Artistic impression only. Subject to change.
Conserving and celebrating history
We’ve been respectfully using and maintaining the heritage buildings in the Uniting Waverley Estate for over 100 years . We’re passionate about celebrating and continuing to build on the history of the site through conservation, while honouring the Vickery family’s historic legacy.
Our plans are based on a strong understanding of the Estate’s history and the way it has evolved. They have been informed by detailed studies by heritage specialists and consultation with the Vickery and Waterhouse families, who have maintained an ongoing connection to the Estate and its services.
Under the masterplan:
- The main Edina manor, War Memorial Hospital, and all Victorian heritage buildings will be retained.
- The Ellerslie, Banksia and Wych Hazel buildings will be retained and returned to a residential use.
- The Church Street cottages will be adapted and reused to provide 7 affordable rental housing units.
- Historical items such as the chapel and the gates on the corner of Bronte Road and Birrell Street, will be retained and improved.
- The proposed unification of the Estate provides an opportunity to celebrate, conserve and enhance the setting for the Victorian buildings near Carrington Road. It is proposed to remove Cadi Cottage, a Federation building, to enable a better appreciation of the setting, and the relationship between the Edina Building, the Chapel, and Banksia and Wych Hazel. The area where Cadi was located will be landscaped to improve the setting of the Victorian buildings.
Video feature - Waverley Estate Care: History and Context
Farhad Haidari, Principal Architect from Architectus, explains his team’s vision of care for this unique and special heritage project legacy site.
Historical gardens and landscaping
We’re committed to respecting and conserving the historical landscaped spaces at the Uniting Waverley Estate. The proposed landscaping celebrates both historical and contemporary green spaces, while enhancing the beauty of the buildings and providing a variety of areas for people to enjoy.
Uniting is dedicated to preserving biodiversity and the important ecological corridors. This includes maximising opportunities to retain and protect existing healthy trees where possible, and replace old or damaged trees. As part of the opportunity to reunify the Estate, a plan has been developed considering landscape for the future.
Under the revised masterplan:
- Implementing a tree replacement strategy that will increase the current tree canopy from 27% to over 40%, including the retention of one additional major fig tree.
- The historic plants and trees will be celebrated and preserved where possible, while the gardens and landscaping will be expanded with new plantings.
- Some endemic plants will be included to maintain the ecological zones.
- Green links will be established through the Estate to improve walkability.
- Biophilic design principles have been incorporated to seamlessly blend the indoors with the outdoors, assisting residents to connect with nature and enhance their wellbeing, when their mobility inhibits them.
- Place, heritage and connection to Country have been incorporated into the design and landscaping.
Video feature - Waverley Estate Environment
Michael Barnett, Principal at Arcadia, talks about the landscape masterplan vision, designed to reunify the site with the gardens and celebrate the landscape.
About The Edina Estate
You can learn more about the Edina Estate by obtaining a copy of The Edina Estate: Family, Faith and Fortune in Victorian Sydney, a book written by Michael Waterhouse.
Michael is a descendant of the Vickery family, who developed and lived on the Estate between 1859 and 1922 when ownership was transferred to the Methodist Church. Edina was the home of Jeanie and Ebenezer Vickery. The Vickery family raised their 6 children here, and later 24 surviving grandchildren grew up on the Estate.
The book explores the lives of these families, particularly through the lens of a camera owned by a family member in a time long before such cameras were used by individuals other than professional photographers.
Extensive research has revealed many aspects of the house and the estate which were previously unknown, including vivid descriptions of Waverley in the 19th century. This fascinating narrative conveys a compelling sense of time and place. It’s a powerful story, and one that Uniting has been pleased to support through publication.
You can find out more, including where to obtain your copy here, or by downloading the book’s flyer.
Video feature - Waverley Estate Heritage
Michael Waterhouse, great grandson and descendant of the Vickery family, explains the rich heritage behind the Estate, dating back to 1884.
Michael is a historian and author of ‘EDINA – A family’s life in late Victorian Sydney’ and a former Chairman of Edina Aged Care.