Saumarez Homestead

Saumarez Homestead is a property located in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. The property consists of 10 hectares of land and includes a fully furnished 30-room Edwardian era house. There are 15 other buildings, along with collections of farming equipment and other items. Saumarez Homestead is maintained by the National Trust of Australia and is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register. It is open to the public as a museum, and can be rented for weddings and other functions. Saumarez Homestead has also been a venue for events such as a film festival and fashion shows.OriginsThe Saumarez property, on which Saumarez Homestead was built, was placed in the responsibility of Colonel Henry Dumaresq, who was Commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Company. Dumaresq chose the property's name, which originates from the Channel Islands. It was the first European land settlement near present-day Armidale. Dumaresq's head station was founded at Saumarez, which at the time was 40,000 hectares for which a £10 licence was held from 1837. When Dumaresq died in 1838, Saumarez was inherited by his widow. By 1846 the property had been reduced to 32,000 hectares, held 15,000 sheep, 1,600 cattle and was staffed by a team of 24 men. The Dumaresq family built huts and slab houses, a store, woodshed and wash pool, as well as small paddocks to grow wheat and oats. The property was sold to Henry Arding Thomas in 1856. Thomas sold the property to Francis White in 1874, by which time it had been reduced to 8,000 hectares. The White family still owns the Saumarez property, which is now 3,000 hectares, though they subdivided the 10 hectare area comprising Saumarez Homestead and donated it to the National Trust of Australia in 1984.