Sue Rosen presented a version of her paper on Macquarie as builder during Scottish Week 2017, to much interest and acclaim.

I am very pleased she has agreed to its inclusion in this edition of the Journal.

Sue brings to this research a rich vein of knowledge drawn from her practice as a professional consulting historian with Sue Rosen Associates.

This is reflected in her approach to constructing her argument, where the sources (rather like the finished buildings) are best viewed, rather than read.

More than any of the other articles in this Journal, the inclusion of illustrations in this article form an important component of the argument itself.

In so doing, Sue presents a most interesting insight into the ambitions and frustrations of government building projects in the early Colony.

Matthew Glozier, Journal of The Sydney Society for Scottish History, Vol. XVII, 2018 on ‘Macquarie the Project Manager’ by Sue Rosen

Thanks Liz, This is amazing, great quality of work.

I’ve passed it on to the clients as well.

Hoping to submit the DA this week.

Thanks so much.

Michael Fitzgerald, Shore Architects May 2024

We got it – our parking space D/A has been approved! And I’m certain this is largely thanks to your excellent Heritage Report.

From our initial discussions and enquiry that you undertook, to the considered and insightful report re-examining the original listing, aligning our property with others close by, and carefully building an argument in favour of our small proposal. 

We are looking forward to planning our new front garden and are very grateful for the work you contributed to the successful D/A.

Many thanks

Leanne and David, May 2024

This is amazing, great quality of work.

I’ve passed it on to the clients as well.

Hoping to submit the DA this week.
Thanks so much.

Michael Fitzgerald, Shore Architects, May 2024

Sue saved our DA. Pure and simple.

We were knocked back on heritage grounds and Sue came to the rescue.

She is sympathetic to heritage but progressive in her thinking.

So nice to have someone help you who GETS IT!!

After her letter to council, all approved.

Highly Recommended.

Andrew Vincent, Beecroft Nov 2021

I am truly grateful to Sue Rosen and Associates for guiding me through and advising on a tricky heritage build in Sydney.

City of Sydney Council were quite demanding and specific about the restoration of a derelict property and Sue and her team helped me navigate their various demands and requirements.

While it was a tricky build, I was supported along the way by Sue and her team AND now have a gorgeous heritage home to enjoy.

Thank you Sue, and team :)

Daniel Crosariol, Pyrmont
Nov 2021

Well, Sue,

What is the word professional researchers use when they slowly realise that they have hit the jackpot? What word describes the sense of excitement that slowly grows as the pages are turned and new information is revealed?

No idea but it is a great feeling. Magnificent work. Thank you very much.

I have often wondered how one knows that future research will produce nothing new and one should stop and turn away from the search. Intuition, instinct; or stubbornness to turn over every stone whilst there are any there ? When you asked last week whether it was worth pursuing the ADB, I did wonder if this was just my eccentric, personal indulgence. I am very glad you persisted. The results are extraordinary.

What I like most is the query from the ADB as to whether FR “was actually distinguished?”. Yes, in the UK, Europe, USA, NZ and Australia, he is very well known. The real problem, looking at your documents, is what he was actually distinguished for. So the ADB was right to ask the question. It is a bit of a mystery.

I am extremely pleased and thank you for taking on this work. Very much appreciated.

Giles de Bertodano

Sue is a total professional. She made the difference for our project.

With her ongoing advice and Heritage Impact Statement she helped present the facts to council in a way that enabled them to justify a favourable decision for our client.

Well done Sue and Co. George Stojanovski, North Western Surveys, Nov 2020

  ... a huge thank you to you for the work you do and also for so generously sharing a report you created in 2006 ... It is pure gold in relation to my family history. The level of detail that it gives on how and who settled in the area from that time provides the context that was missing for my history I can't thank you enough for your generosity in sharing it. I know it is nearly 15 years old now  but I just knew I had to say thank you It is such a gift ...

Warmest Regards,

John Macvean

May 2020

I was impressed with the interviews and in particular the initial efforts to seek, gather and record the oral history. 

Not only have these interviews [with forrestry workers]  allowed the family history to be kept and understood in an unquestionably unique way, but importantly the knowledge of forest management gathered from our dads provided critical insights into a more sustainable forest management system. Our dads were were actively aware of the need to continue this system as a way of caring for and protecting the forest.

That these insights have been recorded for all to hear and see is invaluable for a more holistic discussion on sustainable forest management.

Our family is immeasureably grateful for the recordings. They preserve traditions from our family that are very special to us. That these historical narratives can now be accessed by future and younger members of our family is simply priceless.

