- Event
Vaucluse House Centenary Open Day
This Event Is
In 1915 the first steps were taken to establish Vaucluse House, once the home of colonial powerhouse William Charles Wentworth - explorer, barrister and political agitator - as a public museum.
Experience Vaucluse House at our free community open day:
• Pony rides for the children ($5 per ride), vintage games, seed planting and more
• Talks by experts and Sydney Living Museums curators
• Meet members of the La Perouse community for traditional stories with tea and damper at Vaucluse beach
• See treasures from the collection including William Charles Wentworth’s pocket watch and the first Visitors Book from 1915
• Tastings from historic recipes in the colonial kitchen lemon barley water, ‘lemon cheese’ and white bread, mulled spiced cider and pickled fennel
• Hear the historic Collard & Collard piano being played including a rare recital of the City of Sydney Polka, composed in 1854 and dedicated to William Charles Wentworth
• Meet volunteers from our ‘Soft Furnishings group’ who help us to create beautiful curtains, cushions, tassels, crumb cloths and more to furnish our historic houses
• Roam the gardens, meet the animals and discover ‘fun facts’ about Vaucluse House
• Visit the charming Vaucluse House Tearooms for breakfast or lunch, or indulge in a decadent high tea (reservations essential for high tea on 02 9388 8188)
• Bring a picnic or buy light refreshments from the food truck and coffee cart
• Book into a special tour of the Vaucluse estate and nearby Wentworth Mausoleum (places are strictly limited).
Book tours here:
Estate tour (new tour on sale now!)
Mausoleum tour
Program of activities:
11am: Performance by Randwick Public School (Main stage)
Official opening and welcome to country, followed by cutting of the cake
11am: Talk & tastings (Kitchen)
12pm–12.25pm: Talk by author Andrew Tink AM – Wentworth’s Legacy (Main stage)
12pm: Talk & tastings (Kitchen)
12.30pm–1.30pm: Aboriginal Cultural Whale Ceremony (Vaucluse beach)
1pm: Talk & tastings (Kitchen)
1.30pm–1.50pm: Talk by Sydney Living Museums’ Joanna Nicholas - 1915 and foundation of the house museum (Main stage)
2pm–2.20pm: Talk by Sydney Living Museums’ Ian Innes - Vaucluse House: past & future (Main Stage)
2pm: Talk & tastings (Kitchen)
2pm–4pm: Meet Sydney Living Museums’ curator Joanna Nicholas as you view treasures from the collection (Family History Room)
2.30pm–2.50pm: Talk by Sydney Living Musuems’ Jacqui Newling - Eat your history (Main Stage)
3pm: Talk & tastings (Kitchen)
Free event
When & Where
Download the program
Discover what's on throughout the day:
PDF - Document
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