Lindesay is a heritage-listed former residence and now offices, functions and house museum located at 1a Carthona Avenue, Darling Point, Sydney, Australia.

[1] Lindesay was the first major house to be constructed on Darling Point and is aesthetically important as the earliest example of the domestic Gothic Revival style in Sydney.

There were soon several cottages and villas built in the area, but from the 1840s more grandiose mansions arose as the colony's most successful businessmen bought up land on the point.

....[5][1] Lindesay is an 1834–36 house built for the then colony's Treasurer, Campbell Drummond Riddell (b.1796 – a young and well-connected Scotsman) and his wife Caroline (née Stuart Rodney, b.1814 in Ceylon, the 16-year-old daughter of the Government Secretary in Colombo) on a site of c. 6.9 hectares (17 acres)[6] of land with stables, outbuildings and garden sweeping down to the harbour.

This very simplicity could possibly be read as a snub to Governor Bourke, who was rapidly becoming persona non grata for Riddell and others in colonial society and whose plans for a new Government House were "modern Gothic" and ornate, to say the least.

[7] The design owed much to contemporary pattern books and was also attributed initially to James Chadley and Edward Hallen, although the work was completed under the direction of Francis Clarke.

Following their departure the property had a number of owners including Sir Thomas Mitchell who, as Surveyor-General in the 1830s, conducted three major expeditions into the interior of Australia.

In 1841 he sold it to his friend Sir Charles Nicholson, an avid collector of rare books and antiquities and future chancellor of the University of Sydney.

[7][1] Additions to the house, new and altered outbuildings and changes to the property boundaries were made by successive owners throughout the 19th century, including James Barker (1838–41); Mitchell (1841–45); Nicholson (1845–59); William Bradley (1849–68); and John Macintosh (1868–1911).

[8][1] Sir Thomas Mitchell, Surveyor-General of NSW, bought Lindesay in 1841[6] to be in a better position to supervise the construction of his own house, Carthona, down on the Darling Point waterfront nearby (to its south).

[3]: 80 [6] After subdivision, which involved removal of its 19th century garden, the house and a small area of land around it were bought by Dr Edward Jenkins.

Jackaman chaired this committee from 1964 to 1967, and by 1968 it had raised more than $100,000, which was directed to Experiment Farm Cottage, Lindesay and the St.Matthews Anglican Church at Windsor Appeal.

[1] The Women's Committee of the National Trust (NSW) continue to run events including an annual antiques/decorating fair and private home visits to fund raise for the maintenance of Lindesay.

This entrance, with minor changes in planting detail, has developed into an impressive shaded forecourt to the building, a leafy canopy enriched with darker greens around the periphery.

This remains today (2003), a geometric arrangement of gravel paths and low box (Buxus sempervirens) hedges define flower beds planted with ivy (Hedera sp.).

A hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) was added to acknowledge the place of native "auricarias" in 19th century horticultural fashion, and the central lawn sweeping down to the (harbour) view was edged with other plants on the era's must-have lists.

Long-time volunteer Ros Sweetapple jokes about being closely supervised in the early days, and only allowed to trim the (box) parterre with nail scissors.

She also recalls visits made to Rookwood Cemetery to collect cuttings of old roses to fill Lindesay's beds with authentic, 19th century plant material.

A new management committee was established for Lindesay, chaired by Aline Fenwick OBE, which organised many fund raising events, exhibitions, open days and opportunities to hire out the property to generate income to maintain it.

[14][1] In August 2009 the Governor Marie Bashir, Sir Nicholas Shehadie and other guests enjoyed a dinner party hosted by the Trust Board to mark Lindesay's 175th anniversary.

The aim was to recreate the sense of pleasure that being in the garden at Lindesay always provided: to offset the house and views without replicating a vintage plant palette.

Private garden designer Christopher Nicholas devised a modern planting plan that has references to the past and looks good in a wedding photo.

To record their own story the Women's Committee initiated its oral history collection and in conjunction with "Having a Voice", have curated a modest exhibition capturing the mood of the times.

[20] The Census data for the United Kingdom and other directories show that Caroline remained at Regents Park Terrace for the next 10 years and then moved to 16 Wellington Square in Cheltenham.

Alexander Rhodes had come to New South Wales to work on the construction of the Campbelltown-Picton section of the main Southern line railway line after being appointed engineer by the firm Messrs. Peto, Brassey and Co. (formerly Messrs. Peto, Brassey and Betts, for whom his cousin Thomas Rhodes Firth had also come to New South Wales to expand the railway network.

), Dombeya wallichii (pale pink hibiscus relative)[1] A large mature hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) is visually dominant and growing close to the house's immediate north-eastern corner.

This entrance, with minor changes in planting detail, has developed into an impressive shaded forecourt to the building, a leafy canopy enriched with darker greens around the periphery.

This remains today (2003), a geometric arrangement of gravel paths and low box (Buxus sempervirens) hedges define flower beds planted with ivy (Hedera sp.).

[1] The house is aesthetically significant as the earliest example of the domestic Gothick style in Sydney, and contains a distinctive set of reception rooms with notable early features including a Louis XIV chimneypiece.

The collection of movable heritage and furnishings at Lindesay, assembled by the National Trust of Australia (NSW), includes some items with direct association to former occupants, and some important pieces of Australian colonial furniture.