Sarah Wentworth, a remarkably stoic and practical head of the family and a 'rock' for the rather mercurial William Charles Wentworth, endured a cold exclusion from colonial society. While the Wentworths were among the wealthiest landowners in NSW, status eluded them.

A relationship bloomed as William, an up-and-coming lawyer, defended Sarah in a breach of promise case in 1825. Two children followed in quick succession before their marriage took place in 1829. Within a few years the lax arrangements of the Regency gave way to a stricter Victorian morality and Sarah found herself excluded by a new double standard.

When invited to the Queen’s Birthday Ball of 1847, a campaign was waged to prevent women of “damaged female character” from attending. Sarah had no choice but to decline her invitation.

Vaucluse House with its splendid incomplete reception rooms but corridors that lead no-where is perhaps a monument to thwarted social ambition and money without status.