It was the first of the early Sydney suburbs that was not self-sufficient - its inhabitants, unlike those of Balmain or Newtown, where work was available in local industries, had to go away each day to their places of employment.
John Palmer, the settlement's commissary, refused to allow people to cross his land grant at Woolloomooloo, so the road had to follow a roundabout way through Paddington to bypass his 40 hectares (100 acres).
[1] From 1848 when Victoria Barracks had been opened (designed by Lt.-Col.George Barney) and homes for the soldiers and their families had been erected, Paddington began to assume a real identity.
The bazaar, which has operated since the mid 1970s, draws visitors from all over the city and has contributed to Paddington's development as one of Sydney's favourite tourist spots, along with Bondi Beach and The Rocks.
Juniper Hall was built for Robert Cooper, (distiller and emancipist merchant), who with partners James Underwood and Francis Ewen Forbes, received 40 hectares (100 acres) from Governor Brisbane in c. 1818, covering the whole of north Paddington, and they agreed to erect three mansions and a distillery there.
[1][7] Emancipist Robert Cooper (1776–1857) had lived a varied life as a gin-distiller, architect, builder, cedar cutter and wealthy London publican.
He was transported in NSW in 1813 and granted a conditional pardon in 1818,[6] by when he was eager to put down roots in the infant settlement, having joined in partnership with Underwood and Forbes, two fellow emancipists.
[1][6] No architect is known to be associated with the project but Cooper was himself a part-time builder and perfectly capable of producing the comparatively simple design and erecting it with the help of specialist tradesmen.
On her death it passed to her trustees, who in turn leased it to a variety of charitable and educational organisations, including the NSW Institution for the Deaf and Dumb (1868–72), a ladies' college (1873–79) and the Children's Relief Board (1884–85).
There was such a public outcry that he changed his mind and turned the house into flats and built a row of six shops in (completely displacing) its front garden facing Oxford Street.
Two residents in the building interested her in its history and being a tough campaigner, she defended it successfully against the ravages of The Landlord and Tenant Act, termites, the elements, the Sydney City Council and Avrom.
The defence against the last named threat was only achieved by a policy of improvement and rental increases which made Juniper Hall (as she renamed it) a paying proposition; a process which caused some distress to old established and theoretically protected tenants.
This was one of thirteen historic properties included in "A Gift to the Nation", sponsored solely by AMATIL Ltd.[1][9] Juniper Hall's front garden was reinstated, aiming to present its approximate appearance c. 1900.
This work took place by National Trust of Australia (NSW) Garden Committee volunteers under the direction of Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners, with research on the original layout and plant material and advice provided by James Broadbent and Michael Lehany, over the summer of 1987–8 in time for the January 1988 Australian Bicentenary celebrations.
Where evidence indicated, the original species was reinstated in the same place (e.g. a pair of Norfolk Island pines (Araucaria heterophylla), Kaffir lilies and Agapanthus clumps either side of the central paths.
Within were planted several shrubs, typical of the era such as lavender, Camellia, Murraya, Michelia figo, Rothmannia amoena and yesterday-today and tomorrow (Brunfelsia).
The greatest source of plants was from donations, helping the recreated garden regain its variety and richness, subject to species being suitable for the period chosen.
[1][16] The family have a long history of restoring historic properties, including Redleaf in Wahroonga, Blandford in Leura, Swifts in Darling Point, Studley Park in Camden and Moran House in Bridge Street, Sydney.
[1][19][20] The position of Juniper Hall on top of the Oxford Street ridge line means it has wide views across Sydney Harbour to the north and to Botany Bay to the south.
[1] Plants chosen were based on identification from photographs (where possible) and those known from plant nursery catalogues to have been sold by nurseries during that period, with a few substitutions: Moreton Bay fig (Ficus macrophylla) in the original location in fhe front of the eastern garden was thought unwise in a smaller, more urban lot and setting, due to its huge scale.
Popular plants of the period such as Nile or African lilies (Agapanthus praecox ssp.orientalis), foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea), chrysanthemums, shasta daisies (Argyranthemum maximum), field poppies (Papaver sp.
[1] The rounded bed was edged with English box (Buxus sempervirens) and filled with ubiquitous periwinkle (Vinca major) as indicated in photographs.
Also growing here are some roses, oleander, a Southern/evergreen magnolia/bull bay tree, sweet box and a Himalayan yellow jasmine (Jasminium mesnyi), the latter both on the eastern boundary and a bush along Oxford Street east of the main entry path.
The greatest source of plants was from donations, helping the recreated garden regain its variety and richness, subject to species being suitable for the period chosen.
It is typical of its period, lacking the elegance of John Verge's design, but following the fashion of its day, in that it has a double front door in the centre flanked by two large windows on each side.
[1] Built to his design, it had 8 rooms, a water closet, large cellar, veranda and balcony in addition to stables, kitchen, laundry and servant's quarters.
Most of the fabric including joinery has survived substantially intact from the first half of the century and demonstrates the impact the new fashions of the 1830s had on earlier houses as well as contemporary domestic economy.
[1][13] Juniper Hall, Paddington was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.
The building had an institutional role for a significant period, and has important associations with the history and development of child welfare facilities in Sydney.
most of the fabric, including joinery has survived substantially intact from the first half of the nineteenth century, and demonstrates the impact the new fashions of the mid 1840s had on earlier houses.