7 Lee Street

“The Cottage” at 7 Lee Street, Mittagong

Near Lake Alexandra in Mittagong stands a weatherboard home with a nameplate by its front door: “The Cottage”. Its story reaches back through generations of owners to the land’s early connection with the Fitzroy Iron Works.

Front entrance and “The Cottage” nameplate Source: property.com.au [2]

Front of the house Source: property.com.au [2]

Rear of the house and lawn Source: property.com.au [2]

Side driveway and garage Source: property.com.au [2]

Rear patio and garden Source: property.com.au [2]

Garden seating area Source: property.com.au [2]

Garden lawn Source: property.com.au [2]

Patio and lawn Source: property.com.au [2]

Garden shed Source: property.com.au [2]

Enclosed front veranda Source: property.com.au [2]

Front of the house and driveway Source: property.com.au [2]

Front of the house from the street Source: property.com.au [2]

Rear of the house and garden Source: property.com.au [2]

Rear veranda and garden Source: property.com.au [2]

Location

The Cottage is at 7 Lee Street, Mittagong, opposite parkland and a short distance from Lake Alexandra.

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Ownership Chain

1. 1864-1866
   Crown → Fitzroy Iron Works Company Limited

   Long before there was a house or a Lee Street, this land was part of Mittagong’s ironworks story. In 1866 the Fitzroy Iron Works Company received a Crown grant for 320 acres, paying £640 for a mining purchase. Decades later, a small part of that much larger holding would become the block at 7 Lee Street.

   The works had begun smelting local iron ore commercially in 1848, making them a pioneering Australian industrial venture. By the time of the land grant, they were already an established part of the district. Coal mines, quarries, brickmaking and a tramway supported the ironworks, while a new blast furnace was intended to turn local ore into iron on a much larger scale. Its early attempts were troubled, but after alterations the furnace produced about 2,394 tons of pig iron before it was shut down in January 1866. The company’s investors included John Frazer, who would later acquire the land himself.^[42]

   At a shareholders’ meeting in January 1866, the directors described a busy works: pig iron was being stockpiled, a coal shaft was being sunk, and new furnaces and rolling equipment were being prepared. They also looked forward to an arrangement with the engineering firm P. N. Russell & Co., hoping its experience would help the enterprise grow.^[43]

   The company also helped shape the town growing around its works. In 1864 its directors planned New Sheffield, with streets, building blocks and a site set aside for a Wesleyan church. Land was offered for sale the following year, as the company sought funds for its ventures. The works continued to face technical and financial difficulties, and the company resolved to wind up in 1869.^[42]

   For a broader history of the ironworks, including its people, machinery and later years, see Fitzroy Iron Works on Wikipedia.^[46]

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

2. 1871
   John Frazer

   

   The ironworks had been put up for auction the year before. In January 1870 the Empire reported that the company’s Nattai land, plant, machinery and tools had sold for £10,000. The sale included the works and equipment as well as land, but the report did not name the buyer.^[75]

   In 1871 the Fitzroy Iron Works Company transferred several holdings to John Frazer of Sydney for £5,000. The previous year, the Empire had reported that Frazer was in England exploring support to reopen the mines. The purchaser appears to have been the same Sydney merchant and investor, bringing the land that would eventually become 7 Lee Street into his wider ironworks interests.

   Contemporary accounts point to the Sydney merchant and politician John Frazer (1827-1884). Born in Dromore, County Down, he arrived in Sydney in 1842. After working in the country and then as a clerk, he opened a wholesale grocery business in 1847. In 1853 he married Elizabeth Ewan, and they had two daughters and two sons.^[10]

   Frazer’s interests grew far beyond the grocery trade. He invested in land and held directorships in banking, insurance and the Australian Gaslight Company. He was among the investors who backed the Fitzroy Iron Works in the 1860s and later helped attract English capital to revive the venture. His association with the works helps explain how the Mittagong land came into his hands.^[10][50]

