The beginning

The name Narellan is used for the village, the district and the parish, and was probably derived from William Hovell’s 1816 grant of 700 acres (283 hectares) called Narralling. Most of the parish of Narellan was granted to settlers by Governor Macquarie between 1810 and 1818. 

In 1827, Robert Hoddle and John Oxley surveyed the site of the village, which was laid out in a rectilinear plan, and marked the locations of a church, school, and courthouse.

Narellan was one of four villages that predate the foundation of Camden in 1840 in the Cowpastures. The others were Cawdor, Cobbitty and Elderslie.

Narellan’s built heritage items

Former St Thomas Church Hall and schoolhouse

1A Wilson Crescent

Built in 1839 as a church by Thomas Hassall, it served on weekdays as a schoolroom. The 1839 building was a simple rectangle when it was built. It then had several additions, including the end bay with two Gothic windows, the rendering of the walls to simulate stonework, a brick skillion wing to the west, and an eastern verandah with closed-end storerooms. (Lyons 2010)

Former St Thomas Church

1A Wilson Crescent

Not long after the School Church was built, the Parish of Narellan wanted to build a new church to house the growing population. The
first subscriptions for the new church were taken at a parish council meeting on the 22nd April 1856, with most of the sizeable donations coming from the “Cobbitty Squires” Charles Cowper and John Oxley. Total promisaries from the meeting totalled £117.6.0 and a building committee was formed. Built in 1884 to a design by colonial architect Edmund Blacket (1879) (Lyons 2010)

Former Camden Country Milk Depot

259 Camden Valley Way

Built in the 1920s and owned by Mr Coleman. It was closed in 1931 when stricter health regulations around milk were introduced in NSW.

Former Tildsley butcher shop

269 Camden Valley Way

Built in 1937 and operated until the early 2000s. The site has operated as Cake Biz since 2003.

Narellan Hotel

279-283 Camden Valley Way

Opening in 1847 as the Queen’s Arms, the Narellan Hotel (279-283 Camden Valley Way) is a historic Macarthur region landmark. Originally a small inn, it was substantially rebuilt in 1937 and renamed Byrnes Hotel before undergoing renovations in 2003. (Willis 2008)

Throughout its history, the hotel has served as a central hub for the local community. During World War II, it was a primary off-duty retreat for soldiers stationed at the Narellan Army Camp and the Eastern Command Training School at Studley Park. (Watering Hole Hotels 2026.)

Ben Linden

311 Camden Valley Way

Built in 1919 by George Blackmore as a residence for Anne Stuckey. Later, a maternity hospital and, in the 1960s, a convalescent hospital. Ben Linden is an outstanding example of an Edwardian cottage in the local area. Camden has quite a few Edwardian cottages in the town area, on surrounding farms and in local district villages. They are typical of the early twentieth-century landscape in the local district. The housing style was evidence of the newfound confidence in the birth of a new nation that borrowed overseas trends and adapted them to suit local conditions. These houses were a statement of individualism and national character. (Willis 2016)

Former Burton Arms Inn

332 Camden Valley Way

Built in c1830, the site has operated as a hotel, general store, auto electrical workshop, and, most recently, a real estate office. Built in c1830, the site has operated as a hotel, general store, auto electrical workshop, and, most recently, a real estate office. The main building is a two-storey Georgian structure of stuccoed brick with a pitched roof. The original front verandah has been removed. Some internal detail remains. Timber slab stables building with a loft above is at the rear. The main building has a corrugated metal gabled roof with brick chimneys. The building has double-hung timber windows and timber doors, with highlighted timber windows above the door and on the front facade. The verandah has a skillion roof with timber support posts.(State Heritage Inventory 2026)

Narellan Public School

Cnr Coghill Street & Camden Valley Way

Built in 1877 as a schoolhouse and residence. The school opened in 1875 after St Thomas Anglican school closed in 1874. The school site has historically important buildings comprising a small-sized late 19th-century former residence and schoolroom, constructed of brick and set back from Camden Valley Way by a generous, tree-lined open space. The school is located directly adjacent to the former St Thomas’ Church and School at Narellan, together forming an important long-term institutional precinct in Narellan town centre. (Willis 2015)

