Discover Braemar
Braemar’s early built history is anchored by the Prince Albert Inn, an early-1840s Colonial Georgian inn later known as Willow Vale and The Poplars.
Explore nearby and connected places: Willow Vale · Mittagong · Aylmerton · Balaclava
Braemar through time
The Prince Albert Inn and the railway
The Society’s May 2011 newsletter records that Esther and William Green built the Prince Albert Inn in the early 1840s on 100 acres, and that William Green received a liquor licence for the Nattai inn in June 1846. After Bartholomew Rush bought it in 1860, the family ran it as a boarding house called Willow Vale, after the notable trees. The name subsequently became that of the adjoining western village around 1882.[10]
Rush also supplied fruit from his orchards and organised Rush’s Platform on the loop line for fruit sent to Sydney and for boarding-house guests. The 1891 financial crisis brought a sale to investors; the building later became derelict before Dr Edward Ludiwici bought and restored it in 1933 as The Poplars. The Society records another major restoration after 1961 and the Prince Albert Inn’s reopening in 2011.[10]
The station opened as Rushs Platform on 1 March 1867 and was renamed Braemar in 1892. Council’s heritage review records that passenger services ended on 5 August 1978. The changing name is a useful clue when following railway, family and land records for the village.[12]
In 1876 Rush built Braemar Lodge across the road from the Prince Albert Inn. Transport for NSW describes the house and its orchard, whose fruit travelled to Sydney from Rush’s Platform. The original single-storey residence was enlarged, and over the years it served a succession of owners and uses, including a guest house.[13]
Ravensdale and a changing district
A Society family-history feature follows Elizabeth McFarlane and Ravensdale, the Braemar property associated with her family. It forms part of a series about the Graham sisters and their Southern Highlands connections.[11]
Elizabeth McFarlane purchased 128 acres fronting the Great Southern Road in 1917 and named it Ravensdale after her late husband’s Irish birthplace. A Society family history records an old stone cottage and weatherboard house on the land; her son Sydney, known as Sid, built a new brick residence by 1920. The account follows the family’s lives as well as the property’s buildings.[11]
Sid McFarlane chaired a 1927 meeting to establish the Aylmerton, Braemar and Colo Vale Co-operative Society. The Society’s account reports that the co-operative built a store-shed and later merged into a wider district rural co-operative. Its history connects neighbouring farming communities through shared purchasing and local enterprise.[11]
The former inn’s grounds changed substantially after the Second World War. The 2011 history reports that Manchester Unity added rear wings after buying the property in 1947, and that Johnswoods subdivided the land after its 1953 purchase. Arthur and Irene Benton’s restoration from 1961 received a heritage award in 1963. These later alterations are part of the site’s history alongside its earlier use as an inn and boarding house.[10]
Related historical names and search terms: Nattai, The Poplars. These may name a former settlement, institution or nearby feature; check the context in the sources.
More views of Braemar
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Read the landscape
1891
Catalogue reference · display image to be added after reuse checks.
Braemar, Rush’s Platform: villa and orchard blocks
The State Library lists a sale plan dated 25 April 1891, covering Braemar Avenue, Pilcher Road and other local streets. This is a catalogue lead, not a displayed image; a subdivision plan records proposed lots rather than proof of a completed sale.
Related places: Braemar, Willow Vale
State Library of New South Wales, Mittagong subdivision plans, Z/TP/M4/11.
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Browse maps and plans linked to Braemar
Newsletter Mentions
Stories about Braemar in the Society’s newsletters.
December 2016
- Philip Morton traces the Graham sisters and their families in Mittagong and Braemar (pp.4-5).
Further research
There is more to discover about Braemar in the Society’s archives and in other collections. A catalogue entry may lead to material that has not been digitised or needs to be consulted in person.
- Ask the Society’s research centre about local files, photographs and records.
- State Library of NSW collections - search photographs, maps, manuscripts and local publications.
- NSW Historical Land Records Viewer - search historical land records, plans and parish maps by place or parcel.
Sources already connected with this place include:
- State Library of NSW: Mittagong subdivision plans
- Wingecarribee Shire Council heritage peer review, Braemar section
- Transport for NSW: History begins with a road, Bargo to Sutton Forest
The Society can undertake professional research at $40 per hour. Contact the research centre to discuss your question and request a quote.