Torryburn is steeped in colonial history and is the setting for the inspiration behind one of Australia’s most evocative poems: ‘My Country’ by Dorothea Mackellar.
Nestled in gently rolling hills near Gresford, in the beautiful Paterson Valley, Torryburn was first settled in 1821 by John McIntyre.
Torryburn has enjoyed a variety of owners including the Mackellar family, who took possession 1898. The family purchased the property as one of the worst droughts in the history of white settlement hit the area. One evening in 1904, after some good rains, Dorothea sat on the homestead’s front verandah writing a letter to a friend in England. Each time she looked up, a green veil thickened across the paddock in front of her. This moment inspired part of her classic My Country (many readers will know this poem as “I Love a Sunburnt Country").
In 1989 Torryburn was purchased by Rob and Jenny Ferguson who carried out extensive renovations as well as improving and extending the formal and informal gardens and parklands. It was during the Ferguson’s tenure that Torryburn became a working thoroughbred stud and they enjoyed much success including their filly ‘Ha Ha’ winning the 2001 Golden Slipper.