Everglades Historic House and Gardens, Leura

At the moment, travelling anywhere seems very elusive.  However, it sees like a good time to finish off my posts on my travels around regional New South Wales in November last year so that I can remember and enjoy. 

While in the Blue Mountains, I visited Everglades Historic House and Gardens in Leura.  It is one of the stops on the Hop On Hop Off Bus, so it is easily accessible. Just like the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum, Everglades is a National Trust of Australia property.

The Everglades is a 1930s house, surrounded by 5.2 hectares of gardens.  The current house and gardens were established by Henri van de Velde, a Belgian merchant and felt manufacturer, who engaged Danish landscape designer, Paul Sorensen, to design the gardens.

The gardens are still very beautiful, with views over the Jamieson Valley,  although the main house has not been maintained so well.  Its former grandeur is primarily evident in its sweeping main staircase.

One of the most striking features of the gardens is the sandstone arch with fountain:    

The arch came from the former London Chartered Bank of Australia in George Street, Sydney, which building was demolished for van de Velde's own Feltex House.  It forms the backdrop to a garden theatre.  The gardens surrounding the house are comprised of various terraces, which you can read more about here.

The magnificent views of the Jamieson Valley from Everglades are evident in this photo: 

This is the sweeping art deco style staircase in the main house:

For me, it was the most interesting feature of the house.  Much of the original furniture has gone, and there is not much to see inside the house apart from a few odds and ends of historical interest, and the ugliest bath I have ever seen.

Walking trails snake through the expansive gardens, which are divided into segments devoted to particular types of plants.  If you have the time, you can walk from the gardens to Gordon Falls, but as I arrived in the late afternoon, I was not able to do so or I would have missed the last bus back to Katoomba.  

Here is a view of one of the various terraces surrounding the house:

This is a close up of the beautiful rhododendrum blossoms growing in the gardens at the back of the house:

The wilder bush gardens at the back of the house are peppered with wooden animal carvings cut into tree stumps, like these koalas:

and these eagles:

There is a tranquil pond at the back of the house:

There are paths throughout the gardens for easy walking: 

To my delight, there were waratahs (the floral emblem of New South Wales) in full bloom on one side of the house:

There is also a workman's cottage nearby: 

Here's another waratah (because I can't get enough of them and had never seen one in reality before):

There were some fetching crimson parrots feeding near the waratahs.  I couldn't get a good shot of them lest I get too close and scare them away, but you can just see one foraging in the bark here: 

These are the gardens in another of the terraces:

These beautiful wild violets peek out from the side of a wall:

If you get there early enough, there is also a tea room, but it was shut by the time I arrived.

Wandering the gardens of Everglades is a lovely way to spend a relaxed afternoon (or to do a quick sprint in a couple of hours, like me).  

Everglades House & Gardens

37-49 Everglades Avenue

Leura NSW 2780