   In 1874 he entered the New South Wales Legislative Council, where he served for the rest of his life. He also supported charitable causes and education. His family later contributed funds to the University of Sydney in his memory, and a history scholarship bears his name. Two ornate public drinking fountains were presented to Sydney in his name, one in Hyde Park and another near the Domain.^[10][50][51]

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

3. 1873
   Fitzroy Bessemer Steel Hematite Iron and Coal Company Limited

   Frazer’s interest in the ironworks led to a new venture. In 1873 a prospectus promoted the Fitzroy estate, ironworks and coal mines as the basis for an ambitious iron and steel company, with hopes of producing railway rails. The company brought skilled workers from England. One was blacksmith William Brazenall, whose reported agreement offered passage for his wife and two children, weekly wages and a furnished house with a garden near the works. A dispute soon arose over when the men were expected to begin and what hours they should work. The company accused Brazenall of absenting himself from work, while he and other workers described a different understanding of their arrangements. The case reached the Berrima court, where the magistrates ordered him detained until the court rose. The following month, Frazer transferred several holdings to the Fitzroy Bessemer Steel Hematite Iron and Coal Company for £18,000.

   

   

   

4. 1884
   Mittagong Land Company Limited

   The Fitzroy Bessemer company struggled to operate the ironworks in a competitive market and gave up its lease in 1877. By the early 1880s the company was in liquidation in England. A proposed sale of its Australian land brought the matter before courts on both sides of the world. John Frazer had agreed to sell property to Alexander Speed Webster, and an English court authorised Frazer and Henry Halloran to carry out the conveyances. The New South Wales Registrar-General required a local court order before proceeding, so the matter went to the Supreme Court in Sydney. The orders cleared the way for Frazer to convey the wider estate to the Mittagong Land Company.^[45] The agreement recorded £26,000 for a larger collection of land, of which £23,000 was attributed to the land described in the transfer’s schedule. The company began promoting land around Mittagong; an 1891 sale plan shows Section 10, which included the future site of this house, withdrawn from that sale. At an auction near the railway station in April 1884, the new land company’s plans for Mittagong drew a crowd. Historian R. Else Mitchell later wrote that special trains brought visitors from Sydney and about 120 lots were sold. The future house block formed part of the company’s wider estate, although its inclusion in that auction has not been established.^[74]

   The company also retained an interest in the district’s mineral wealth. In 1892 the local paper reported plans to clear and deepen an old shaft near the ironworks in search of coal. The report hoped the work might help revive the iron mines, a reminder that the company’s estate still carried the legacy of its earlier industrial life.^[44]

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

5. 1918
   Claude Newton Lee

   

   In 1918 Claude Newton Lee, Mittagong’s shire clerk, bought twelve lots in Section 10 for £111. The deed describes just over ten acres in all, including the land that would become 7 Lee Street. Even as the district looked towards a residential future, the land company retained rights to mine and remove minerals, with conditions concerning enjoyment of the surface, a reminder of the estate’s industrial past. Lee went on to create Sunset Point Estate. For a November 1926 auction, agents promoted more than 60 residential blocks, their views, building covenants, and the availability of water and electric light. They even encouraged buyers to make a picnic of the sale, and offered lithographed plans through the auctioneers Burton of Bowral and W. H. Jones of Mittagong. Another advertisement promised quiet streets and mountain views, and said Burton of Bowral was displaying photographs of the panorama from Sunset Point Road. It even joked that a husband could keep his wife's affection by letting her choose a Sunset Point block. In 1927 a Sydney newspaper advertised 60 Sunset Point home sites, describing lake frontage and mountain views and offering interest-free terms. Enquiries were directed to Lee. That year the local paper also reported his agreement with council over the estate’s water mains. In 1928 Lee also put forward a plan to change roads near Lake Alexandra, including a new street between Queen and Alfred Streets. The council agreed to meet him on the ground to discuss it. Twenty years later, Lee told the council that Sunset Point was growing quickly and needed a larger water main along Pioneer Street. He mentioned a nearby property occupied by W. Isedale. He also wanted to improve nearby Lake Alexandra. In 1948 he suggested deepening the water and creating a scenic drive, and told the council he had given land at the corner of Alfred Street to provide access to the lake.^[63]

