European settlement in this region after the first documented white expedition west of the Blue Mountains in 1813 was tentative because of apprehensions about resistance from Aboriginal people.

[1] Governor Macquarie chose the site of the future town of Bathurst on 7 May 1815 during his tour over the Blue Mountains, on the road already completed by convict labour supervised by William Cox.

Macquarie marked out the boundaries near the depot established by surveyor George Evans and reserved a site for a government house and domain.

Reluctant to open the rich Bathurst Plains to a large settlement, Macquarie authorised few grants there initially, one of the first being 1000 acres to William Lawson, one of the three European explorers who crossed the mountains in 1813.

In December 1819 Bathurst had a population of only 120 people in 30 houses, two thirds being in the township of Kelso on the eastern side of the river and the remainder scattered on rural landholdings nearby.

[1] Governor Darling, arriving in Sydney in 1825, promptly commenced a review of colonial administration and subsequently introduced vigorous reforms.

But the town was apparently designed by Thomas Mitchell in 1830 and did not open until late 1833 after Richards had completed the layout of the streets with their two-road allotments.

[1] During the years of the gold rush and mining activity in the area (c. 1873 - late 1880s) the subdivision lots of portion 43 DP757039 were leased out to Chinese and some European miners and prospectors by David Todd.

The two-storey wattle and daub building constructed using materials from the property was finished in 1894 as evidenced in the date printed over the front door.

Its highly decorative features, and the grand scale of its rooms and levels indicate the status and character of David Todd who, as well as running the General Store and farming his land, was apparently a romantic and artistic man and active local citizen.

Todd wrote poetry, painted, regularly delivered public lectures on various topics and ran in the Macquarie seat elections in 1889.

The General store clientele included local farmers as well as gold prospectors, miners and Chinese who arrived in the Wiseman's Creek area from 1873.

The house block, Lots 51 and 52, contained a vegetable garden "in the S bend of the creek", according to notes on history compiled by Betty Somerville (née McKinney).

Following the untimely death of Ross McKinney, Betty remarried and in 1983 the Somervilles bought more of the original Mountain View property which had a more modern dwelling.

The other half of the property, Portions 85, 44, and 43, including the Mountain View homestead, is still owned by Mrs Betty Sommerville but leased under contract of sale to Morris Lyda and his wife.

The construction of the dwelling uses the half log technique where vertical poles were placed at about 400–600 mm apart with lath nailed crosswise to these and completed with mud and stone infill.

[1] The external walls were rendered with lime plaster, concealing the framework and mud infill and giving the dwelling a less primitive appearance than many homes constructed using similar techniques and materials.

Internal and external doors feature fanlights[1] Some of the floors have been replaced, and fibro cladding has been added as has an extra bathroom with gas heater.

Much of the protective render had fallen away from the walls, the upstairs balcony floors and associated roof of the lower verandas were subsiding although recent work had been done to prop them while awaiting extensive remediation.

It is of State significance for the rarity and uniqueness of the homestead building which lies in the marriage of relatively primitive construction methods and materials and its numerous highly decorative features and finishes in the French Renaissance style.

Mountain View homestead and General Store is likely to be historically significant as it demonstrates the pattern of settlement and development in rural NSW in the late 1800s.

The Mountain View homestead and General Store has significance at a local level through its association with David Smith Todd an unusual man who contributed to the cultural life of the growing local community through his writings, public lectures and political activities which included standing for the Seat of Macquarie elections in 1898 on a ticket advocating free trade, the advancement of agriculture, Federation and suffrage for women.

Mountain View homestead and General Store is likely to have aesthetical and technical heritage significance at a State level as the only known two storey wattle and daub dwelling in NSW.

Its unusual attention to the details of decorative features demonstrates the creative and innovative achievement of David Todd who built the dwelling in the French Renaissance style.

[1] The construction methods are well demonstrated despite deterioration, with the timber posts placed 400–600 mm apart, crossed with lathe and infilled with mud and stone .

The walls were rendered with lime plaster, concealing the framework and mud infill and giving the dwelling a less primitive appearance than many homes constructed using similar techniques and materials.

The Mountain View homestead and General Store is likely to be of State significance as it provides a clear demonstration of early construction techniques.