoring, Windmill Street, Millers Poi11t, February 1993, for the Water Board.


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. ·- ~· . -·-- ......... _ .... --· ~·~·-· ___ . ___ -.... : .. ·_._,

Archaeological Evidence: Other Structures & Services 40

An example of poor sewerage connection was given by Joseph Faris (sic) who:

complained that his tenants in Lower Fort Street were subjected to constant discharge of water closets from houses facing Princes Street. The stench was so bad at times that the unfortunate occupiers were 'compelled to close all the doors and windows at the back of the house to keep out the horrid smells'. 46

This appears to describe the situation at the back of Darling House.

Reticulated Water Water was piped into Millers Point in the 1840s but only a few properties had it connected.47 A water pump was installed across the road on the corner of Windmill and Lower Fort Street by 1842. There were two main metal water pipe Jines (#11) identified by a single context number. #11 was connected to both the laundry (#21) by a diversion of the main line (#61), the kitchen (#46) and the bathroom (#56). All lines extended from the rear of the house. The presence of this line into the kitchen indicates that water was connected to it prior to the late 1940s. The date of original connection is unknown. It has been tentatively phased to the same date as the connection of the sewer line (#49).

The short metal pipe and a water waste pipe (#10, #11) which met up with a sandstone gully trap (#17) were a short distance from the rear of the house. They were associated with the bathroom mentioned in the oral history (Appendix C). This water pipeline provides some of the strongest evidence supporting the presence of a bathroom in this part of the site.

Stormwater/Waste Water There are a number of ceramic pipes crossing the yard area which transported either stormwater and/or waste water from bathrooms or kitchens. Contexts #10 and #11 refer to pipes that took waste water from an area near the back of the house which according to oral history was associated with a bathroom in the early twentieth century (Fig. 13, Plan 7). There was another line (#50) directly aligned against the rear wall of the house which fed into a drain beneath a water tap (Fig. 12). Water from an interior wash basin was piped out into this line (Fig. 12). It is possible that the sewered toilet in this corner of the house also fed into this line. The separation of the stormwater/waste line and the sewer line took place in Millers Point in 1992.48

Stormwater/waste lines were visible and excavated at a number of points around the site. One line took away the waste water from the laundry (#30) (Fig. 24, Plan 2, 3, 7). This line was connected with a pipe that crossed northwards to the kitchen and to a structure standing against the rockface, #28 (Fig. 6, Plan 2, 7). The line connecting to the kitchen appears to have been both a stormwater and a waste disposal line, #30. It was connected to a drain that was exterior to the south-east corner of the kitchen. The stormwater line (#28) that cut through the flagged flooring (#26) and connected with a drain at the back of the site appears to have taken stormwater coming down the rockface and removed it from the yard. There was a small rockcut channel in a raised ledge of bedrock behind the flagged floor (#26). There was another stormwater/waste connection underneath the laundry (#21). This was connected to an exterior drain. The western line of the stormwater was not excavated during the manual phase of the work.

46 Fitxgerald & Keating, op cit, p.43. 47 ibid, p.30; Kass; op cir, p.41-42. 48 Casey & Lowe Associates, 1993a and b, op cit.


I

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. ' . ; ~-~ _., .....

Archaeological Evidence: Yard Surfaces 41

Phasing The laying on of services to Darling House is seen as pivotal in the alteration of the lifestyle of the inhabitants. The provision of water to the house and kitchen dramatically altered the day to day functions of preparing, cooking food, cleaning and bathing. The erection of a bathroom was probably linked to the commencement of supply of reticulated water to the house. The bathroom, according to the historic plans (Fig. 3.2, 3.3) was built between 1865 and 1880. The connection of sewerage to the property would have dramatically altered the risk of disease to the property and it removed the need for the night soil to be collected. The collection of night soil from this property would have been difficult and may be part of the reason why there were two cesspits.

Thus the 1860170s saw a major change in the life of the inhabitants of Darling House. This has been recognised in the phasing of the nineteenth-century deposits. The phases have been created in relation to the connection of services.

3.8 Yard Surfaces and Associated Deposits

The opening up of the site involved the removal of a bitumen surface from the ya.rd area and a cement surface from the area of the kitchen foundations by workmen. We commenced manual excavation following the removal of these surfaces (Fig. 21). There appeared to be two distinct areas of yard surfacing. The area adjacent to the rear of the house and west of the service trench (#30) crossing to the kitchen was a compacted yard surface with a mix of grey decomposing shale, grey/yellow sandy/clay splodges, with flecks of brick, ash, shell, bone, sandstone and burnt shell (#6). This deposit was 2 to 10 em deep (Fig. 27). The surface to the east of the service trench had a bitumen surface with a base of brick and stone rubble and a black matrix of humic soil (#5). The removal of these two deposits revealed a number of service trenches (Fig. 6, 14). Figure 6 showed service trenches #29 and #30 after the removal of context #5 from the south-eastern part of the site.

Layer #5 was a definite surfacing while the use of layer #6 as a surfacing is less certain. The material appears to be a de facto yard surface which consisted of a mixed matrix of accumulated rubbish. It may have been the result of the compaction of the yard area and associated debris prior to the laying of the bitumen in the early twentieth century.49 It is likely that context #6 was the result of a sustained period of deposition over much of the life of Darling House. As #6 was beneath the most recent bitumen surfacing it was thought to be a pre-1900 deposit. But the dating analysis below will indicate that context #9 beneath #6 provides evidence for a date into the twentieth century.

The removal of #6 exposed contexts #9 and #18 (Fig. 14). Context #9 was a mixed deposit of damp dark grey sandy silt with lots of coal and many small river pebbles, some rubble sandstone and early dry pressed and sandstock brick and shale fragments. In addition this deposit contained a quantity of fragmentary burnt bone and shell. Context #18 was a deposit directly west of the rear door of the main house (Fig. 14). Details of this deposit are discussed in 3.4.

