Palmerston House, Dickson Street, Waverley

The family home of George Edwin Wise, 1893-94

My great grandfather George Edwin Wise, his wife Aggie and their eight children lived at Palmerston House, Waverley in Sydney, Australia, from 1893 to 1894. The family later purchased Roslyn House in Croydon, where many of the family lived until Aggie’s death in 1924.

George was born in Cork, Ireland on 22 October 1850. After his baptism, his parents, four brothers and sister boarded the Athenian and migrated to Australia. The family settled in Avoca, Victoria, where his father William McOboy Wise, formerly a farm manager in the area leased the town’s general store during the gold rush and provided miners and early settlers with their mining, farming and domestic household essentials.

William partnered with another Irishman James Kilpatrick, expanding the Avoca business to include tailoring, a post office, assay office, auction house and butchery. In 1873 James Kilpatricks’ two daughters and William McOboy Wises’ two sons marry. Henry Wise married Jane Kilpatrick on 4 May 1873 whilst George married Agnes Kilpatrick on 4 August 1873. Two weeks earlier William McOboy Wise had died in a tragic accident after falling from his horse on 22 July 1873. George and Aggie later moved to Wellington in western New South Wales, when a business opportunity presented. Some astute business decisions saw George open the Wellington Emporium and the business became profitable. George’s brothers Henry and William later moved to Wellington to help him manage his stores, when he extended his interests, opening stores in Coonamble, Gilgandra and Dubbo. Michael “Murray” Wise remained in Avoca, running their late father’s business. William Wise Jnr. also stayed, running the Avoca butchery.

George realised he needed to move to Sydney to effect the smooth operation of supply and transportation of goods to his country stores. George and Agnes, their son and seven daughters quickly outgrew their Windsor Street terrace Lorne, in Paddington, even after George rented another terrace nearby to house their overflowing family.

The Wise family moved to Palmerston House in Waverley in 1893. Although George had intended to purchase their Waverley home, a difficult vendor refused his offer and subsequently leased him the house. In hindsight, George found Palmerston House too far away from his business activities in the city and reflected in his letters a certain relief that the purchase had been stymied. It is a fact that the State Government had promised an extension of the railway to the eastern suburbs, which never eventuated.

Letters included in this chapter show how George and his family loved their spacious home, Palmerston House and gardens, but he found ticks a problem for his children and dogs. He also noted in his letter that he was worried that the waterfall and rivulets would be inclined to flooding during storms. He wrote that garbage and sewerage pollution ran off the Waverley hill into the rivulet and worried about odours in the summer. In 1895 George moved his family to Croydon, which was closer to the main rail route accessing  country New South Wales. George renamed his business The Western Stores and from 1896 his fortunes flourished.

Some years ago, I wrote up another family history chapter called George Wise and the Western Stores, this chapter gives more information about the Wise family and the success of the business. See the link below:

www.relativesmatter.com

Wellington Times 19 December 1901

The four photographs illustrated were pasted into the Thorne family album and identified as Palmerston House, Waverley, part of the Caroline Simpson Collection, Waverley Library.

There is a water fountain, a waterfall and bridge, as well as a rivulet running through the property. The property stretched all the way to Henrietta Street in the west and this is where the waterfall and rivulet were possibly located. There is a park called Marlborough Reserve Playground on the other side of Blandford Avenue opposite Palmerston House, situated on a steep part of the Waverley Hill. Blandford Avenue did not exist until later subdivisions post 1895. During a typical Sydney summer thunderstorm, I am sure that the rivulet would have turned into a strong running and dangerously overflowing river.

Alterations to Palmerston House are apparent in this photograph and the five window proportions of the original Victorian facade are evident, as they still are today. In the early 1920’s Palmerston House became Palmerston Studios,  a successful silent film studio. In 1923 Palmerston House was transformed into eight apartments and since then practically all existing land around the house has been subdivided, whereby only the smallest back garden now exists.

Hardie and Gorman Subdivision 8 Sep 1886, lodged with National Library of Australia

The property encompassed Henrietta Street to the west and Birrell Street to the north, stretching down to Bronte Beach to the East.

Sands Directory, Waverley, 1894 George E Wise, Dickson Street, Waverley

George Edwin Wise’s letter to his sister Alice Wise of Avoca, 31 August 1893, courtesy of Geoff and Anne Wise

“Lorne”

166 Windsor Street

Paddington

Apr 28/93

My Dear Alice,

You will think I am a pretty sort of a correspondent for not answering your letter before this.  I have kept very busy and put off answering it from week till week and now I feel quite ashamed of myself and when I looked at the date of your letter being April 8^th.  I came home last Tuesday week and intended writing you then but Aggie and I started house hunting and when we got home at night I felt thoroughly knocked up.

Our home is getting sadly too small for us and having no playground for the children makes it very awkward.

