When Richard Rouse came seeking fortune as a free settler in 1801 he prospered. Entrepreneurial by nature, Rouse made the most of the chances that a new colony offered. Shrewdly weathering drought and depression he amassed a fortune and 230,000 acres. Following his death in 1852 his heirs transformed Rouse Hill House into a fashionable Victorian home and for two generations enjoyed affluent lives filled with picnic races and parties. But luck began to run out with the 1890s depression which, coupled with drought, debts and bad business decisions sent the place into a downward spiral.  

The tragic death of Kathleen Rouse in China in 1932 further complicated things, and in due course most of the farm was sold off. With the house almost frozen in time life continued at Rouse Hill until 1993. But when Gerald Terry, the last family member to occupy the house, moved out only 20 acres of the 1200 acre farm remained.