Context #9 shared a number of ceramic fragments with #6. The presence of pebbles within #9 may indicate that it was the base layer to context #6, the top layer of this surfacing material. It is possible that #9 may have been the original surface and #6 the material deposited during the occupation of the site and after the cutting of the service trenches. The disturbed mix of #6, both in the nature of the matrix and the inconsistency of its deposition ensured a confusion with context #9.

Based upon this analysis it appears that the top of this layer (#6) was built up during the occupation of the site. At what stage the service trenches were cut is unclear. Because #6 was exposed for a long period of time prior to the laying of the later bitumen surface in the early twentieth century it

49 Bairstow, D., Millers Point Site 8900, Archaeological Master Strategy, 1987, for the NSW Department of Housing.


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·- • •• •·•· ·--• .-,, ~•-•·----···---~w·•-•·•• •--·~- •· • •• --- ,,. -- •-••--•-· ·- • •••• -·--•-·-·· .,. • ••


would have been disturbed on a daily basis. As the deposition of this context occurred over most of the second half of the nineteenth century the service trenches were cut both stratigraphically above and under this deposit. But they were definitely above context #9. Thus in some ways the evidence presented by the matrix below is unclear (Table 23). Hopefully this explanation will clarify the separation of context #6 and #9 by the various service trenches.

The artefactual material found in contexts #6 and #9 presents an insight into the habits of the occupants of Darling House and how they disposed of their rubbish. As discussed at the beginning of this report bedrock is very high in the backyard, therefore the disposal of rubbish in the normal manner of digging a hole in the garden was not possible. Thus other ways had to be found to dispose of the material that coli ected daily.

Some of the material from these contexts was burnt, particularly bone and shell, while other categories were mainly deposited in fragmentary pieces. There is no clear evidence to indicate whether the crushing was pre or post-depositional but in all likelihood it was a combination of both activities as the majority of ceramics and glass fragments were small. The majority of glass artefacts in contexts #6 and #9 had individual weights of 5g or less; with lOg being the next frequently occurring weight. Two glass fragments weighed 95g and 150g but they were rare examples and both

27 26

I

[I] T

I

30

~-1 23 I 5t I 6o I 9 I

6

I

m I

10 17 11

I 38 I 32

I 53 34 36

I

VI 1945-1970

v 1900-1945

IV 1860170s-1900

Occupation Post-services

III 1840s-1860170s

Occupation Pre-services

II 1842/44

Construction

Table 23: Matrix of service trenches, yard surfaces and associated deposits.

were in context #9. Neither of these two fragments, a rim and base, would be prone to postdepositional breakdown because of their inherent thickness. Their deposition in the basal layer of the yard deposit among all the other rubbly material would allow them to be hidden among similar sized material or they may be the result of contamination by later deposits such as the till of the service trenches.


---------- ------

--------------------......-------,-----,---,------:-::-----,----,-----,-,=··'·~----,----,-~-- ---I I I I

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Context #6 contained no catalogued bone although there were flecks of this material throughout the matrix of this layer. The catalogue of shell for #6 identifies only two oyster shells but again fragmentary pieces of shell were recorded in the matrix. More faunal and shell material survived excavation in context #9. Sixty fragments of bone and 10 oyster shells were recovered from context #9.

The dating of context #9 causes some concern about the interpretation of the phasing of the yard surface layers. The presence of the base of a beer bottle dating to the 1920s does question the dating of #9 as a pre-twentieth century context. No other artefacts from this context supports such a late dating for the sealing of this layer or of context #6. As discussed above #6 was disturbed by the cutting of extensive service trenches. They may have disturbed #9 or the demolition of buildings in the 1920s may have disturbed this area more than anticipated or the extensive root activity by the fig tree. At the time of writing this base was treated as a item contaminating a pre-twentieth century deposit. It is unlikely that the deposition of #9 would have been during the twentieth century because of the nature and extent of context #6.

Aside from the yard surfaces there were remains of cobbled paths (#51, #60) which indicate the main . .

areas of movement around the backyard. A path (#51) leads away from near the rear doorway of Darling House (Fig. 14, Plan 2, 7). The path did not butt against the rear wall of Darling House. If it was part of the remnant paving of #53 then the connection was destroyed with the construction of the loading bay #8. The remains of a cobbled path (#60) were found to the south of the cesspits (Fig. 15, Plan 2, 3). This path would have linked up with the path near the doorway to provide access from the house to the cesspits.

3.9 Monitoring

Darling House The bulk excavation of the area around Darling House was monitored. The object of the monitoring was to record any features or deposits that might be exposed during the bulk excavation and to be at call should the contractor come across anything they considered warranted investigation by the archaeologist. In addition the cesspits, with their unexcavated deposits, had to be sealed as they were under the corner of the proposed building extension to the rear of Darling House. The bulk excavation consisted of the lowering of the ground levels at the front and rear of the building and along the driveway, and the general clearance of the vacant allotment. The lowering of the rear area would mean that the floor level of the extension would be the same as that inside Darling House, with wheelchair access along the driveway.

The monitoring of this phase took place between 15th September and 1st October, 1993. The clearance of the rear yard area revealed the sand and sandstone packing that had made up the fill beneath the yard surfaces. The yard had originally been used as a quarry, leaving a ledge along the property line with the vacant allotment, the stone most probably being used in the building's construction. The required level was then made up with the debris of this quarrying operation.

The remaining cesspit deposits were covered by plastic and sand. The upper sandstone slabs as shown in Figure # had to be removed to facilitate the placement of foundation supports.

