Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta, Sydney: Why visit John Macarthur’s home?

Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta, Sydney, is the oldest house in Australia. The stories about its conniving owner, John Macarthur, make it worth visiting.

Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta, 22km west of Sydney city centre, is the oldest house in Australia. Built in 1793, Elizabeth Farm was the first property in New South Wales protected by a permanent conservation order.

Now, it serves as a beautifully peaceful museum. The idea is that you can wander through at will, nosying at documents and furniture belonging to the former owner.

13 brilliant experiences in Sydney you should book

The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains.

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Get perfect views of the world’s most beautiful city on a Sydney Harbour helicopter tour.
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enjoy the romance of a tall ship cruise on Sydney Harbour.
Eat all you can at the Skyfeast at the top of Sydney Tower.
See migrating humpbacks – on a whale-watching cruise.
(Highly recommended ✅) Go behind the scenes of Australia’s most famous building on an Opera House tour.
Dine as the city lights up on sunset dinner cruise around the harbour.
Combine beers and stories on a historic pubs tour through the convict-era Rocks district.
Stand on your board and catch waves during Bondi Beach surfing lessons.
Go to wombat and kangaroo-spotting hotspots on a Southern Highlands tour.
Enjoy Sydney’s wild side on a Manly snorkelling & nature walk.
(🥇Top choice in Sydney) And, best of all, paddle to hidden beaches on a harbour kayaking adventure.

Elizabeth Farm, Parramatta: The story of John Macarthur

And while the sprawling gardens are lovely, it’s the backstory of that owner that makes Elizabeth Farm worth the visit. John Macarthur was a pioneering farmer who arrived on the Second Fleet. He became one of the pivotal figures in Australia’s early colonial era. Largely as a troublesome, conniving pain in the backside…

Inside Elizabeth Farm, the displays go into a series of tremendous tales. Sent back to Britain in 1801 to be court martialled for duelling, Macarthur broke the one way traffic of rogues. He also had the brass neck, while clearing his name, to pitch Australia as a utopia for raising sheep. The silver tongue worked. Machiavellian Macarthur came back with six Spanish merinos from the royal flock and a land grant of 5,000 acres.

His hunch on the sheep was correct, too. He kicked off the still humungous Australian wool industry, while indulging his habit of getting Governors overthrown.

The tale of this once-lowly lieutenant’s rise to unimaginable wealth, and eventual descent into insanity, plays out throughout his home. The Macarthur family’s documents are on desks for all-comers to peruse, too.

Visiting Elizabeth Farm, Parramatta

Elizabeth Farm is open as part of the Sydney Living Museums group, which opens heritage buildings in Sydney to visitors. Entrance to Elizabeth Farm costs $15. The Parramatta weather is usually a couple of degrees hotter than Sydney’s – avoid visiting on a really hot day.

It is not the oldest building in Australia, however. That honour goes to a small fort on the Houtman-Abrolhos Islands near the Western Australian town of Geraldton.