Margaret Innes’s gardens

In an hour [we] had stopped at the entrance gate, which was overhung by tall bamboos.

Annabella Innes, 1843

With access to botanical cuttings, Margaret Innes, Archibald’s wife, introduced some ‘exotic’ plants to her garden, such as lantana and Mysore thorn. When the estate fell into ruin, many of the plants she introduced, which are now considered weeds, ran riot. In the 1950s and 60s, attempts were made by the local community to clear the invasive plants. When the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service acquired the property in 1984, a weed control program was implemented. Today you can still see the large stands of bamboo that Margaret Innes planted.