The front of the house was cleared to bedrock without uncovering any apparent structural remains.


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... . .... ·- --~- ______ ........ ·---"- ~--- __ .__ - --~---- -- -. --- . . .

Archaeological Evidence: General Analysis 44

Caraher Stairs The driveway had to be lowered and service trenches dug adjacent to Darling House. An ash metalling probably was the remains of the post 1940s driveway. Beneath this were the footings of Caraher Stairs (Plan 8). These took the form of three linear rows of sandstone blocks running eastwest from the street frontage to the rockface at the eastern end of the property (Fig. 32). The southern row of footings had been placed immediately against Darling House and the brick terrace to the north had been built against the other side. The footings had been placed on bedrock and several courses had survived. The lowering of the driveway and the excavation of the service trenches required the removal of some of these footings.

3.10 General analysis of Structures and Phasing

Six main phases have been identified in the archaeology of Darling House.

Phase I - 1788 to 1842-44 Phase I saw the quarrying (#57) of the site to acquire stone for building purposes. This produced a considerable alteration in the topography of the site and an increase in the size of the block so that it was suitable to build on.

Phase II - 1842-44 Phase II deals with the construction of Darling House. The historical discussion at the beginning of the report identified this as dating to 1842/44. Thus all the structures and surfaces dated to this phase were part of the original construction. These include: - Darling House (#54) - kitchen (#46) -two cesspits (#22, #23) - southern wall (#48) - remnant surface (#53) and the associated packing (#34, #36) - remnant paths (#51, #60) - yard surface laid (#9)

Phase III - Occupation: 1840s to 1860170s Phase III involved the occupation of the site until services were introduced. The main reasons for phasing the site in relation to the services was because it produced visible archaeological deposits which allowed for stratigraphic linkages between contexts and structures. Firstly it saw the closing of the cesspits which produced two of the few sealed deposits on the site. If as I have hypothesised all the services were introduced at the one time then this produced a major change in lifestyle for the inhabitants of Darling House.

During this period the two main occupants were Dr Leopold Sachs and Mrs Rosa Strange.

Events that happened at the beginning of the phase: -Excavation of feature (#55). -Deposition of the under floor deposit in the kitchen, #14, #35. - Commencement of the deposition of the upper yard layer (#6).

Events that happened during the phase: - Construction of the brick cavity wall (#47) within the kitchen.

Events that happened at the end of this phase: - Filling in of the cesspits (#31, #33, #39; # 19, #42, #43).


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Archaeological Evidence: Caraher Stairs

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Archaeological Evidence: Caraher Stairs 46

Phase IV - Occupation: 1860170s to 1900 Phase IV saw the continued occupation of the house by tenants, the erection of various structures and the connection of numerous services.

Events that happened at the beginning of the phase: - Connection of various services: #49; #10, #11, #17; #30; #50, #37. - Use of western cesspit as coal room, #24. - Construction of structure against the rear of the eastern rockface, #26.

Events that happened during the phase: - Construction of the Bathroom (#18, #56) and partial removal of the surface in this area (#53). - Further accumulation of the yard layer (#6). - Further accumulation of the underfloor deposit within the kitchen, #14, #35.

Events that happened at the end of the phase: - Demolition (#20) of the stone wall to the south (#48). - Laying of the stormwater drain through #26.

Phase IV /V - Cross over events which may have occurred late in Phase IV or early in Phase V

-Construction of the Laundry (#21). - Connection of the reticulated water to the laundry (#61). -Laying of second sewerage line and associated deposits, #29, #16, #15.

Phase V - 1900 to 1945

During this phase Darling House was resumed by the Sydney Harbour Trust and it was leased out as a Boarding House.

Events that happened at the beginning of the phase: - Construction of floors above cesspits, #39, #52. - Bitumen surface laid over the backyard, #12. This seals the yard deposit, #6 and #5.

Events that happened during the phase: -Continued deposition of occupation deposits, #14, #35.

Phase IV- 1945 to 1970s

Events that happened at the beginning of the phase: - Demolition of all buildings in the backyard and associated deposits: #46, #53, #23, #22, #21,

#7, #26, #56. - Construction of loading bay #8. - Construction of a toilet on the allotment.


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Archaeological Evidence: The Allotment 47

4.0 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE: THE ALWTMENT

4.1 Description of the Site

The allotment was vacant for much of the time since historic occupation of The Rocks and Millers Point. Only one of the historic plans shows a building on the site (Fig. 3.3) and it was shed. Several other structures are referred to in the historical record. The 1901 detail plan of the area (Fig. 3.4) indicates that the bedrock was high across the south-eastern part of the site.

4.2 Areas Excavated

As the allotment was considered to have low archaeological potential it was decided that a few sondages would be excavated at first to confirm this interpretation. Following the commencement of excavation the soil deposits in the allotment were shown to be contaminated with high levels of lead. It was decided on this basis to only clean up the edges of the sondages which had been partially excavated by backhoe prior to any involvement on the site by archaeologists (Plan 1).

Sondage 1 This sondage was located against the eastern rockface (Plan 1). This area was eventually identified as being in the highly polluted area and work was discontinued. The deposit in this area was mainly a humic topsoil with a lot of metal and large lumps of plaster and lime. This would correspond well with the oral evidence to indicate that there was a plasterers workshop on the allotment during the twentieth century. 50

Sondage 2 The edges of this sondage were cleaned and photographed (Fig. 28). The section shows a number of well defined strata but they were all basically fill layers (Plan 1). These layers consisted of a lot of fill deposits with corroded metal and burnt bone. Another layer had dry-pressed brick mixed through a sandy silt layer. The bottom layer contained sand mixed with charcoal and sandstock brick. No further work was done in this sondage.