Dianne Hill and the Hill Families of Mathoura and Bendigo, 2020

Sue Rosen and Associates were very professional and helpful and kept us appraised through the entire process. The final outcome and product was well presented and fully met our requirements.

Lia Wrightson, Barker, Ryan, Stewart, Nov 2019

We have worked with Sue Rosen Associates on a number of large projects and continue to work with them. Sue and her colleagues are helpful, efficient and produce great histories. Thanks for all your help Sue!

Tory Stenning, Unearthed Archaeology & Heritage, Nov 2019

Sue Rosen and Associates provide high quality professional heritage services and I would recommend using them for any project requiring heritage consultancy. In particular Sue and the team listen to the clients concerns and requests and then work with you to resolve outcomes and issues and don’t simply dictate what must be done.

Darren Mah,Darren Mah Designs, Nov 2019

Thank you so much Sue for the great peer review and background research on this case. Thank you Roy for your expert advice in the witness box, never easy! 

David Ongkili, Co-ordinator Strategic Planning Randwick City Council

Sue Rosen Associates were able to prepare a comprehensive, detailed report within a constrained time frame. The level of detail and information was well received and respected by council and external consultants.

Alex Catania

We engaged Sue Rosen to support DA application for renovation and extension of a heritage house. She was prompt and professional. Sue created a report on the property and provided us with helpful advice regarding detailing. Sue also did research on the house history that was fascinating. It was a pleasure dealing with her. We would highly recommend Sue Rosen as a heritage consultant and would hire her again should the opportunity arise.

Anna Klimova Design director, Studio Urbo

What a handsome book and how well it expresses the core of your thesis and evidence. A model of its kind although lessson such as this are seldom well received

Professor Duncan Waterson, Macquarie University

“… the amazing effort and attention paid to detail to ensure archival material and photographs could be included. I really want to say Thank You to you for giving back to us a Very Special Nursing Service, an organization to be very proud of – and one which had great values – which staff still carry with them … the joy & pleasure you have created in documenting who we are & were was palpable on the night and has given us all a place in time both past & present. This story is warm, intimate, one to be proud of and special. All credit must go to you. Thank you for going “the Extra Mile for us’. GAIL MCKENZIE re: Mary Sparke's work on Going the Extra Mile - A Pictorial History of the Sydney Home Nursing Service,  1900-2000

“We think We Never Had a Hotbed of Crime! is a terrific book altogether … Silvia Hale said it breaks new ground in local history publication – she loves the text, as well as the illustrations and design”  (Publisher, Bert Hingley - HALE & IREMONGER

“The Plaintiff tendered the evidence of Ms Sue Rosen, a professional historian who has conducted extensive research into historical records, principally records of agencies of the Government of New South Wales … the research has been very extensive and the results produced are impressive.” (Para 14)

“I adopt the following passage from Ms Rosen’s report para 14 as my findings: ’The persistent appearance of the road on so many maps and plans, prepared for a variety of purposes suggests the road existed in reality as well as cartographically…’ ” (Para 28)

“In the present case for which the plaintiff contends, which the expressed opinion [of Rosen] would support, appears to me to be undoubtedly correct as the conclusion which I would reach on the material…” (Para 29) JUSTICE JOHN BRYSON, 26 JULY 2003 in Palmisano v. Hawse & 2 ors [2003] NSWSC 566

 When the Hon. Paul Keating launched Australia's Oldest House: Surgeon John Harris and Experiment Farm Cottage at The Mint on Saint Patricks Day he spoke at length on a range of heritage issues and the managemnt of heritage sites. He referred to Australia's Oldest House 'as a very important undertaking' in which a 'powerful ... cogent argument' was made for the case that Experiment Farm Cottage is far more important than currently recognized. 'Sue has done a marvellous job ...' The Hon. Paul Keating, former Prime Minister

Sue Rosen’s environmental history of the Hawkesbury Nepean river basin ...provided an opportunity to catch up on what had happened in the two centuries before I got here... this book ... covers the lot’. Geo Vol.19, No.1 (Jan-Feb 1997)

Losing Ground is ‘... more than a history of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment. This region is the birthplace of European inperialism in the Australaisan Pacific ... Sue Rosen uses an impressive array of sources ... [and] exhibits clear perception and critical evaluation of the wide range of issues involved ... at last a history has been written that can bridge the gap between natural and cultural heritage ...’ [Joan Kent, PHANFARE, JOURNAL OF THE NSW PROFESSIONAL HISTORIANS ASSOCIATION]

Losing Ground tells the story of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment from the time of Aboriginal occupation ... it contains a vast body of information, much drawn from obscure sources, relating to the river and its catchment. The book arose out of a study commissioned by Sydney Water in 1992. One suspects that it was as much a labour of love as a commercial enterprise for Rosen. 

