Floating among the gumtrees

An architectural masterpiece in the Macdonald Valley

Scroll down for more

The best houses belong in their surroundings. Design and site are as one – one doesn’t impose on, or dominate, the other. Everything makes complete sense. And so it is with the incredible house – some have described it as an eyrie – that Halifax Hayes designed for Eva Clarke in 1978.

Comfort, beauty and absolute privacy

Australian architecture at its very best is renowned for capturing the very essence of ‘place’.
Halifax is a place literally embedded in 'place'. It is the ultimate bushland retreat.

House

Halifax's design was influenced by The Sydney School, nicknamed the Nuts and Berries style, an architectural style popularised by a group of architects in Australia who reacted against international Modernism. It was designed and build by Halifax Hayes (the builder of Margaret Olley's Sydney studio) in 1978. The property also comprises of the original homestead (now known as The Woodshed).

Land

Halifax is on Darkinjung land. The Halifax estate consists of 67 acres of pristine bushland. The steep hills and rocky outcrops mean that the flora is extremely diverse, with grass trees (Xanthorrhoea) and flannel flowers (Actinotus helianthi) on some dry north-eastern facing slopes and ferns covering the lush, more shaded, gullies.

The Valley

Shortly after the First Fleet arrived at Port Jackson in January 1788 Governor Arthur Phillip explored the northern coastline and discovered Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury River. In July 1790, the Governor returned to Broken Bay and was rowed up the Hawkesbury River for some distance. Sighting the Macdonald River he named it 'First Branch'.

Starring role

Halifax featured on the poster for the St Albans Writers' Festival in 2017. It was recreated in miniature for this diorama by Jonathan Nolan.