Sondage 3 The cleaning of this sondage exposed two sandstone flags in the northern section and bedrock at the base (Fig. 29). A decision was made to extend this sondage to the north, towards Darling House. The top layer (#40) was a black humic soil with a large quantity of metal rubbish as well as dry pressed brickbats and fragments. The removal of this layer exposed a bitumen footpath (#41) (Fig. 30). Beneath the bitumen was a deposit of silty sand mixed with rubble and larger pieces of sandstone and fragments of yellow mortar, 5 to Scm deep (#44). The removal of this deposit exposed the two sandstone flags with a water pipe sitting on top (Fig. 31 ). lOcm of the deposit to the north (#45) was removed but no other flag stones or paving was revealed. Due to time constraints we decided to discontinue excavation of Sondage 3.

Analysis The excavation of sondages in this area confirmed the low archaeological potential of the allotment. The soil deposits on this property were all very disturbed and had been deposited after the quarrying of this part of the site.

50 Mrs Shirley Ball, pers. comm.


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4.3 Monitoring

Vacant Allotment The clearance of the vacant allotment revealed no structural remains. As was apparent before the commencement of the bulk excavation the rockface at the side and back of the allotment had been cut back during the quarrying of this area. This had changed the nature of the allotment considerably, increasing the potential area that could be built upon. Although it is known that a number of sheds were built on this area they were fairly insubstantial. Holes in the eastern rockface indicated the location of structures erected here and attached to the rockface. The fill layers above bedrock indicate that the area had been used to dump building debris and general rubbish. Holes in the rockface beneath the cut steps indicated that wooden stairs had been attached there.

5.0 Discussion

As part of an application for an excavation permit it is necessary to problematise the archaeological investigation by constructing a research design as the framework for questions with which to address the results of the archaeological program. The main thrust of the research themes were:

*

* *

* *

urbanisation through: alteration of the topography; examination of the site, structures, features, deposits and artefacts; evidence regarding the socio-economic environment of this site; evidence for the development of a neighbourhood and the relationship between Millers Point and The Rocks; identification of gender and associated activities; relationship between the historical and archaeological resources.

5.1 Urbanisation51

The terrain of this site was drastically altered with the quarrying of the rockface which transformed the land into a level site for building. The amount of stone removed from the site reflects the high demand for building stone throughout Millers Point and environs. The alteration of the natural topography to fulfil the demands of the expanding colony is reflective of changes in both Millers Point and The Rocks. Here the topography was considerably altered to allow for the movement of people and transport, and the building of a English style settlement. It resulted in the taming of the land.52 The construction of this house in the 1840s represents a surge in development within Millers Point during this period which saw the enlargement of the existing maritime infrastructure.

Whether the house was owned by Mr or Mrs Ferris is unclear because the rates record one or the other at various times as the owner/landlord of the property. Joseph Ferris was involved in the evolution of the Mercantile or Early Capitalist phase of Sydney's urbanisation.53 How this building fitted into the Ferris family's overall business schemes is unclear but it appears to have been an investment property and not a dwelling intended as a personal residence. The main nineteenthcentury occupants of this house were, as discussed in Section 2, Dr Leopold Sachs and Rosa Strange.

5! The author's understanding of urbanisation is drawn from I. Burnley, The Australian Urban System, 1980, p.3-9.

52 Other evidence for the extensive alteration of the topography of early Sydney is available in Casey & Lowe Associates, Archaeological Monitoring of George Street North Improvements (Stage II), Stonnwater and Streetworks, 1993, for the Sydney Cove Authority.

53 Fitzgerald & Keating, op cit, p.29; Aplin, G., 'Models of urban change: Sydney 1820-1870' in Australian Geographical Studies, 1982, 20: 2, p.146.


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But what aspects of urbanisation does this site characterise? It is a large two storey house, facing west, with cesspits, and a rear kitchen; water was not connected at first but was available across the road, and the house was nearly always rented out. Clearly the owners of the property had sufficient income to live elsewhere or other reasons to reside at an alternative location. The property was possibly built as an investment with the intention of leasing it to provide rental accommodation, apparently a common occurrence in Millers Point. The lack of services provided to the house is reflective of the general poor servicing evident in the Sydney community.54

The main structure, its configuration and orientation indicate that the aspiration of the owner was to construct a large residence along one of the fashionable streets of Millers Point but they did not recognise the environmental conditions of the site. The house faced west with no verandahs. These were not added until later and initially one was added downstairs only. The amount of sun and glare during the hot summers would have made the house rather uncomfortable although during the cooler months it would have warmed the house but left it exposed to storms. The construction of the verandahs was probably the result of agitation by the tenants because of the house retaining the heat in summer and providing no protection to the front of the house from inclement weather.

The ambience of the backyard was not one of comfort or convenience. When it rained water ran off from Caraher Stairs, creating damp areas in both the kitchen and the house. We know this from the oral history and from the construction of a cavity brick wall inside the kitchen. In addition rain would have poured off the rockface and there would have been no place for the water to go. It would have pooled in the backyard and because of the high bedrock levels it would not have soaked away. An attempt to solve this problem saw the construction of the stormwater pipe (#28) that collected water from the drain cut into the base of the rockface. Further evidence of the need for this practice was visible in the gutter of the cement floor (#52) belonging to the toilet. Until the stormwater line was connected the conditions in the rear yard would have been damp for days following a heavy downpour. Added to the problems with water run off was the sewerage seepage from the houses above in Princes Street (see 3. 7). 55

The construction of two cesspits raises the query as to why more than one had to be built? Was the nightsoil removal inadequate and by building a second cesspit did it make it easier on the occupants. The collection of nightsoil would have been difficult with entry through the vacant allotment and not by a Janeway. It is doubtful the nightsoil cart would have driven into the rear yard. Early in the occupation of the house the vacant allotment was probably exposed quarried sandstone as the soil deposits would not have been laid down until the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The bitumen path excavated in Sondage 3 indicates that in the twentieth century this provided access to the rear of the house. It is likely that this pathway existed for most of the occupation of the house as there was no access from the northern side of the house because of Caraher Stairs until after the 1930s.

