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Rouse Hill Estate

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    Roast Wallaby recipe in The book of household management (edition unknown) Mrs Beeton, Ward, Lock & Co, c1880. Sydney Living Museums R89/80

    Rouse Hill recipes

    Through most of the nineteenth century, Rouse Hill House was the social hub of the district.

    The Rouse family regularly played host to formal society dinners, long luncheons and sociable tea parties, plus major family events to celebrate birthdays, weddings and Christmas.

    The family’s surviving cookery books, in various states of repair, date between the 1850s and the 1950s. Each book is of interest in itself, but as a collection they stand testament to the social and cultural changes that this family, and indeed, Sydney itself underwent in this 100 year period. They demonstrate the gradual emergence of Australian identity from the late 1800s through food and recipes, native and localised ingredients such as kangaroo tail soup, jugged wallaby, curried bananas, rosella jam and prickly pear jelly.

    Through their tattered and splattered pages we can see which dishes were popular in the Rouse household over many generations – here’s a small sample from the Rouse family cookery books collection.

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    Front cover of cookbook, stained striped material peeling from backing.
    Front cover of Mrs Beeton
    Page from old book.
    Title page with inscription to Emma Rouse
    Page from old book.
    Baked or Boiled Carrot Pudding
    Page from old book.
    Christmas plum-pudding
    Page from old book.
    Syllabub and Tipsy Cake
    Page from old book.
    To make a trifle
    Page from old book.
    Beverages
    Page from old book.
    Cover, Mrs Beeton's Cookery Book c1880
    Page from old book.
    Vanilla Cream and Victoria Sandwiches
    Page from old book.
    Roast Wallaby and Parrot Pie
    Page from old book.
    Kangaroo Tails
    Page from old book.
    Menus for picnics
    Cover of old recipe book.
    Cover, Australian Cookery Recipes for the People, 1894
    Page from old book.
    Murray Cod, Baked and Stuffed, Schnapper, Fried, Barracouta, to Boil
    Page from old book.
    Baked Oysters, Oysters and Bacon and Oyster Toast
    Page from old book.
    Collared Eels and Fish Marinade
    Page from old book.
    Parrot Pie, Curried Wattle Birds and Roast Black Swan
    Front cover of old cookbook.
    Cover, Mrs Maclurcan's Cookery Book, c1900
    Page from old book with name inscribed.
    'N B Terry' inscription
    Page from old book.
    Kidney Soup, Mulligatawny Soup (Economical) and Australian Soup
    Page from old book.
    Potato Soup. No.1 and Sheep's Head Broth (Economical)
    Page from old book.
    Roast Wild Duck, Ragout of Turkey (Wild) and Jugged Wallaby
    Page from old book.
    Roast Scrub Turkey and Roast Wonga Pigeon
    Page from old book.
    Rosella Jam and Rosella Jelly

    About the Author

    Sydney Living Museums Image
    Jacqui Newling
    Assistant curator
    Creative Services
    Jacqui brings over ten years of ‘visitor first’ interpretation experience to her role as a curator at SLM. She specialises in place-based social history and heritage, bringing meaningful stories from our past to contemporary audiences through various forms of media, from exhibitions to interactive opportunities for visitors in our museums. 
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