Want to experience history rather than just read about it? At Elizabeth Farm – Australia’s oldest surviving homestead – you can wander freely through the old house and garden as if you were its original occupants. There are no barriers, locked doors, fragile furniture or untouchable ornaments in this unique, ‘access all areas’ house museum.

Built in 1793 for John Macarthur, known as the father of the wool industry, and his wife Elizabeth, tales of migration and new starts, passion and anguish, early colonial political skulduggery and the genesis of Australia’s wool trade are cemented into these walls. So come by, run your hand along the sofa, or simply sit on the shady verandah and enjoy the garden, experience the history and make yourself at home.

Read the guidebook