   Claude and Gladys made their home at Leslie Cottage in Queen Street. His life reached well beyond the land office. In 1913 he married Gladys Stokes at Bowral Methodist Church. The local paper described a crowded church decorated with ivy, flowers and white ribbons. A large wedding bell hung above the couple and showered them with confetti at the end of the ceremony. A choir sang, around 100 guests attended the reception, and the couple left for a honeymoon on Norfolk Island. A later Berrima District Historical & Family History Society account describes Claude as a bandsman, bushwalker, local sporting organiser and manager of Bowral’s Empire Theatre. He also wrote about the Burragorang Valley. The Society’s account and another family-history source disagree over his birth year, so it remains to be confirmed.

   His public role is visible in the records: a 1926 Commonwealth Gazette names him as Mittagong’s assistant returning officer and shire clerk. Whether Lee Street was named for him or his family is still an open question.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

6. 1928
   War Service Homes Commissioner

   In 1928 Lee sold Lot 3 to the War Service Homes Commissioner for £75. Lee attached conditions to the sale to shape the neighbourhood he was developing. Any main house built on the block had to be worth at least £500 and stand at least 24 feet back from the street. Only one main building was allowed, and the block could not be used for a factory or a noxious trade. Lee also ruled out advertising hoardings and limited poultry to 20 birds. He would not be required to contribute to dividing fences, and stone or gravel could be removed only for building on the block.

   The War Service Homes scheme helped eligible returned servicemen and their families find homes after the First World War. Its original legislation allowed the Commissioner to acquire land and houses, arrange construction and offer financial assistance. One pathway was rent-purchase, under which an occupying purchaser made payments towards owning a home.^[53] In 1929 the Commission listed a minimum £10 deposit and 5 per cent annual interest for eligible applicants, with loan terms varying according to whether the home was timber or brick.^[55]

   Across New South Wales, the scheme combined building with buying houses. By June 1929 the Commission reported 5,788 homes completed and 4,196 purchased since the scheme began. In the year that included its purchase from Claude Lee, it recorded 449 homes completed and 61 purchased across the state.^[55] The report also described homes that had returned to the Commission: in New South Wales, 11 of the 31 such homes held in June 1929 were occupied by tenants.^[55]

   By 1920 the local Nattai district returned servicemen’s branch was already inviting sailors and soldiers to enquire about the War Service Homes scheme. By the time the Commissioner bought this block from Claude Lee in 1928, the scheme was already part of local life.

   During the 1930s, local council reports recorded changes along Alfred Street. In 1933 Mr C. Riley asked for attention to the road between Louisa and Beatrice Streets, and in 1934 the council approved a weatherboard cottage somewhere on Alfred Street.^[64][65] For much of the Commissioner’s time as owner, this stretch of road was called Alfred Street. In 1972 Mittagong Shire Council renamed the section west of Pioneer Street Lee Street, giving the address the street name it carries today. The Gazette notice also records the creation of Sunset Point Drive from several earlier streets.

   

   

   

   

   

   

7. By 1977
   Defence Service Homes Corporation

   Almost fifty years after Claude Lee sold the block to the War Service Homes Commissioner, the government housing scheme had a new name. By 1977 the Defence Service Homes Corporation held the title. Over the years, the organisation changed along with the scheme: the Commissioner became the Director of War Service Homes in 1947, then the Director of Defence Service Homes in 1973. In 1975 its property passed to the Australian Housing Corporation, which became the Defence Service Homes Corporation in 1976.^{[59][60][61][62]}

   On 6 May 1977 the Corporation signed the transfer to Thomas and Eunice Byron. It was registered on 30 May, bringing the long period of government ownership to an end.^[31]

   

8. 1977
   Thomas Lloyd Byron & Eunice Therese Byron

   In May 1977 Thomas Lloyd Byron and his wife Eunice bought 7 Lee Street together for $3,620. Thomas was described in the deed as a manager already living at the address, giving us the first confirmed name of a person who called the house home.