Rosen's book [Losing Ground]is an important contribution to the public discussion about the future of our cities and the environmental management of land. It is highly recomended reading for those who do not wish to be slowly poisoned to death. 

National Trust Quarterly

'Bankstown: a sense of identity' highlights the significance of our identity in the most fascinating and remarkable way. It gives us for the first time, an intimate and personal knowledge of people.

In this extremely well written, well structure and well researched work, [Australia's Oldest House] Sue Rosen draws our attention to  ... whether Experiment Farm Cottage ... was built c.1795 or c. 1835 ... her argument flows logically and smoothly ... Rosen has crafted an exceedingly readable narrative fully rooted in archival evidence ... Rosen demonstrates high professional standards in her analysis of both primary and secondary sources ... The workis well written and edited. It is professionally footnoted and referenced with an extensive bibliography and useful index. TThe book is amply illustrated with a range of images that complement the text    it makes an iimportant contribution to our understanding of the social, economic and political world of early-colonial New south Wales. 

Andrew Piper,  Journal of Australian Colonial History

Phillip Adams on Radio National's Late Night Live enthusiastically endorsed Australia's Oldest House. Listen to the interview at https://suerosenassociates.com/australias-oldest-house/phillip-adams-late-night-live-abc-rn

Phillip Adams, Late Night Live, Radio National

Re: Bankstown: a sense of identity - Bankstown has always been a battler's suburb and that is how the accomplished local historian, Sue Rosen, has presented it in this lively account.

She touches on the geology, prehistory and ecology of bankstown and gives a brief history of the Aboriginal occupiers ... land speculation ion the Irish Town and Banks Town saw the influx of pooer people,  and Ms rosen gives a fascinating account of the problems of schools, churches and roads which this brought...

Sue Rosen's historical effort 'Bankstown: a sense of identity' truly presents Bankstown, warts and all ... from geology to geneaology ... Rosen's research is extensive ... The book is a tru history, well illustrated and impeccabily sourced, intwresting for lay people and academic alike, but above all the story of a community

Bankstown: a sense of identity - an attractively laid and well illustrated local history .. well served with a comprehensive bibliography and index. The author deals with pre-settlement, using the area's geology, together with Aboriginal anthropology ... key factors in bankstown's progress to a city, such as the construction of the airtport in the 1940s, are ably presented ... it was refreashing to read of council matters "warts and all" which speaks volumes for Sue Rosen's professionalism  and the generosity of the commissioning body ... a very readable local histro

PHANFARE, PROFESSIONAL HISTORIANS ASSOCIATION

Sue was brilliant. Very prompt service and her knowledge and experience from a heritage perspective is of a high calibre. I sourced Sue's services in order to have her assess and provide a Heritage Impact Statement ... this was done so efficiently and with great detail. I highly recomend sue Rosen Associates

We live in a c.1916 timber cottage located in a Heritage Conservation Area in Epping NSW. As we were planning alterations and additions we contacted Sue rosen Associates for advice on the process and to prepare a Heritage Impact Statement as required by Parramatta Council's Building Development Application Process. 

We found that sue had a good feel for the heritage character of the house and the conservation area while being sensitive to our needs for a contemporary lifestyle and standard of living.

All documentation was prepared on time and on budget.

We felt that Sue listened and embraced the project with genuine interest. I recomend Sue Rosen Associates without hesitation.

Sue Rosen was engaged to write a history of an historic property in [country]  NSW. She did a thorough job with great attention to detail and used imagination in seeking out the history. She did an excellent job of research ...

ALLEN ROBINSON on RETFORD PARK HISTORY FOR JAMES FAIRFAX

As an architect involved in heritage residential projects, i have used the services of Sue Rosen Associates over a period of about 15 years. I have found Sue to be extremely professional in the way she approaches both the heritage advice provided and the preparation of Heritage Impact Statements and Conservation Management Plans. She is not just professional however, as she takes a genuine interest in the issues which arise in the architecture of these projects. She is prepared to discuss design direction and has a good understanding of the importance of the viability of many heritage projects.

MARTIN PICKRELL OF MARTIN PICKRELL DESIGN

... Australia's oldest house. It's an issue that has smouldered for decades but a new book by historian Sue Rosen has fanned the normally sleepy world of architectural heritage into something almost resembling flames . Even if she's wrong, Rosen has upset the applecart. And there's this: she may not be wrong ... Rosen ... has undertaken [in Australia's Oldest House ]exhaustive analysis that seems generally to point back to the 1790s construction date ... 

