[2]: 83  Darling House is distinctive as one of only a few remaining free standing dwellings in the area and rarer still for its generous curtilage in the form of landscaped gardens.

By 1812 there was a wind-powered post mill behind the battery, owned by Nathaniel Lucas, which was then sold, with the surrounding land, to John Leighton (also known as Jack the Miller) in 1814.

With the development of steam milling and the abandonment of the old windmills, the area turned to maritime trades and many wharves and warehouses were established.

[4]: 61 The sandstone building now known as "Darling House" was built by Joseph Farris in the early 1840s, a period of great depression in Sydney.

'[4]: 82  Darling House was built to provide residential accommodation for the growing number of workers moving into the area that were associated with the expanding wharves along the Dawes Point shoreline (such growth resulting from the exporting of wool to England and from the whaling industry).

A stone kitchen and breakfast room were connected to the rear of the house, a bathroom to the right of the backdoor and timber laundry against the rock face.

These modifications are classic representative examples of the development of Australian architecture away from the traditional English styles in response to local environmental factors.

English bald faced buildings offered little protection against the sun while the French doors and veranda allowed for greater air circulation through the house alleviated the effects of the heat during the summer months.

[8] As a free settler, Farris quickly established himself as a prolific local businessman plying his trade as a boat builder, publican and Sergeant in the water police.

As a prominent individual in Sydney at the time, Farris’ name was inscribed upon the visiting list at Government House.

[2]: 19  The house was leased out to various middle-class, educated residents (including artists, musicians, teachers and police officers) for a period of around 60 years whilst the family owned the property[13] and until it was resumed by the Sydney Harbour Trust in 1901.

He imported and sold from this residence "one of the most splendid collections of Books of every description of English and foreign literature, together with Fine Arts... ever offered to the Australian public".

[6]: 50  Scottish born painter, illustrator, engraver and lithographer, George Baird Shaw also lived in Darling House around 1857.

On 29 December 1900 the Sydney Harbour Trust issued notice in the Government Gazette of the resumption of Darling House, which occurred in 1901 under the Darling Harbour Wharves Resumption Act 1900, although the Sydney City Council Rates Assessments Books still noted the Farris family as Owner Landlord of the property right up until 1906.

The last recorded commercial tenant of Darling House was Lep Transport who installed a petrol tank and bowser onto the property.

[2]: 27  After Lep Transport vacated the facility, the year of which is unknown, the property remained vacant and fell into a state of disrepair.

[23] Oral records from local residents living in the area in the early twentieth century also recall the vacant site being used for a variety of purposes including an outdoor cinema and a plasterer's workshop.

[21] Around 1918, the rates assessment books indicate that the site was leased to Charles Rasmussen & Co, makers/repairers of casks and barrels, and as a cooperage, store and laundry.

The stairway was heavily used and some of the behaviours and practises that occurred on the stairs prompted the local Citizens Vigilance Committee to write to the Town Clerk in a letter dated 10 July 1900: "It appears that these stairs are the resort of people who continually lounge about them and cover the steps with expectoration, tobacco juice etc.

It is also stated that frequently there are rotten eggs thrown on the stairs in addition to the dust and dirt caused by continual traffic.

The conversion into an aged care facility was a community initiative of the Resident Action Group in Partnership with the Rocks Cottage Type Nursing Home Committee.

[26] In 2015 the State Government of New South Wales made the decision to raise the rent on Darling House from five dollars per month to a market rate, which led to the closure of the aged care facility and subsequent sale of the property.

Following the purchase of the Darling House property, Dr Moran stated his intention to restore the original Georgian house and subsequent additions to an aged care residence or seniors' living facility, albeit a more upmarket one then previously, "ensuring that the original Georgian features are restored".

[29] The Chairman of the Millers Point Resident Action Group Mr John McInerney said, at the time of the sale, that although he wasn't opposed to the new aged care facility he was angered that the New South Wales government "has taken a community facility, cashed it in for $7 million odd dollars and has now made it inaccessible to the bulk of residents around here" [29] The property has undergone a major heritage restoration and upgrade during the period from 2016 to 2019 in order to both maintain the integrity of the original historic building as well as to enhance its adaptive re-use as a boutique luxury seniors' living and retirement home.

The extensive works over a period of more than three years involved the complete replacement of the slate roof, installation throughout of cedar joinery and staircases, original marble fireplaces, old leadlight windows and doors and the extensive upgrading of the building to BCA Class 3 standards and integration of all modern technology and systems.

Construction: Sandstone, Welsh slate roof (fully replaced during the recent restoration), cast iron and painted metal balustrading, timber period joinery, stained glass windows, heritage marble fireplaces, parquetry flooring.

Style: Georgian, Regency, Victorian, Late Twentieth Century[1] As at 23 November 2000, this property is an integration of refurbishment and new construction within an historic context.