[1] During the 1860s and 1870s the White family worked together to strengthen their holdings by exchanging and sharing land and borrowing money from one another to purchase new properties, for Frederick these were in the Tablelands and included "Mihi Creek", later known as "Rockwood" east of Uralla.
Original plans for Booloominbah had included a service wing to the west, which was not constructed at the time, but major additions were built in the mid-1890s, some of which were supervised by Hunt.
When local member David Henry Drummond, who sympathised with the NSM, became the Minister for Education in 1927 he moved quickly to establish a teachers' college in Armidale.
Staff wanted the ability to approve students study paths and teach subjects specific to rural needs, agricultural and veterinary science, for example.
As a result, student numbers remained low and Booloominbah retained its central role in the life of the college, only two other permanent buildings having been constructed.
The building's new role brought a fresh round of modifications, the larger upper rooms were subdivided by thin wooden partitions, but care was taken to preserve the skirtings and ceiling mouldings.
In 1993 work was undertaken on the buildings exterior including fixing the roof, repointing the brickwork, repairing decorative elements like the gargoyles, painting woodwork and protecting the stained glass.
These challenged and extended his style as, rather than purely painting on plaster, he had to transform sheet metal and wood panelling into inlaid timber and silk damask.
[1] The deer park and house are surrounded by a collation of mature trees including "English" (European) elm (Ulmus procera), poplars (Populus spp.)
[1] The size and complexity of Booloominbah, offices for upper and lower servants, the male domain, numerous staircases (there are three) so that staff and family could pass unnoticed, private and public rooms as well as technological advances like mechanical bells, gas lighting, running water, plate glass and so on, owe their origin to the great country houses of England and the influence of texts like Robert Kerr's The English Gentleman's House, first published in 1864.
The main stair hall is dominated by a huge window celebrating the life of the martyr of Khartoum, General Charles George Gordon.
In the dining room the windows depict English farming scenes as well as the four traditional meats - beef, venison, fish and game.
[1] Due to the size of Booloominbah the principle mode of painted decoration was discreet panels on the faces of archways and pilasters, for the main, with vases, birds, plants and flowers.
The arch of the inglenook is decorated with a ribbon of text reading "Not Meat But Cheerfulness Makes The Feast", indicative of the Victorian morals espoused by the White family.
[1] Booloominbah gains part of its State heritage significance from the synergy created by the combined efforts of Frederick and Sarah White, John Horbury Hunt and the decorating firm Lyon, Wells and Cottier.
(Quinlan1998)[1] Booloominbah is of State heritage significance as one of the largest private country houses built in Australia during the 19th century and amongst the most avant-garde domestic Arts and Crafts style designs of the time.
The gift of such a substantial house demonstrates the historical circumstances of the White family's involvement, the impetus from the local church and community groups, and the "new state" movement in establishing Armidale as a major educational centre in NSW.
(Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners 1992)[1] Booloominbah was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 8 November 2006 having satisfied the following criteria.
White made substantial contributions to the construction of churches, all designed by Hunt, at Murrurundi, Blandford and Timor, as well as leaving sums of money to a wide range of charities on his death.
While plans for a state of New England failed, pressure did begin the process of decentralising services, allowing a greater portion of the NSW population to access higher education.
Hunt was a prolific and high-prolific architect in New South Wales who was sought-after by wealthy professionals and pastoralists to design houses, as well as more utilitarian stables, woolsheds and other outbuildings.
Booloominbah holds State aesthetic and technical heritage significance as one of the earliest and largest uses of domestic Arts and Crafts style in Australia.
[1] Booloominbah possesses State aesthetic and technical heritage significance in the innovative manner in which Horbury Hunt adapted the country house form and Arts and Crafts style to Australia's climate.
Aesthetically the verandah adds to the State significance as the most ornately decorated example of Hunt's work, with a skirt of shingles and highly visible and beautifully executed wooden grotesques on the beam ends.
[1] Booloominbah exhibits State aesthetic significance as a restored example of the collaborative efforts of owner, architect and decorating firm in displaying the wealth of the client.
Located in the entrance hall, the window depicts seven scenes from the life of General Gordon, who became a Victorian hero during the Taiping Rebellion and Crimean War.
[1] A second element of the building's State aesthetic significance is the northern elevation, which includes finely detailed brickwork consisting of a three-ring arch and four receding orders around a doorway of cathedral proportions.
Hunt's interpretation of Norman Shaw's Old English style has created a winter display of intermingling light and shade through the use of recessed bays to connect three projecting gables.
Booloominbah demonstrates State significant stained glass window designs, one of the earliest and most prolific inclusions of native Australian flora and fauna.
Booloominbah is part of a group which collectively illustrates the State significant architectural design of John Horbury Hunt, combined with a fine example of the Queen Anne style of interior decoration, exemplified by the recently restored dining room with inglenook.