Katoomba, New South Wales - Heritage Buildings

Heritage Buildings

Katoomba has a number of significant buildings. The following are all heritage-listed.

• Uniting Church: situated in Katoomba Street, the Uniting Church—formerly the Methodist Church—has survived as a good example of Gothic styles that have stretched from the Victorian era to the inter-war period. It was designed by Henry Simonson and the main building was constructed in 1888. The parsonage was built in 1906 and the church hall in 1933.

• Carrington Hotel: situated on the west side of Katoomba Street, the Carrington has played a significant role in the growth of Katoomba as a resort town. It was designed by John Kirkpatrick and built in 1882. Extensions were built by Edward Hogben and the Goyder Brothers in 1911-13. It is an excellent and rare example of a high Victorian grand hotel. It was named after Lord Carrington, then governor of New South Wales. It has seen a long stream of significant guests, including British royalty, Prime Ministers, premiers and actors. The Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti stayed at the Carrington in the 1920s when he was under the tutelage of the Theosophical Society.
• Swiss Cottage (formerly known as Lurline Cottage): this Federation Queen Anne cottage was built in 1898 on the east side of Lurline Street. Incorporating parts of the original St Hilda's Church hall, it belonged to H.A.Bundy, who called it Rubyston. It had a number of owners over the years and later served as a guest house, but deteriorated somewhat until the late 1980s, when a new owner opened it as the Lurline Cottage Tea Room. It became the Swiss Cottage Restaurant in the 1990s.
• Mount St Mary's College and Convent: this building is significant for its connection with the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity, the first order of nuns in Australia. The nuns moved to Katoomba in 1900 and set up a school, which eventually outgrew the old premises. A new building was designed by Nangle and Nurzey in the Italianate style and built in 1909, just across from the Katoomba Court House. The first boarders took up residence in 1910. In more recent times, the building passed into the hands of the Blue Mountains City Council, which restored it and opened it as the Renaissance Centre in 1985. However, this project failed and the building was derelict as of 2011.
• Kapsalie: this Federation Bungalow-style home was built in Lurline Street in 1915. The owner was Mrs. Fanny Allibone, who called the house Cheltenham. It changed hands in 1919, and the Varipatis family eventually acquired it c. 1940. This family ran a seafood restaurant in Katoomba, and they named the house Kapsalie after their home town in Greece.
• Katoomba Court House: by the 1890s, Katoomba had grown enough to need its own court house, which was duly designed by the Government Architect, Walter Liberty Vernon, and built in 1897. It was constructed of sandstone obtained from local quarries. By 1925, the work of the court had increased to the point where the old building was too small, so extensions were designed by Richard Wells. Further changes and extensions took place in the late 1940s and 1989. The court house is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
• Varuna: this house in Cascade Street was built in 1939. It was the home of Eleanor Dark and Dr Eric Dark, who moved to Cascade Street in 1923. Their new home, built in 1939, was designed by Eleanor Dark. The Darks were extremely active in the writers' community of the Blue Mountains, which flourished as a result of many writers and artists moving to the area. Varuna became central to this community in the 1940s. It became a writers' centre in 1989. The house, studio and garden are all listed as being of heritage significance.
• Paragon Cafe: situated in Katoomba Street, the Paragon is significant as an example of a fine, inter-war restaurant in the Art Deco style. The cafe is part of a group of shops that were built in 1909 on land purchased by William Newlind in 1886. The shops were built at 63-69 Katoomba Street. By 1911, 63-67 were owned by the Rector of the nearby St Hilda's Anglican Church. In 1923 the Paragon was being run by Zacharias Simos, who leased the property from the Rector. Simos then bought the property in 1924. It remains intact as a well-preserved example of this kind of building. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate.