Lithgow’s Eskbank House recognised for its historic significance

Lithgow City Council mayor Stephen Lesslie welcomed the announcement, stating the premises, now a museum, was the “jewel in Lithgow’s heritage crown”. 

“The beauty of Eskbank House is that it is set in its own precinct, unlike many properties in Sydney, which might have the house but the gardens are gone,” he said. 

“I believe it is one of the finest in public hands in NSW, possibly in Australia.”

One of Lithgow’s first houses, which was also home to several of its pioneers, has was originally built in 1842 by convict labourers for Thomas Brown, the owner of the first major coal mine in the Western NSW coalfields, whose business activities provided the genesis of the City of Lithgow.

Member for Bathurst Paul Toole, who announced its addition to the State Heritage Register, said it was worthy acknowledgement of the importance of Eskbank House and the collections it contained.

“The house also has special association with industrialists James Rutherford; William Sandford; and George and Charles Hoskins, all of whom played important roles in the NSW iron and steel industries,” Mr Toole said.

Mr Toole noted the listing also recognised three important collections of historic pieces currently housed within the Eskbank Museum: the Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection, Lithgow Pottery Collection and the Sir Joseph Cook Collection.

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“The Lithgow Iron Works and Blast Furnace Collection comprises pieces associated with the Lithgow iron and steel works, an enterprise important to the industrialisation of NSW,” Mr Toole said.

“The collection includes artistic pieces known as the Lithgow Black Roses, which were crafted in 1876 from the first iron produced by the first Lithgow blast furnace, the second to be erected in NSW.

“Lithgow Pottery Collection is the largest in NSW of items produced by the former Lithgow Valley Pottery Company.

“With many items donated by local residents, the collection illustrates the everyday lives of working-class and middle-class people of its period.

“The Sir Joseph Cook Collection contains items which belonged to a local coalminer who rose to be Prime Minister of Australia in 1913. The pieces were donated to the Lithgow District Historical Society in 1994 by Cook’s grandson.

“It gives me great pleasure that all of these historic gems in Lithgow have now been included on the State Heritage Register, with their significance to the history of NSW recognised.

“I encourage people to come to Lithgow to visit the Eskbank Museum and learn about these unique pieces of our past,” Mr Toole said.