Elizabeth Farrelly,  Spectrum, Sydney Morning Herald

... Government House, Parramatta 1788-2000, a lavish new history of the sprawling estate set up by NSW first Governor ... written by Sue Rosen, it was the last production of noted publisher Caroline Fairfax Simpson before she died in January ... the Governor of NSW, Professor Marie Bashir, launches the 150,000 (sic) word tome at Government House, Macquarie Street, on Monday.

The first of Rosen's forensically researched exposes' is about the hidden brewery ... It was she says Australia's first brewery, built by Governor King in 1803 to subvert the then flourishing trade in spirits.

Rosen says her publisher was passionate about delving into the country's founders. Were they a bunch of incompetents as everyone believed? A gang of no hopers lurching from bodged exercise to another? Rosen has evidence that proves that, far from being sloppy, the founders behaved like modern professional land developers.

"They were well organised and their project management skills were excellent".

... And so the idea of her book crystalised: a blueprint of Australia's most important historic house, aimed to ... stir up debate and campaign for upgraded management. Daphne Guinness Sydney Morning Herald

Sue was brilliant. Very prompt service and her knowledge and experience from a heritage perspective is of a high calibre. I sourced Sues services in order to have her assess and provide a Heritage Impact Statement for my property. This was done so efficiently but with great detail. I highly recommended Sue Rosen Associates.

Dragan

Margaret Barry Memorial Lecture 2006, delivered by Sue Rosen

Sue Rosens’s Margaret Barry lecture of August 17th 2006 was reviewed by Geraldine O’Brien in the South Sydney Herald.

REDWatch, an inner city residents and community organisation, which summarised O’Brien’s review called Sue’s interviews of South Sydney residents, on which the her book We Never Had a Hotbed of Crime and the lecture were based, an ‘invaluable and irreplaceable archive’.

O’Brien and REDWatch felt that Sue’s lecture expressed some of the most important concerns of the South Sydney residents; their own views of their community and place, which are often dissonant with the views of outsiders; and the continuity of community across the decades, and through the different fads and phases of city planning.

(REDWatch, September 12 2006, www.redwatch.org.au/author/REDWatch

Geraldine O'Brien, South Sydney Herald

Pre 1948 Concrete Slab and Arch Bridge Heritage Study for the RTA

Vince Tarranto, the Roads and Traffic Authority Project Manager for this study, jointly undertaken by Burns and Roe Worley (BRW) and HAAH, said:

"The finished product is a credit to your collective professionalism, diligence and expertise. You have produced a resource of great usefulness within the Authority, both for the practitioner and interested layman alike." 

Government House Parramatta, 1788-2000

Sue Rosen's theory that the dairy cottage in Parramatta park was formerly a malt kiln constructed under Governor King's administration in 1803-04 and then converted to a house for the Overseer of Government Gardens in 1813 has recently been substantiated.

...

The research for the book provided Rosen with the opportunity for a detailed examination of the records of the public works department at Parramatta and provided insights into the management of the colony, of convict labour and the administration of the earlt economy. the allocation of materials and mechanics (skilled workers) to building projects, particularly Macquarie's administration revealed a sophisticated works system based on a rational resource allocation.

...

The book contains new images, new theories and insights, not only into the life of the governors at the house, but it reveals a sophisticated system of public infrastructure development and management that may surprise many with an interest in the governance of early new South Wales. The overall result is a fresh interpretation of many crucial phases of the history of the House and Park. And all of it is poinned, as never before, on painstaking and detailed research. [Nicole Secomb, President, Professional Historians Association NSW in 'Parramatta Park - its Malt Kiln, Dairy and Governor's Residence', History Magazine of the Royal Australian Historical Society, September, 2003.]

Heritage Assessment of Tea Gardens Hotel, Bondi Junction

Extract from the Waverley Council Meeting Minutes 24/11/98:

"As part of the submission to Council for the refurbishment, the applicant has submitted a detailed assessment of the site prepared by Rosemary Kerr and Sue Rosen of Sue Rosen and Associates (sic), together with David Sheady Pty Limited (sic), Architects and Conservation Consultants.

This report is detailed and makes interesting reading as to the history of the site.

The restoration of the building is to be carried out strictly in accordance with the Heritage Assessment dated August 1998, and prepared by Rosemary Kerr and Sue Rosen of Sue Rosen and Associates and David Sheady Pty Limited, Architects and Conservation Consultants.” Waverley Council

Bankstown - A Sense of Identity

Phyllis Johnson [Bankstown A Sense of Identity] "... gives us, for the first time, an intimate and personal knowledge of people long before anyone else came to live in Australia ... The book has become the history of the Bankstown people .. It is a book about us.’ Menai-Revesby Express 14 January 1997.

