Enjoyed then and enjoyed now. A family home and home of the camellia.

History of Eryldene 

In 1913, Eben Gowrie Waterhouse (E G Waterhouse) bought land at Gordon in Sydney's northern suburbs to build a family home. He chose architect William Hardy Wilson to design the house as he was impressed with the architect's previous work -particularly his aesthetic sense and his interest in shadow and textures.  

Construction of the house began in 1913 and saw the beginning of a twenty-three year association between Waterhouse and Hardy Wilson which saw the creation of the garden and its many structures.

A garden study and a walled fountain were built in 1921 followed by a potting shed and pigeon house in 1922, a Chinese-inspired tea house in 1927 and a bold lattice screen and garage in 1936. A temple in the front garden was built at the same time as the house, utilising columns salvaged from Lyons Terrace, Liverpool St, Sydney. 

The house and garden illustrate a genteel way of life, tranquil, devoted to culture, beauty, and good taste. 

E G WATERHOUSE 

E G Waterhouse was born in Sydney in 1881. He was Master of Modern Languages at Sydney Grammar School then Senior Lecturer in Modern languages from 1913 to 1925 at Sydney Teachers College. He became firstly, Associate Professor then Professor of German and Comparative Literature at the University of Sydney until his retirement in 1945 

He was fluent in German, French and Italian and in his eighties began studies in Japanese, becoming sufficiently proficient to 'talk camellias' with Japanese experts. He undertook research into the origin of the camellia, its culture and nomenclature, which one could say led to the camellia regaining popularity in Australia. His work brought him international acclaim and respect. He co-founded the Australian and New Zealand Camellia Research Society and wrote two books on camellias, Camellia Quest in 1947 and Camellia Trail in 1952. He founded the well known Camellia Grove nursery at St Ives in 1939. He was a member of the board of the International Camellia Society for many years. 

He was also influential in the fields of art, architecture, horticulture and design. During his lifetime Eryldene became a lively centre for discussion attracting many well known artists, writers, architects and designers as well as Vice-Regal visitors and diplomats. He was elected a trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1938 and was its president from 1960-62. He died at 96 on 17 August 1977.  

A book on his full and interesting life, E G Waterhouse of Eryldene, by Mary Armati is available from Eryldene.   

JANET WATERHOUSE 

Janet Waterhouse held a Masters degree in Modern Languages from Glasgow University. Her love of gardening was acknowledged when she was elected vice president of the Garden Club of Australia in the 1950s.

Mrs Waterhouse had a great appreciation of the artistic qualities of plants which she followed through the study of Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. 

She was founding president of the Sydney Chapter of Ikebana International in 1959 and her artistic sensitivity made her a great ambassador of the art. 

THE WATERHOUSE FAMILY 

The Waterhouses had four sons all of whom had distinguished careers:

1. Gordon (1913–1986) was a horticulturalist and with his father established Camellia Grove Nursery in St Ives. 

2. Douglas (1916-2000) was an entomologist and for many years chief of the Division of Entomology, CSIRO, Canberra. 

3. Evan (1919-1970) founded Bellbird Books. 

4. Ian (1921-2013) was Foundation Professor of Psychology and head of the School of Behavioural Sciences at Macquarie University. 

Ian’s son Michael Waterhouse is actively involved as a member of the Eryldene Foundation.

William Hardy Wilson

William Hardy Wilson (1881-1955) was an Australian architect, artist and author. He, along with architects such as Robin Dods Dodds, Walter Burley Griffin and Harold Desbrowe-Annear, ushered in distinctive 20th Century Australian design.

He was educated at Newington College, Sydney and trained as an architect articled to the firm of Kent and Budden in Sydney and attending evening classes at Sydney Technical College. He travelled to England in 1903 becoming an admirer of the English architect Edwin Lutyens. He continued his architectural studies and was admitted as an architect in 1905. He and his friend, later business partner, Stacey Arthur Neave, then undertook the ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe, a regular feature of architectural education. This was followed by a tour of American architecture where he became an admirer of the work of McKim, Mead and White.

He is probably best known for the publication of his evocative study of Colonial architecture in Old Colonial Architecture in New South Wales and Tasmania in 1924 with his wonderful evocative drawings, and for the design of Eryldene in 1913. In his architecture he promoted Colonial Revival design but was also deeply influenced by Chinese, Japanese and Indian architecture. His appreciation and melding of Eastern and classical themes were shared by E G Waterhouse and can clearly be seen at Eryldene in the Indian bungalow style house, and the oriental inspired tea-house and Moon Gate (1927).

Other examples of his work in Ku-ring-gai include the house he designed for Lionel Lindsay, Meryon, in Wahroonga (1911), his own house Purulia in Warawee (1913) and Macquarie Cottage in Pymble (1916). His influence can also be seen on his firm, Wilson, Neave and Berry, particularly in the design of the Ku-ring-gai Council Chambers (1927-28) in Gordon.

Afternoon Tea at Eryldene

Tea and Eryldene go hand in hand as the tea bush (Camellia sinensis) blooms amongst the hundreds of camellias in the garden.

 Afternoon Tea was part of family life at Eryldene, and was taken most days – often just a cup of tea, and a home made biscuit, served in the garden or on the verandah.  Mrs Waterhouse also regularly entertained invited guests to a more formal Sunday Afternoon Tea.

 Eryldene has been hosting Mothers Day Teas for almost twenty years, weather permitting under the towering angophora on the lawn court, surrounded by flowering camellia sasanquas.  We even hosted a virtual tea in 2020 for our regular guests and some overseas participants.  This year we were fully booked out with real people, our volunteer cooks serving home made delicacies to 120 guests throughout the day. 

Eryldene looks forward to hosting once again this gentle pastime of taking tea in its beautiful garden.