Unanderra - Historic buildings

Nudjia House

Nudjia House is located at 83 Cummins Street, Unanderra. Nudjia, the Aboriginal name for a safe and protected place, was built around 1870 by William Warren Jenkins (1816-1884) for his eldest son, William James Robert Jenkins. An original part of the structure dates from around 1840, the same time that the nearby Berkeley House (demolished 1940) was built. Nudjia is located on the original Berkeley Estate, one of the Illawarra’s first land grants, which was received by Robert Jenkins (c.1777-1822) in 1817.

Nudjia is a weatherboard, early Victorian, vernacular, Georgian cottage with corrugated metal roof verandahs. The original section (c.1840) is built of handmade local clay bricks and stone rubble footings. The later weatherboard section was constructed in front.

The City of Wollongong Heritage Study: Provisional Inventory: Wollongong Heritage Study Date Sheets: Volume 3/5 (1991) assigns the building regional significance, describing it as ‘… a rare example of a building of the 1840’s in this southern area…’.

Farmborough House

Farmborough House is located in Farmborough Road, Farmborough. It is built on land originally acquired in 1843 by Robert Martin Cole (1788-1869). From 1859-1915 Farmborough House was owned by John Blackman, an early settler in Unanderra.

The property was originally named Nonsuch by Cole, apparently based on his declaration, made when surveying the vista afforded by the property, that: ‘No such view have I ever seen’. Blackman later renamed the property Farnborough (or Farmborough).

Farmborough House dates from 1844, with renovations and remodelling occurring in 1857 and 1974. It is a brick, Victorian, vernacular, eclectic structure, stone and cement rendered, with a corrugated metal roof. The original residence is timber, and incorporates distinctive Quoins and curved gables. According to the City of Wollongong Heritage Study: Provisional Inventory: Wollongong Heritage Study Data Sheets: Volume 3/5 (1991), the building and surrounds have ‘… significant historic links with the earliest settlements in Illawarra’.

Unanderra Station Master's Residence

The Unanderra Station Master’s residence is situated by the Unanderra Railway line and was built in 1887. It is a Victorian vernacular brick building with timber skillion, a corrugated metal roof, and a single central chimney.

The City of Wollongong Heritage Study: Provisional Inventory: Wollongong Heritage Study Data Sheets: Volume 3/5 (1991) assigns this building regional significance, and describes it as a ‘… typical Railway Dept. building similar to Bellambi Railway Station. A rare surviving element of railway building groups representing the transport, historical theme’. (McPhee, 1991)

Unanderra Community Hall

The Unanderra Community Hall is situated on the Princes Highway on the north western corner of Factory Road, Unanderra. The Hall was opened in 1901. It was the site of the Central Illawarra Municipal Council Chambers until the formation of the City of Greater Wollongong in 1947.

The Unanderra Branch Library opened in one room of the building in October 1955, and was extended in 1961. The building currently continues to house the public library and community centre.

The Unanderra Community Hall is a two-storey brick building with a parapet and a single-storey brick section with a corrugated metal roof. The City of Wollongong Heritage Study: Provisional Inventory: Wollongong Heritage Study Data Sheets: Volume 3/5 (1991) assigns the building local historical significance.