Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Clarens

Residence built by Joseph Hyde Potts in Potts Point. During James Martin's ownership, its surrounding garden was famed as one of the 'most architecturally elaborate gardens constructed in Australia'. The gardens were developed in 1853-68 and the novelist Anthony Trollope described the 'garden falling down to the sea' as a 'fairyland'. Its monument of Lysicrates was later moved to the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. The property was acquired by the Royal Australian Navy in 1941 and then subsequently destroyed, however, elements of the original garden have survived. The navy base HMAS Kuttabul now stands on the site, located adjacent to the Garden Island dockyard.

Milestone
Constructed
1842
Demolished
1966
Name
Alternate
Clarens Gardens
Property
Owned by
1842 - 1846
Owned by
1852 - 1876
Occupied by
1853 - 1882
Occupied by
1853 - 04 Nov 1886
Comprises
1868 - 1941
Type