Our heritage is about our future as well as our past. It is an on-going story that tells us how we have shaped our landscapes, our cities and towns - a story that tells the world who we are.
Some of our most precious heritage is in private hands and it needs our support to ensure a viable future.
The Historic Houses Association of Australia Ltd. (HHA) is a registered charity and volunteer organisation that supports owners and promotes public interest in historic houses and properties throughout Australia.
HHA Members enjoy special access to an ever-increasing number of HHA network properties. They also have the opportunity to attend events and tours, engage with historians and heritage architects, and to meet private owners where they can discover the rich history of these properties and their collections.
Join us and help preserve our unique built heritage for future generations to enjoy.
We seek to shape the future of the built heritage of Australia by acting as a ‘collective voice’ for owners, to ensure their concerns are heard and that their properties are valued for the contributions they make to our society’s ‘sense of place’.
In April 2018 we held our inaugural conference 'Home Heaven Hell' which was sold out with 250 people attending from around Australia.
Coffee Conversation: Terragong - A Gentleman's Country Residence
Join Terragong co-owner Simon Milner to hear about the extensive restoration work undertaken on this wonderful example of Colonial Georgian architecture. Built in 1858 as a gentleman’s county residence, Simon highlights the varied histories of the site – from the original slab hut (still standing today), through ownership by seven generations of the Marks family to its recreation by the current owners as a bespoke bed and breakfast with a focus on environmental sustainability.
Day Tour: Adaptive Re-use - Urban Sanctuary, Parklands and Monuments
Starting out at the Grounds of Alexandria, a former warehouse transformed into a successful restaurant and event space, we walk across Sydney Park to hear about its built heritage and recent post industrial development from rubbish dump to parklands and urban wetlands.
We visit Heritage Stoneworks - one of the last few stoneworks yards that restores and repairs Sydney's sandstone facades and monuments to gain an insight into how the precious Pyrmont yellowblock is recycled, reused and quarried for maintaining public buildings around the CBD.
Stay Tour : The Forgotten Valley of the Hawkesbury
Explore Wisemans Ferry and St Albans – the river communities of inns and pioneer homes. There are many fascinating sites on the itinerary providing bespoke experiences especially for the HHA. Hear from private owners and local historians as they take us on exclusive tours of historic properties and landscapes and tell the story of this remarkable hidden valley.
Highlights include Price Morris Cottage (1835 wattle and daub timber cottage), the Industrious Settler (former inn with 1820s slab cottage, outbuildings & Walters family settler graves); the delightful Settler’s Arms Inn (1840s two storey stone Georgian Inn) and St Joseph’s Church (restored 1839 sandstone Gothic Catholic church & cemetery and winner of the NSW National Trust 2013 Best Heritage Restoration Award). We will also have time on this two-day tour to visit Cobham Hall, the original home of Solomon Wiseman and other significant historic bridges, churches, houses and graveyards along the way.