Dr Sachs' social status, according to Mullen's analysis, is defined as Professional/High White Collar. Mullen's analysis for 1865 did not locate Rosa Strange. She was apparently living in Windmill Street at this time but the Sands Directory for 1865 recorded the name of her son Thomas. As she was not identified in the Sands Directory for that year her presence in Millers Point is not included in Mullen's work. While statistical sampling will always miss out some individuals and not others it is fascinating to contrast the information recorded for 1865 in the Sands Directories with other years. If Mullen had included Darling House for 1864 he would have been unable to identify Leopold Sachs' occupation (see 2.2.2). In all the years Mrs Strange resided at Darling House her occupation, if she had one, was not given. In 1863 and 1864 when she lived at Windmill Street she apparently had a

54 Fitzgerald, S., Rising Damp, Sydney 1870-90, 1987, OUP, Melbourne; Clark, D., ' "Worse than Physic": Sydney's Water Supply 1788-1888', in Kelly, M., Nineteenth-Century Sydney, Essays in Urban History, 1978, p.54-65.

55 Fitzgerald & Keating, op cit, p.43.


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Archaeological Evidence: Discussion 50

school as the entry reads Rosa Strange schoo/.56 Her son, who was recorded for 1865 at Windmill Street was a saddler (Skilled/Trade 4, see 8.5). The Stranges resided at Windmill Street for 6 years, 1863-1868, and during these years there were four entries for Mrs Strange and two for her son with only two of these entries recording the presence of a school at Windmill Street. The size of Darling House may indicate that Rosa Strange could have run a school there but this is impossible to substantiate without further research.

This site provides strong evidence for the nature and impact of the urbanisation of Millers Point by the 1840s. There is evidence for the economic aspects of urbanisation with the clustering of a nonagricultural population, the division of labour, and concentrations of housing. Its development was tied into the association with retail and wholesale activities. The demographic elements are evidenced by an increasing population concentration in this part of Sydney. The evidence from Darling House reinforces the spatial aspects of urbanisation through the evolving morphology of the site and the general spread of housing and roads. Urbanisation as evidenced by social changes was typified by the evolution of services supplied to the site and the relative permanent nature of the occupants of the house.

5.2 Archaeology of the Neighbourhood

The archaeology of the neighbourhood is essentially one of comparison and contrasting of evidence between groups of sites. A recent thesis addressed the issues of Neighbourhood archaeology with specific attention to The Rocks and Millers Point. 57 Wayne Mullen does not believe that The Rocks and Millers Point allow for the analysis of questions based upon the archaeology of the Neighbourhood because the demographics do not support the development of high concentrations of ethnic or socio-economic groupings. These groupings are the basis for the development of an archaeology of the Neighbourhood. Clearly other questions can be addressed such as those pertaining to the archaeology of the household.

This site presents problems when attempting to address questions that relate to the archaeology of the household because of an inability to allocate the archaeological material to any specific household group. While it is desirable to examine the more intact archaeological features with reference to who was responsible for their deposition this is difficult in the light of current evidence. The kitchen undertloor deposit, context #14, was apparently deposited over the period of occupation of the kitchen. The cesspits were back filled, probably during the 1860s or 1870s, but there is no material to really support a date earlier or later during this period and the historical information does not help to clarify this issue. Thus the artefacts which probably belonged to either the households of Dr. Leopold Sachs or Mrs Rosa Strange are not identified as belonging to either occupant. An analysis of the household is difficult if you are unable to identify the household to which this material belonged. 58

5.3 Socio-economic indicators

This was partially discussed in section 5.1 but will be further addressed here briefly. Originally the writer of this report wished to examine in detail socio-economic questions with respect to the artefacts excavated from Darling House. Due to budgetary constraints it is difficult to address these questions in any detail. General observations were made in 5.1 with respect to questions of urbanisation of the

56 Howard Tanner & Associates, op cit, p. 73. 57 Mullen, W., 'Just Who Are the People in Your Neighbourhood?', The Archaeology of 'the Neighbourhood'

in the Rocks and Millers Point, 1993, University of Sydney. 58 Baristow, D., 'Urban Archaeology: American Theory, Australian Practice', in Australian Archaeology, Vol.

33, p.52-58.


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site. Some of the questions necessary to address this issue would belong to the area of inter-site analysis for which no funding is available. Other issues would focus upon the analysis of the artefacts with regard to the socio-economic evidence without resorting to superficial analysis which is all that is possible at this stage.

Wayne Mullen suggests that the high white collar households were identified through their preference for areas of 'high environmental amenity' .59 While the professional identification of a doctor residing at this location accords with the expectations of a house in Lower Fort Street as having high socioeconomic status the amenity of the house, as discussed above, was rather low (Appendix 8.5). This creates some dilemmas in the analysis of the socio-economic standards of the occupants, and their expectations. Based on the interpretation of the evidence for this backyard it can only be assumed that houses occupied by lower income groups would have had considerably less attractive accommodation.