So I said the first time I had the opportunity I would look for a bigger house with grounds.  I put in an advertisement in the papers and got a great number of answers and Aggie and I have been travelling east west north and south looking at the places most of which suit in some respects and not in others.  Nothing could give a person a better idea of the depression more than seeing the lovely houses and grounds to let at from 30/- to £4.0.0 a week.  We looked at one situated at Waverley last Saturday it contains 12 rooms and every possible conveniences, Billiard Room, Smoke Room Library Tennis Court Lawns Fountain Bush Houses. The whole lot stands in 20 acres of ground.  There is stables Coach house etc.  The property was bought five years ago for £20,000 by a squatter from Queensland.  He had bad back and has everything heavily mortgaged and to make matters worse he got paralysed and had to be carried about and being 18 stone weight.  It was no joke.  He has gone back to Queensland and the agent told me the property could be bought for £10,000 or he said it could be rented at a very low rent.  It is furnished splendidly the furniture in the place (including billiard table and all other requisites) cost £1800 5 years ago.   To give you some idea of what the furniture is like the dining room suite cost £110, the drawing room do £85.0.0.  A lovely side board cost £72.10.0.  A side cabinet £50.0.0  Overmantel £30  The best Bedstead without anything on it £14.0.0  The hall stand and 2 chairs £30.  So you can guess everything is good.  The agent told me I could get the place furnished at £6 but I said I would rather buy the furniture if I could get it very cheap.  He told me to make an offer it did not matter how small it was and they would consider it.  I offered £500 and £200 for the place for 12 months.  They have been considering the offer for the last three days and the Agent told me this afternoon that he thought they would accept it but would let me know definitely tomorrow.  The only objection I have of the home is that it is a little lonely but Aggie and the girls like it very much and as I will have to keep a gardener who will sleep on the place and Mollie and Jessie Robson and Miss Richards have agreed to come to stay (from the Friday night to the Monday morning) alternatively and the Rev McKeown of St Mary’s Waverley who I know very well will introduce us to some nice people Aggie and the children will not feel lonely.  I may not have to go away for sometime and they will soon get used to the place.  Aggie was just saying what a pity you and Will were not over here and could come and stay with us.  I will let you know if we get the place or not.  You will see I have run this thing out considerably but I know you would like to hear all about it.  I was sorry to hear that Murray was so poorly.  How is he keeping now.  We are all well with the exception of cold’s nearly every second person in Sydney have colds just now.  I do not know if I have made any blunders in this note but the children are making such a racket that they are exenseable  “the blunders not the children”  Give my/our loves to Will, Murray Jim and all and I must now say good bye dear Alice with fond love and kisses in which Aggie and the children join.

Blessing from Affectionate Brother G E Wise

“Palmerston”

Waverley

August 31/93

My Dear Alice,

You will long it is nearly time I endorsed your letter.  I made a start twice and someone came or something turned up to stop me but now I have a clear course and nothing to stop me.  Lillie wrote you and I suppose furnished you with all the news.

I suppose Murray told you we had made up our mind not to buy this place, we all like the house very much in fact one could do nothing else with its large rooms and all the conveniences it has but we are afraid of the streams that runs through the place.  We find garden and sewer Services is connected to it and all their xxx and rubbish are drained into it and must cause a bad smell during the summer.  Then again the grounds are alive with “Ticks” and hardly a day passes without us finding one on some of the children, to say nothing the dogs who get covered with them.

I think I told you I made the owner of the place an offer of £3,750 and he told me not take it and wanted £4,000.  My offer was in writing and I am glad under the circumstances he did not accept it for if I found out those defects after I had bought I should whip the cat.  I hope you will be able to read this writing I was fishing at Bronte Beach this afternoon and my fingers are very stiff.  I got a letter from Murray and he gave me a lot of news.  I was up at Wellington a month ago trade then was pretty good but it is very quiet again.  We have every prospect of a good season and if it turns out as it promises the farmers might then be in a very good position.

We are all well with the exception of Ethel who has a bad cold.  The measles are very bad over here though none of ours have taken them.  Mabel seems a bit off colour last night and today and I hope she has not got them.

I must say good bye and with fond love to self and Will in which Aggie and other children join.

With permission from your affectionate brother.

G E Wise

Transcriptions of two of G. E. Wise letters, courtesy of Anne Wise of Dubbo, date 28 April 1893 and 31 August 1893. These letters were found by Geoff and Anne Wise in the Dorothy “Dot” Varcoe/Frances Parker’s treasures following Fran’s death 20 Feb 2020.

Palmerston House, front door, March 2026 (Dickson Street side)

Note the previously original sandstone blocks have been painted over.

Front Hall of Palmerston House, March 2026

Palmerston House, 18 Blandford St, Waverley (originally the back of house) March 2026

Virginia Rundle

31 March 2026