Strathfield Gardens in

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, was previously called Fairholm. It is a building of historical significance and is listed in the NSW Heritage Register. It was built in the 1870s, and external additions were made to it in 1890 and 1925. It is the oldest surviving house in Strathfield. The property was for many years a private residence. It is now a retirement village.

Charles and Agnes Muddle

Charles John Muddle (1834–1903) built Fairholm about 1878. He was born in 1834 in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. When he was only 4 years old, his parents, Charles and Elizabeth, decided to immigrate to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. They arrived in 1838 on the ship ''Woodbridge'', and his father found work in the Customs Department. At the age of 20 in 1854, Charles married Agnes Elizabeth Waller at the Presbyterian church in Pitt Street. Agnes was the sister of James Waller, who was an acclaimed vocalist of that time. The couple lived in various inner parts of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

for the next 20 years and during that time had ten children. Charles obtained a job in the Colonial Secretary's Office and later was appointed to the Lands Department, where he worked for 28 years. He became the Deputy Registrar General, which was a position of importance in the field of land surveying. In the 1870s the couple moved to Strathfield and built Fairholm. The family lived in the house for the next 20 years. Agnes died here in 1900, and Charles in 1903.

Thomas and Ellen Riley

Thomas Riley bought Fairholm about 1907 and lived there with his wife Ellen until his death in 1915. Thomas was born in 1859 in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. He immigrated to Australia at the age of 20 in 1879 and later established the firm of Riley, Newman and Co., who were wool and produce buyers. In 1888 he married Ellen Lynch, who was from County Kerry in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The couple had three children. Thomas died in 1915, and in 1919 the Fairholm property was subdivided. The house was advertised for sale in 1920 and was described as follows:

Residents after 1920

Thomas Albert Derrick (1875–1962) and his wife Gabrielle were residents of Fairholm from about 1925 until 1935. Thomas was a farmer from Temora and returned there after spending some time in Strathfield. In the 1940s Frederick Vass Teasdale (1889–1949) and his wife Ada lived in the house.Sydney Morning Herald, 15 January 1944. Online reference http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17878189?searchTerm="26 Cotswold" Strathfield&searchLimits= Frederick was the headmaster of Naremburn High School.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 Houses in Sydney