Description of the attraction
South Hobart is home to one of the city's most popular attractions, Runnymeed Manor. Built in 1837, this historic building attracts hundreds of tourists today. This elegant two-story bungalow overlooks the New Town urban area and is a fine example of colonial architecture. Around the house there is a wonderful garden teeming with flower beds and trees, some of which are more than one hundred years old. Here you can see fruit trees and amazingly beautiful roses, fuchsias, hellebars and various bulbous plants.
Runnymede Manor was built for Robert Pitcairn, a lawyer who played an important role in the early 19th century campaign against the expulsion of prisoners from England to Australia. In those days, the estate was known as Cairne's Lodge. In 1850, the first Anglican bishop in Tasmania, Francis Nixon, settled here, who added music halls to the house - they held religious services and other events. Then, in 1864, the house became the property of the sea captain Charles Bailey. He changed the name of his home from Cairne's Cabin to Runnymede, after the ship he once sailed. The Bailey family lived on the estate for 100 years - only in 1967, the Tasmanian government acquired this house and transferred it to the ownership of the National Trust for the Preservation of Historic Monuments. Immediately, large-scale restoration work began, as a result of which the house returned to its appearance at the beginning of the 19th century.
Today Runnymede Manor houses a rich collection of sailing and whaling items, as well as art from the Bailey family and some belongings from Bishop Francis Nixon. Of particular interest is the collection of shell carvings.