In addition there is the question of whether servants were living and working in the house. It is highly likely that there were servants, at least a cook/maid, who looked after the house for any of the early occupants and undertook all the cooking within the kitchen. It is likely that Dr Sachs had a wife and possibly children. In addition he may have operated a surgery from the House. All these questions are unlikely to be answered from the archaeological material that has been excavated or from the historical records without a good deal more work. The archaeological deposits cannot answer questions about activities that relate to the house because no underfloor deposits associated with the house were excavated as a concrete floor was laid down, probably in the late 1940s.

5.4 Identification of Gender and Associated Activities

A number of the deposits contain information they may be useful for the identification of gender, children and gender associated activities. The association of artefacts with specifically female or male activities is fraught with difficulties. Some archaeologists would immediately accuse you of being simplistic or accepting the stereotypical norm. After all this is what many archaeologists have been doing for the last 100 years in the construction of their hypotheses by using ethnographic data to project into the past. The presumption that archaeologists who are searching to identify gender as a structuring agent should not do this is widespread. After all we do not want to perpetuate the existing androcentric prejudices that litter the archaeological and historical literature. 60 Does this mean we have to reform the society of the past and that I can take no leaps of intuition into the analysis of the material culture with which I am presented? After all if we do not attempt this it will be a long time before we undertake an engendered archaeology.

Conkey and Spectors' comment on 'the uncritical use of gender stereotypes in our scholarship (which) perpetuates and supports sexism and gender asymmetry'.61 Yet I think we are foolish if we totally ignore what we know of the past; we should question it but be aware that behaviour has often been stereotypical because people, men and women frequently behave in established ways. When we are dealing with a domestic situation I believe we can assume a stance, as long as it is stated in advance so as to offer an interpretation that attempts to identify those who live in the past, their gender, and in some cases their age. This then becomes a critical use of stereotypes. In addition the use of stereotypes can be referenced against the historical profile of the residents of the house.

In the case of Darling House this can only be done briefly as the archaeological material is restricted in the range and depth of the information. The most valuable sources of information about men,

59 Mullen, op cit, p.98. 60 Conkey & Spector, 'Archaeology and the study of gender', in Advances in Archaeological Method and

Theory, 1984, Vol.7,p.l-38. 61 Conkey & Spector, ibid, p.3.


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women and children are the elements they use in daily life to define themselves, the clothes they wear and the activities they pursue. With children it is perhaps easier to locate their presence then to define their gender. A number of toys were found in ten contexts associated with the occupation of Darling House (Table 24). The toys fall into three categories: marbles, both glass and ceramic, ceramic doll fragments, and items belonging to a child's tea set. I believe we can safely, or almost so, negotiate the obstacles placed before us in this instance. It is likely that marbles were toys played with by both girls and boys. In this instance marbles are seen as operating as an item that is interchangeable between female and male children. Occasionally they may be played with by adults but they are unlikely to have played with them with any degree of frequency. The doll fragments and the child's tea set are more likely to have been used by girls but they may have been used in conjunction with boys when role playing: mother and fathers, and having afternoon tea. It is likely that the doll and the tea set were purchased for a girl but it does not mean that it was used exclusively by a girl. It is interesting to note that all these toys are still found in the toyshops of the late twentieth century but with diminishing frequency while they were common in the childhood of the 1960s.

Context Male Female, Child Possible Adult

1 Thimble Animal Figure Bullet Bead marble (7)

5 Buckle 6 Bead Toy teapot

7 Fob Watch Bracelet

8 Marble (2)

9 Trouser button Marble (1) Shirt stud Doll

12 Trouser button 14A Trouser button Pin (4) Marble (3)

(3) Bead 14B Trouser button Pin (4) Marble Ornament

Thimble Link 14C Trouser button Thimble Marble (6)

(2) Bead Doll fra2. 14D Shirt stud Thimble Marble (5)

Pin (20) Bead

15 Marble 18 Pin (4) Marble (2), Chess piece

Doll 19 Trouser button Pin (2)

20B Trouser button 32 Trouser button Pin

Bead 33 Toy plate,

Le2 of doll 35 Brooch Marble (4)

Table 24: Items which may be identified with women, men and children and various activities.

Other items found in the miscellaneous group that offer room for an engendered interpretation are: trouser buttons, shirt studs, a fob watch, beads, bracelet, thimbles and pins and a brooch. In all instances it is possible to attribute an association in the use of an item that is highly likely to be male or female. The trouser buttons and shirt studs are probably male, and the fob watch is likely to be male. The beads are associated with female jewellery. It is highly likely that the thimbles and pins were used by a woman sewing and mending the household clothing. It is known that some men sewed but the examples given are usually tailors and mariners. While there is no record of a tailor


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residing at Darling House, William Brown, a mariner, lived there in 1861 but the short duration of his residence would reduce the likely association of found objects with his occupation. Therefore the potential for the thimbles and pins to be associated with female activities is high.

Jane Lydon discussed the relationship between women, feminity and sewing in a recent article.62 An emphasis was placed upon the way in which associations were made between women and sewing and that this was a way of restricting women's activities to the domestic sphere. In the material from Lilyvale the absence of specialist tools was noted, this is the same at Darling House.63 The majority of pins and thimbles were found within Room 2 of the kitchen, #14, (see Section 3.2.4). The sewing material appears to represent the daily activities of sewing by a woman who worked in the kitchen. The presence of pins in association with assorted buttons and other fasteners would accord with this analysis.

5.5 Relationship between archaeological and historical evidence

The historical material for Darling House is limited to the main primary sources, of rate books, directories and land titles. Thus we know about the historical development of the land and the buildings, who owned the house and land, and who occupied the house with some indication of when and for how long. To assume that these rather patchy resources provide a full basis for interpretation from which to proceed to an examination of the archaeological material is premature. While there are no major contradictions between the two resources there is little concordance of information about questions that the archaeological material raises. The historical events that we would like to know more about do not necessarily relate to questions of actions by individuals but to general questions of site formation processes. These questions include when were the sewerage and water lines connected, and why was the second sewerage line necessary? Answers to these questions could then relate specific deposits back to the individuals who may have been responsible for undertaking the associated activities.

