Caroline Simpson in the West Indies Room, Clyde Bank. Photograph Peter Morris.

The HHT is very pleased to help commemorate Caroline Simpson’s memory by accepting her remarkable collection. In donating it to a public institution her children have shown enormous generosity and great affection for their late mother.

The Historic Houses Trust is honoured to be the recipient of a most generous gift: the Caroline Simpson Collection. This gift, made by the four children of the late Caroline Simpson OAM – Louise Dobson and Alice, Emily and Edward Simpson – was given to the HHT in honour of their mother. It was officially accepted on behalf of the government, the HHT, and the people of New South Wales, by Premier Bob Carr on 19 August 2004, at Clyde Bank in the The Rocks, where the collection had been housed and open to the public as a private museum since 1994.

Image: Entrance Hall, Clyde Bank with Portrait of Sir Joseph Banks, by Thomas Phillips, c1808-1815. Photograph Chris Glesser.

This exceptional gift comprises a substantial collection of colonial art, furniture, books and other objets d’art, valued at $10.8m, plus a $1.5m endowment to support the work of the HHT’s library which will now be known as the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection. This new facility will be housed in the new head office at The Mint and will be opened later in the year. Caroline Simpson’s eldest child, Louise Dobson, said the family had donated the collection to the HHT to ensure that it was available to the people of New South Wales. She said ‘The donation and the naming of the new library is a fitting monument to our mother’s extraordinary work and passion.’

Caroline Simpson, who died unexpectedly at the age of 72 in January 2003, was the daughter of newspaper publisher Warwick Fairfax. She had supported many causes during her lifetime, particularly those that helped to conserve Australia’s colonial heritage. Her philanthropy was generous but mostly anonymous. She did not seek public recognition for her contributions. Caroline Simpson held strong views. As her son Edward said in his eulogy at her funeral, ‘she was, I believe, a profoundly rebellious individual, because she made her own rules and carved her own path through life.’ He described his mother as having ‘an unrivalled passion for this city, and this country … She collected greatly; but gave just as much.’
 
The HHT is very pleased to help commemorate Caroline Simpson’s memory by accepting her remarkable collection. In donating it to a public institution her children have shown enormous generosity and great affection for their late mother. The collection will be distributed among various HHT properties and some parts will be placed on long-term loan to other institutions. A portion will be sold to create the endowment for the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, which collects and researches in the areas of New South Wales domestic architecture, interiors and gardens.
 
The collection has many highlights among its Australiana component, including two Sydney Cove medallions made by Josiah Wedgwood in 1789 to commemorate European settlement at Sydney Cove. The ‘fine white clay’ from which they were made was sent to Sir Joseph Banks from Sydney Cove by Governor Phillip in 1788. The collection also includes the largest private collection of paintings by Conrad Martens – 21 major works – including views of Parramatta, Government House, Throsby Park and Elizabeth Bay. The collection of furniture includes a long-case clock by convict James Oatley c1822; a distinguished Australian cedar breakfront bookcase c1835 from the collection of the Australian poet, Dorothea Mackellar; the so-called ‘Strathallen box’ c1820, once part of the collection of Governor Macquarie, and an exceptionally rare chest of drawers by convict Lawrence Butler dating from c1804.

Image: The Freycinet Expedition's 1818 visit to the secretary of the Dutch Governor at Coupang, Timor By J Alphonse Pellion.

Caroline Simpson was also interested in other British colonies throughout the world and actively collected in this area. One example in the collection is a set of 12 original drawings and watercolours by the artists of the 1817–1820 French expedition under the command of Louis de Freycinet, who was entertained by Governor Macquarie in Sydney in 1819. Some years ago the HHT bought an early architectural study of the Hyde Park Barracks by J Alphonse Pellion, one of de Freycinet’s artists. It will now be joined by Pellion’s picture of Freycinet’s 1818 visit to the Secretary of the Dutch Governor at Coupang, showing the early 19th century interior of a European-style drawing room with adaptations to a tropical colonial environment, such as the hundi lamps and painted chequerboard floor.
 
In addition to colonial material, the collection also includes some later material including a set of Lionel Lindsay etchings of Sydney and photographs by Max Dupain.
 
The HHT is very privileged to receive this remarkably generous gift from Caroline Simpson’s children. It is understood to be the most valuable gift made to an Australian institution under the federal government’s Cultural Gifts Program. Quite apart from its monetary value, the extraordinarily rich array of rare and important objects in the collection constitutes an extremely valuable resource with its ability to provide a fuller understanding of Australia’s colonial past.

Peter Watts, Former Director