Narellan Cemetery

Richardson Road

Surveyed as a cemetery in 1827 by Robert Hoddle, with the first burials in the 1840s. Cemetery in use adjacent to historic St Thomas’s Anglican church since the 1830s. In 2008, there was a local uproar when the land was sold to the Lebanese Muslim Association to provide burial sites for the growing Muslim population. Known as An-Nur Islamic Cemetery and Burial Ground (St Thomas’s Cemetery Narellan 2021)

Struggletown

Stewart Street, Narellan.

The Struggletown Heritage Conservation Area consists of remnants of original cottages along Sharman Close (Figure 2-6). This street is prominently located at the junction of Camden Valley Way and The Northern Road. It contains early examples of housing and is one of the last remaining intact groups within Narellan. (Camden Council 2026)

Sharman’s Slab Cottage

Stewart Street

Yamba

81 Camden Valley Way

Yamba is an Edwardian timber cottage built in the early 20^th century. Historic Yamba cottage fronts Camden Valley Way (formerly the Hume Highway) and has been contested as a site of significant local heritage. The building, a Federation-style weatherboard cottage, became a touchstone and cause celebre around the preservation and conservation of local domestic architecture. (Willis 2013, 2016)

Studley Park

52 Lodges Road

Built in 1888-1889 as the last gentleman’s ‘country estate’ in the local area by Sydney businessman William Charles Payne. Designed by Sydney architects AL & G McCredie. Served as Camden Classical and Commercial School (1901-1919), country retreat for Twentieth Century Fox executive AA Gregory (1933-1939), Eastern Command Training School (Army) (1940-1945), Citizen Military Forces (Army Reserve) (1948-1951), Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (1951), Camden Golf Club (1951-present) (State Heritage Inventory 2026)

References

Camden Council 2026. Struggletown Heritage Conservation Area, Narellan. Environmental Heritage, Camden Council, Oran Park. Online at https://dcp.camden.nsw.gov.au/general-land-use-controls/environmental-heritage/struggletown-heritage-conservation-area-narellan/ Accessed 27/6/26

Lyons, Kylie and Peter 2010. Heritage walking tour of Narellan  Pamphlet, The Old St Thomas Chapel, Narellan. Online https://www.camden.nsw.gov.au/assets/pdfs/Planning/Heritage-Conservation/Narellan-Walking-Tour.pdf Accessed 27/6/26

State Heritage Inventory 2026. Burton Arms Inn. NSW Government, Sydney. Online at https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=1280080 Accessed 27/6/26

State Heritage Inventory 2026. Studley Park. NSW Government, Sydney. Online at https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=5045438 Accessed 27/8/26

St Thomas’s Cemetery Narellan 2021. Dictionary of Sydney/State Library of NSW. Online https://dictionaryofsydney.org/place/st_thomass_cemetery_narellan Accessed 27/6/26

Willis, Ian 2008. Narellan, Dictionary of Sydney, Dictionary of Sydney/State Library of NSW (2021) Online at https://dictionaryofsydney.org/index.php/entry/narellan Accessed 27/6/26

Willis, Ian 2013. Kirkham. Dictionary of Sydney/State Library of NSW (2021) Online at https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/kirkham. Accessed 27/6/26

Willis, Ian 2015. Narellan Public School a local heritage icon. Camden History Notes. Online https://camdenhistorynotes.blogspot.com/2015/11/narellan-public-school-local-heritage.html Accessed 27/6/26

Willis, Ian 2016. Ben Linden Narellan An Edwardian Gem. Camden History Notes, Camden. Online at https://camdenhistorynotes.com/2016/07/31/ben-linden-narellan-an-edwardian-gem/ Accessed 27/6/26

Watering Hole Hotels 2026. Our Venues, Narellan Hotel. Watering Hole Hotels, Double Bay. Online at https://www.whhotels.com.au/old-home Accessed 27/8/26

Updated 27 June 2026. Posted 17 April 2022 as ‘Narellan’s Built Heritage’