An iconic Camden historic site at the top of John Street has been given a new life through adaptive reuse as an entertainment venue.
Adaptive reuse includes
Adaptation may involve additions to the place, the introduction of new services, or a new use, or changes to safeguard the place. (Burra Charter)
Dr Crookston House 75 John St Camden 1909 Dr Basil Foulds who was a motoring enthusiast (Camden Images)
New owners Shane and Rhiannon Smith have brought new life to the house and garden and turned the site into an accommodation, entertainment and wedding venue and renamed it Dr Crookston’s Estate.
Owners
The historic site has a two-storey Victorian townhouse built in 1881 by the Macarthur family. Known initially as Onslow House, it was occupied by a series of local doctors and, between 1905 and 1906, by FA Macarthur Onslow. From 1913 to 1981, it was the home and surgery of local doctor Robert Crookston and his wife Zoe and is locally known as Dr Crookstons House. Crookston was a local identity and mixed with Sydney ‘A’ listers and creatives who sometimes visited the house, including Hugh McCrae, Arthur Murch, Norman Lindsay, William Dobell, and Russell Drysdale.
This image of Dr Crookston’s house and garden is an important heritage asset in the Camden township area. Currently owned by Shane and Rhiannon Smith, it is used for accommodation and the grounds for entertainment functions on the old tennis court. (I Willis 2024)
Hidden in plain sight
Currently, entertainment takes place on the former tennis court, hidden behind hedges that restricted the view of the house and grounds for decades.
The house and garden have been hidden in plain sight under the romantic spire of St John’s Church. Local folk are emotionally attached to the site even if they have never visited it. This is the essence of a sense of place and is central to Camden’s community identity.
Locals and visitors alike can now walk around the grounds of this iconic home and take in the history oozing from every crevice.
Entrepreneurs
The new owners, Shane and Rhiannon Smith, are entrepreneurs who are genuinely interested in the site’s history. They have applied their creativity, patience, and imagination to a heritage site and developed an activity compatible with its historic character and significance.
The Smiths have found that managing this heritage site has presented a variety of challenges, and they have met them head-on. They have created activities, including Soirees by Staytime, that are now part of Camden’s tourism.
Heritage tourism is about the experience, and Soirees by Staytime captures that sentiment. It is a local business venture that leverages the history of the Camden story and takes advantage of its history.
Visitors can imagine a Crookston family tennis match as they sip wine and listen to Hunter Valley sommeliers. They can nibble on their grazing platters and watch an aerial and cirque performance from Avion Aerial Entertainment. Illusionist and magician Benny Manns can beguile them, and later, they can chill out with the soothing keyboard tones of local musician Lauren Azar.
Soirees by Staytime is a commercial venture that is an eclectic mix of entertainment in a historical environment.
Economic growth
Tourism and museum consultant Chris White maintains that heritage is the activation of history that brings a sense of pride and identity to a location and contributes to the local economy. (White 2023)
Heritage tourism involves visiting a place to learn and appreciate an area’s culture, history, and environment, and at Dr Crookstons Estate, visitors can immerse themselves in the past.
Destination NSW states cultural and heritage tourism is the fourth most important factor in the domestic tourism market.
Heritage and cultural tourism has been around since the Ancient Egyptians. It is integral to the Camden, New South Wales and Australian economy. In 2023-24, tourism contributed 2.9% of Australia’s GDP, with an annual increase of over 9%. (Tourism Research Australia 2023)
Take out
Heritage assets cannot be left unused as they deteriorate and eventually decay over time.
Heritage sites need expensive maintenance, which can be demanding for owners of historic properties and need a strong income stream to ensure their survival.
Shane and Rhiannon Smith have used their creativity and imagination to work with the heritage of this important site in the Camden town centre.
Other local businesses could follow Staytime and the example set by its owners and leverage Camden’s heritage and history for other entrepreneurial ventures.
Telling the Camden story is a form of marketing invigorated by a group of local businesses called the Spirit of Camden.
These ventures will help preserve the town’s heritage fabric and revitalise the local economy through the adaptive reuse of heritage assets.
References
Chris White 2023, Museums and Heritage Tourism, Theory, Practice and People. London, Routledge.
