If your group would like to visit Tahlee, we run guided tours by appointment only.
Morning tea is included, but a light lunch or high tea is an additional cost.
Tours normally begin with morning tea and conclude after lunch, however, alternative arrangements can be made.

Please contact us for current prices.
Bookings are essential.

John or Verna
Phone: 02 4997 3332
Email: heritage@tahlee.org

The original inhabitants of the Port Stephens area were the Worimi people.

The European history of Tahlee/Carrington began in February 1826 when Robert Dawson, the first Commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Company, arrived with settlers from England, emancipists (convicts who had served their time), convicts, horses, cattle and sheep. The AA Company had been incorporated in London in 1824 with a capital of one million pounds and a grant of one million acres. The express aim of the Company was to generate profits from the production of fine merino wool using convict labour. Tahlee House would be the home of the chief agent of the company and Carrington, just down the road, became the first planned company town in Australia.

Tahlee house today

Dawson had a Boat Harbour built below Tahlee House to protect small craft from the southerly winds. Built by convict labour under the supervision of stonemason Daniel Ivey, the Boat Harbour has been in continuous use since 1826.

Tahlee Boat Harbour, built in 1826

The AA Company sold the Tahlee Estate in 1854 (to move inland to better sheep country) and in 1860, part of Tahlee House burned down.

In 1880, Robert Hoddle Driberg White bought the property and invested a huge amount of money into Tahlee. What we see today is the legacy of his tenure. In the late 1880s, he rebuilt Tahlee House along the lines of the original house. However, the wine cellar is the one constructed by Sir Edward Parry, the second Principal Agent of the AA Company, who lived at Tahlee from 1830 to 1834. At the rear of Tahlee House are the remains of Kitchens and Servants' Quarters, another legacy of the AA days.

Kitchens & Servants’ Quarters c.1820’s

R H D White had two steam yachts, 12 full-time gardeners and was a great collector. The terraces and plants and trees from different parts of the world are still here today.

The view from Tahlee House

R H D White added a sitting and dining room to the eastern end of Tahlee House, which is now known as Tahlee Lounge.

Tahlee Lounge

He then added a Billiards Room, possibly the first outside of Sydney.

Former Billiards Room (now Chapel), with some locals

R H D White also added a large Ballroom and had the pine floor boards secretly nailed (meaning you cannot see the nails). The huge mirrors came from England and the marble in the fireplaces was from Italy.

 
  Former Ballroom (now our Dining Room)

The cannon was found under rubbish near the waterfront. It isn’t certain whether it was brought to Tahlee by the AA Company or by R H D White.

Cannon

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We are still in the process of updating our website as Tahlee is heading in a new direction.
Please visit our website from time to time as we try to keep you updated. Thanks heaps!