John Collins ... ‘The book is a true history, well illustrated and impeccably sourced, interesting for lay people and academics alike, but above all the story of a community". Bankstown-Canterbury Torch, 17 July 1996.

Warwick Spencer ... ‘Bankstown has always been a battler’s suburb and that is how the accomplished local historian, Sue Rosen, has presented it in this lively account.’ The Catholic Weekly 22 September 1996.Bankstown-Canterbury Torch

Garrawarra Centre for Aged Care History Booklet

"Thank you once again for your work on this project. We are delighted with the finished work and feel sure you will feel likewise."

Chris Toupein, Southern Sydney Area Health Service

Mary Sparke, Going the Extra Mile - A History of the Sydney Home Nursing Service, Northern Sydney Area Health Service.


‘Sue Rosen and Associates took on the project with a great deal of commitment, professionalism and integrity. But it is to Mary Sparke, the author, that the project owes most. Mary’s research regarding the early days of the Service and her interviews of staff were comprehensive, thorough and rigorous. She followed leads that others would have ignored and unearthed documents thought unfindable. Her writing conveys simply and with great warmth the story of nursing in the community throughout the 20th century in a large and socially diverse city such as Sydney.’ Dr Peter Short of the Northern Sydney Home Nursing Service, project co-ordinator for Going the Extra Mile - A History of the Sydney Home Nursing Service, Northern Sydney Area Health Service.


"… the amazing effort and attention paid to detail to ensure archival material and photographs could be included. I really want to say Thank You to you for giving back to us a Very Special Nursing Service, an organization to be very proud of – and one which had great values – which staff still carry with them … the joy & pleasure you have created in documenting who we are & were was palpable on the night and has given us all a place in time both past & present. This story is warm, intimate, one to be proud of and special. All credit must go to you. Thank you for going "the Extra Mile for us’. Gail McKenzie, Newport, November 2000Northern Sydney Home Nursing Service

“Beecroft Children’s Library – Giving the Gift of Reading, 1942 – 1998 By Emma Dortins  has made an outstanding contribution to the education and promotion of heritage in the Shire, providing an invaluable history of an important community service and insight into the history of the local community.” Mayor Berman, Hornsby Shire Council

Beecroft Children's Library - Giving the Gift of Reading, 1942-1998 - Emma Dortins

“…Emma spent time understanding our local viewpoint and she was able to provide a balanced and independent perspective, which has made the book far more readable for the general public. She helped us to express our stories and showcase the significance of the library…”

Suzanne Kelly, Project Co-ordinator, 2005.

This environmental history of one of Australia's most important rivers may present the storyof our forefathers in a truthful but not always pleasant light - we can only hope that more of our history is rewritten in such a readable and accessible way to directly reflect our environmental concerns...

Felicity Rendle, Trees and Natural Resources, Vol. 37, No.4 December 1995, p.21.

The Trust is pleased to have assisted in the publication of Sue Rosen's book Losing Ground; an environmental history of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment ... the book is the first to comprehensively examine the history of changes to the hawkesbury-nepean river system's environment and seeks to explain how the present problems faced by the catchment and it's people have come about. It is important for everyone concerned with the area to become famiiar with the historical context of the current issues as it is then possible to move dorward in a more meaningful way.

Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Trust

'...environmental history will be used by the State government to prevent further abuse of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River'. Kim Yeadon applauded the work of author Sue Rosen at the launch of  Losing Ground, 'Sue presents the  the environmental history of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River, warts and all and i'm all for that type of presentation of history. The time for shading things over is past if we are to heal the river and solve environmental problems'. 

The Hon. Kim Yeadon, NSW Minister for Land and Water Conservation

Sue Rosen's environmental history of the catchment is compelling ... this book [Losing Ground] will certainly be influential in making everyone aware of our mistreatment of what should be a marvellous and world recognised example of enlightened action. [Greening Australia]

Referring to Losing Ground: ... Sue Rosen has turned a formal report into a fascinating environmental history...

Eric Rolls, The Sun Herald

Losing Ground: An Environmental History of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment is 'A different kind of history - a study of the impact of European land use on a primary water source and sink for Sydney, encompassing the largest concentration of people in the country, and with strong historical links. An account from which we can learn, reshape ideas and enact new policies.' 

THE AUSTRALIAN, 1 November 1995.