   Thomas was known as Lloyd.^[39] In 1975, the Canberra Times reported that Father Scanlon, a local parish priest, was being woken by people leaving Mittagong Bowling Club late at night. He threatened to ring the church bells if the noise continued. The club’s manager, Lloyd Byron, said members had been asked to show consideration for their neighbour. The manager’s name, location and occupation suggest a connection with Thomas, who was described as a manager in the 1977 transfer.^[34]

   

   

   

   

9. 1990
   Eunice Therese Byron

   Thomas died in Bowral in March 1990. Eunice, his surviving joint owner, continued as the property’s proprietor.

   

10. 1993 / 2000
    Eunice Therese Gooley - same proprietor

    Eunice’s connection with 7 Lee Street spanned more than three decades. She and her husband, Thomas Lloyd Byron, bought the property together in 1977. After Lloyd died in 1990, Eunice continued as its owner.

    On 8 December 1993, Eunice married Cornelius Leonard Gooley at St Joseph’s Convent Chapel in Mittagong. Their marriage certificate, preserved with the property records, carries their signatures. Eunice later recorded her married name on the title and remained the owner until her death in 2009. Her memorial at Welby records that she was born on 15 July 1928.^[39]

    

11. 2009
    Wayne Joseph Byron - executor

    After Eunice’s death in October 2009, her son Wayne Joseph Byron became the registered executor of her estate. The memorials for Eunice and Lloyd remember Wayne as their son.^[39][35] The property passed into the next chapter of its history the following year.

    

    

12. 2010
    Merran Kingsford-Smith & Mark James Wasiutak

    

    In January 2010 Merran Kingsford-Smith and Mark James Wasiutak bought the property together for $350,000.

    There appears to be a remarkable film connection to this chapter of the house. The credits for the original Mad Max name Merran Kingsford-Smith in wardrobe and Mark J. Wasiutak as boom operator. A later retrospective pictures the two together. The matching names make this a promising connection, although the property records do not themselves record their occupations.^[66][67]

    Between the two films, Mark Wasiutak was part of the sound team on Ground Zero, the 1987 Australian thriller set against the background of British atomic testing. The team received the Australian Film Institute’s Best Sound award.^[70]

    Decades after the first film, sound mixer Ben Osmo described Mark J. Wasiutak working as the key boom operator on Mad Max: Fury Road. He followed the cameras across the production, recording sound and helping the team manage the demanding shoot.^[69]

    Merran also appears likely to have had a family connection to one of Australia’s best-known aviators, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. Aviation historian records name a Merran as the daughter of Rollo Kingsford-Smith, a decorated airman who later lived at Exeter in the Southern Highlands. Rollo was Sir Charles’s nephew, which would make his daughter Merran the aviator’s great-niece. The matching name and local connection make this a highly likely link, though the records found so far have not conclusively established that Rollo’s daughter and the owner of 7 Lee Street were the same Merran.^[71][72][73]

    A Merran Kingsford-Smith also contributed a pair of historic children’s shoes to the Berrima District Historical Society. Its 2012 newsletter recalled that she had found them in Melbourne around 1973 while collecting props for a period television series.^[68]

    Photographs in the property gallery show the house before and after this period. The earlier view shows its weatherboard front, broad hipped roof and central doorway; in the later view, the entrance has a sheltered porch and the front windows and finishes have changed.

    The following year, an insurance certificate was issued for structural alterations and additions to the dwelling, with 32 Degrees Building Pty Ltd named as the contractor.^[40] The certificate records the proposed insured work.

    

    

    

    

13. 2026-present
    Julie Marina Searant

    In March 2026 Merran and Mark transferred the property to Julie Marina Searant for $1,300,000, beginning the latest chapter in the story of 7 Lee Street.

    

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