The discussion of the historical material throughout this report has revealed that information about women and the activities they undertook is difficult to obtain. In this case we know that Rosa Strange lived at Darling House but a general search of various historical repositories has revealed little information about her and her activities. But we know about her husband and there has been material relevant to her son. Even less material was available on Leopold Sachs.

5.6 Further Research

There is room for further research in a number of areas:

1. An examination of probate records of various individuals who owned or resided at Darling House has not been undertaken because it was not funded by this project. It is possible that this material will provide us with more information about the relevant individuals and their possessions.

2. Other sources of information on individuals, such as Rosa Strange, Leopold Sachs and the Ferrises.

3. A thorough search of MWSDB documents for more detailed information about the sewerage and water connection in Millers Point and this property specifically.

62 Lydon, J., 'Task differentiation in historical Archaeology: Sewing as Material Culture', in du Cros & Smith (eel), Women in Archaeology: A Feminist Critique, Dept. of Prehistory, Research School of Pacific Studies, ANU, Canberra, 1993, p.129-133.

63 Lydon, ibid, p.132.


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4. A socio-economic analysis of the ceramics using Miller's ceramic pricing index.

5. Integration of the material from this site into inter-site analysis with other sites in the Rocks and Millers Point.


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Bibliography 55

6.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY

6.1 General Bibliography

Primary Sources

Council of the City of Sydney, Rate Assessment Books Land Title Office Low, F., 1844

The City of Sydney Directory, 1844-45. Sands Directories, 1853-1932/33.

Published Books

Anon 1988, The Australian Convict Recipe Book, Southern Holdings, Huonville.

Aplin, G. 1982 . 'Models of urban change: Sydney 1820-1870', Australian Geographical Studies, Vol. 20. 2:144-158.

Baris tow, D. 'Urban Archaeology: American Theory, Australian Practice', in Australian Archaeology, Vol. 33, p.52-58.

Beaudry, M. 1988 Documentary Archaeology in the New World., Cambridge, CUP.

Bickford, A. & Sullivan, S. 1984 "Assessing the research significance of historic sites', in Sullivan, S. & Bowdler, S. (eds.), Site Surveys and Significance Assessment in Australian Archaeology, Department of Prehistory, Research School of Pacific Studies, ANU, Canberra.

Burnley, I, 1980 The Australian Urban System, Longman Cheshire, Sydney, Chapter 1, p.3-9.

Brodsky, I. 1957 Sydney Looks Back, Angus and Robertson, Sydney.

Clark, D. 1978 ' "Worse than Physic": Sydney's Water Supply 1788-1888', in Kelly, M., Nineteenth Sydney, Essays in Urban History, p.54-65, SUP, Sydney.

Conkey, M. & Spector, J. 1984 'Archaeology and the study of gender', in Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 7, p.1-38.

du Cros, H. & Smith, L-J. (ed.), 1993 Women in Archaeology, A Feminist Critique, Dept. of Prehistory, Research School of Pacific Studies, ANU, Canberra, p.l29-133.

Fitzgerald, S. 1987 Rising Damp, Sydney 1870-90, OUP, Melbourne.

Fitzgerald, S. & Keating, C. 1991 Millers Point, The Urban Village, Hale & lremonger, Sydney.

Gollan, A. 1978 The Tradition of Australian Cooking, ANU Press, Canberra.

Hayes, B. 200 years of Australian Recipes, Sydney.

Lydon,J. 1993 'Task differentiation in Historical Archaeology: Sewing as Material Culture', in du Cros & Smith (ed) 1993, Women in Archaeology: A Feminist Critique, Dept. of Prehistory, Research School of Pacific Studies, ANU, Canberra, p.129-133.

Casey & Lowe Associates Darling House '92 Department of Housing I I

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Bibliography

Rawson, L. Mrs. 1984 The Australian Enquiry Book, facsimile of 1894 edition, Kangaroo Press, Sydney.

Symons, M. 1982 One Continuous Picnic, A history of eating in Australia, Duck Press, Adelaide.

Sullivan, S. & Bowdler, S. (eds.) 1984

Site Surveys and Significance Assessment in Australian Archaeology, Department of Prehistory, Research School of Pacific Studies, ANU, Canberra.

Yentsch, A. 1988

56

'Legends, houses, families, and myths: relationships between material culture and American ideology', p.S-19, in Beaudry, M., 1988, Documentary archaeology in the New World, CUP.

Unpublished Works

Bairstow, D. 1987

Millers Point Site 8900, Archaeological Master Strategy, for the NSW Department of Ho~ing. . ·

Blackmore, K. Harris, S. Knox, P. & Wilson, A. 1990 Millers Point Conservation Policy, prepared for the Department of Planning.

Casey & Lowe Associates 1992

Darling House, 8-12 Trinity Avenue, Millers Point, Baseline Archaeological Assessment, for the Department of Housing.

1993a

Archaeological Monitoring, Lower Forl Street, Millers Point, for the Water Board. 1993b

Archaeological Monitoring, Windmill Street, Millers Point, for the Water Board. 1993c

Archaeological Monitoring of George Street Improvements (Stage II), Stonnwater & Streetworks, for the Sydney Cove Authority.

Higginbotham, E. Kass, T. & Walker, M. 1991 Archaeological Management Plan of The Rocks and Millers Point, for the Sydney Cove Authority and the Department of Planning.

