On 28 January 1788 he wrote in his journal: "A few days after my arrival with the transports in Port Jackson, I set off with a six-oared boat and a small boat, intending to make as good a survey of the harbour as circumstances would admit: I took to my assistance Mr Bradley, the first lieutenant, Mr Keltie, the master, and a young gentleman of the quarter-deck (midshipman Henry Waterhouse)."
[7] The Fathers built a new building on the site in 1857 which they called "Villa Maria", moving in immediately and this forming the base for the Marist Pacific Missions[6][7] which incorporated part of and extended Stubbs original sandstone farmhouse.
The long eastern front with stone flagged verandah has a fine and unaltered Georgian symmetry favoured by Weaver for his residence designs.
[1] The property contained vast orchards, vineyards[7][8] and gardens and provided rest and recuperation for the Marist Fathers' South Pacific missionaries.
[1][6][7] During its period as "Villa Maria", a wooden chapel on the site was the resting place of the body of St Peter Chanel, Proto-martyr of Oceania from 7 May 1849 till some time before February 1850 when it was taken to France.
[1] The establishment of the South Sea mission house by the Marist Fathers was the first presence of French settlers in the Municipality of Hunters Hill.
[1][6][7] It appears that the Marist fathers had moved to another newly constructed "Villa Maria" (in Hunters Hill) by 1864 and that site remains in their ownership to the present day.
The western verandah form varies from that on the 1885 survey plan and it appears a single storey pavilion of the Weaver extension may have been extended to the west.
The air raid shelter was for patients and staff at the hospital and was cut into the terrace alongside the Weaver wing's main front.
Toilets to the rear of the pavilion of the Weaver wing were removed to convert the space to a boiler room and a tank and stand erected to the south.
[9]: 20–21 A building maintenance program in 1967 saw a number of modifications made: various alterations to front and rear verandahs, removal or blocking (up) of chimneys and repair and replacement of joinery.
It is possible that NSW Department of Public Works had documentary evidence at this time relating to a former balcony and rear openings, which it planned to reinstate.
The subdivision of the larger number of sites containing the entire curtilage of the Priory was approved by the Crown Lands Office and Hunters Hill Council in the same year.
[1][9]: 20–26 On 1 November 2007 Kelly, as Minister for Lands, transferred the care, control and management of The Priory and its grounds to Hunters Hill Council to remain in public hands.
These include to the south and south-west of the main building two large Ficus rubiginosa (Port Jackson fig) growing adventitiously on sandstone retaining walls.
Former outbuildings, archaeological sites and original plantings have value in interpreting the use of the Priory and the potential to yield information of wider relevance to history of NSW.
These stable remains belong to the Government Asylum phase and not to an earlier nineteenth-century period related to the construction and expansion of the Priory villa.
[1] The Archaeological Assessment Report by Robert Varman 2001 found that the remains of the stables date from c. 1900 or later, and are not of sufficient significance to justify a requirement for in situ conservation.
Toilets to the rear of the pavilion of the Weaver wing were removed to convert the space to a boiler room and a tank and stand erected to the south.
[9]: 20–21 A building maintenance program in 1967 saw a number of modifications made: various alterations to front and rear verandahs, removal or blocking (up) of chimneys and repair and replacement of joinery.
It is possible that NSW Public Works had documentary evidence at this time relating to a former balcony and rear openings, which it planned to reinstate.
[1][9]: 20–26 As at 11 March 2005, The Priory was a complex cultural landscape formed by the aesthetic and historic relationship of its harbourside location, the topography, natural and introduced vegetation, open space and a variety of buildings and structures.
[1] The main building and site was the first permanent home of the Marist Fathers in Australia, their base for the South Pacific, and their first, purpose-built Procure house.
In addition the site contains outbuildings, remnant structures and archaeological features that are heritage items in their own right, areas of natural vegetation and historic plantings, as well as evidence of the use of the building for farming purposes.
The Priory was the first permanent home of the Marist Fathers in Australia, providing a base to their operations in the South Pacific and their first, purpose-built Procure house.
The immediate grounds of the Priory contain an air raid shelter, a rare survivor of this underground facility from World War II.
During its period as "Villa Maria", a wooden chapel on the site was the original resting place of the body of St Peter Chanel, Proto-martyr of Oceania, following his martyrdom on the island of Futuna, in 1841.
Vistas from within the area provide satisfying views of diverse characteristics – including natural bushland, landmark buildings, nineteenth century plantings and the Tarban Creek estuary and bridge.
The immediate surrounding landscape contains a number of former outbuildings, structures and remnants with the potential to yield further information about how the site was used by each of its past occupants.
Former outbuildings, archaeological sites and original plantings have value in interpreting the use of the Priory and the potential to yield information of wider relevance to history of NSW.