Howard Tanner & Associates 1992

Conservation Plan for 75 Windmill Street, Millers Point, for the Department of Housing. Mullen, W. 1993

'Just Who Are the People in Your Neighbourhood?' The Archaeology of 'the Neighbourhood' in the Rocks and Millers Point, Hons. thesis, Uni. of Sydney.

Newbold, B. 1983

Conservation Plan for 8 Trinity A venue, Millers Point, partial fulfilment of a BA in Architecture, Uni. NSW.

Thorp, W. 1990

Archaeological Component of the Heritage Inventory for Central Sydney, prepared for the Council of the City of Sydney.

6.2 Artefact Bibliography

Ceramics

Copeland, R.

n.d. Blue and White Transfer Printed Pottery, #91, Shire Album. 1990 Spode 's Willow Pattern and other designs by the Chinese, Cassell, London.


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Bibliography

Coysh, A.W. & Henrywood, R.K. 1982 The Dictionary of Blue & White Printed Pottery, 1780-1880, Vol. 1, Antique Collectors Club Ltd.

Majewski, T. and O'Brien, M. 1987 'The Use and Misuse of Nineteenth-Century English and American Ceramics in Archaeological Analysis', in Schiffer, M., (ed.) Advances in ArcluJeological Method and Theory, Vol 11.

Miiler, G. 1991 'Revised Set of CC Index Values for Classification and Economic Scaling of English Ceramics from 1787 to 1880', Historical ArcluJeology, 1991, Vol. 25, p.1-25.

Southeast Asian Ceramic Society 1981 Nonya Ware and Kitchen Ch'ing, OUP, Singapore.

Williams, S.B. 1987 Antique Blue & White Spode, B.T. Batsford Ltd, London.

Clay Pipes

Dane, A. & Morrison, R. 1979 Clay Pipes from Porl Arlhur 1830-1877, A.N.U., Canberra.

Davey, Peter (ed.), 1987 The ArcluJeology of the Clay Tobacco Pipe: X Scotland. BAR British Series 178.

Gojak, D. & Stuart, I. (forthcoming) 'Going Beyond Typology: Studies in Clay Tobacco Pipes from Australian Sites.'

Wilson, G.C. and Kelly, A. 1987.

57

Preliminary Analysis of Clay Tobacco Pipes from the First Government House Site, Sydney, Dept. of Planning, Sydney.

Wilson, G.C. 1988 (unpub.) Preliminary List of Clay Tobacco Pipe Makers & Distributors.

Glass

Primary Sources The Australian Wine, Spirit & Tobacco News, 17 Dec., 1898. The Australian Brewers Journal, 21st Oct., 1907, p.39.

Secondary Sources Askey, D. 1984

Stoneware bottles 1690-1949, Suffolk. Boow, J. 1991

Australian Commercial Glass: Manufacturing Processes, Research Study No. 10, for the· Heritage Council of NSW.

Cushion J.P. 1988 British Ceramic Marks, Suffolk.

Flower, C. & Carnemolla, J. 1969 The Rocks, Sydney.

Jones, D.V. 1979 One Hundred Thirsty Years, Deniliquin.

Jones, O.R. 1986 Cylindrical English Wine and Beer Bottles, 1735-1850, Quebec.

Proudfoot, H. et al 1991 Australia's First Government House, Department of Planning & Allen & Unwin, Sydney.

Roycroft, R & C. 1976-1990 Australian Bottle Price Guide, No. 1-5, Denilquin (1-3), Maiden Gully (4 & 5).


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Bibliography

Unpublished Reports Carney, M.D.,

58

199la 'Ginger Beer Industry in the Rocks 1820-45', proceedings of the Archaeology in the Rocks, conference (unpublished).

1991b Paddys Market Artefacts Glass Report- Glass Artefacts & Bottle Stoppers, for Godden Mackay Pty Ltd.

1991c Observer Hotel- Glass and Stoneware Artefact Report, for Casey & Lowe Associates. 1992a FGH 1990-1991 seasons- Glass Artefacts Report, for Anne Bickford. 1992b little Pier Street Excavations, 1992 season, Glass Artefacts, for Godden Mackay. 1992c Jobbins Building- Yard- Glass and Stoneware, SCA, 1992.

Johnson, A.W. 1991 28-32 Harrington Street, The Rocks, Report on the Artefacts, for the SCA.

In preparation Carney, M., & Johnson, A.W.,

British Designed Registered Glass Bottles & Containers, NSW Heritage Grant. (for more see bibliography in artefact report).

Metals

Busch, J., 1981 'An Introduction to the Tin Can', H.A. Vol. 15, p.95-105.

Coutts, P.J.F., 1984 Captain Mills Cottage, Port Fairy, Victoria, Records of the Victorian Archaeological Survey, No.7.

Fearn, J., 1992 (repr.) Domestic Bygones. Shire Publications 20.

Scott, J.S. 1988 The Penguin Dictionary of Building.

Varman, R. 1980 'The Nail as a Criteria for the Dating of Buildings, & Building Sites (Late eighteenth century to 1900).' A.S.H.A. Newsletter 10.1:30-37

Miscellaneous

Eckstein, E. and J. & G. Firkins, 1987 Gentlemen's Dress Accessories, Shire Publications 205.

Fletcher, M. 1984 Costume in Australia 1788-1901, Oxford.

Hume, Ivor Noel 1985 A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America, N.Y.

Johnson, E. 1989 Thimbles, Shire Publications 96.

Kirschbaum, P. 1984. A Price Guide to Collecting Antique Marbles, Illinios.

Peacock, P. 1989 Discovering Old Buttons, Shire Publications.


Documents

EXCAVATION REPORT I DARLING HOUSE I MILLERS POINT I FOR ...nswaol.library.usyd.edu.au/data/pdfs/22302_ID... · I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I L--1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background