Netherby Homestead

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Fagan Park offers 55 acres of grassland, themed gardens, playgrounds and bushland, all of which can be explored everyday. There's also a series of buildings near the Arcadia Road entrance that are usually shut up; and the surrounding Rural Museum.



It turns out you can actually get inside these spaces at certain times during the month when the Friends of Fagan Park are onsite. The homestead is open on Tuesdays (10.00am to 4.00pm) and the second Sunday of every month (1.30pm to 4.00pm).

Sometimes, the buildings open for special occasions, like Australia Day and Hornsby's Bushland Festival (which is when I visited). You can also organise a self-guided or guided tour at another time by calling Hornsby Council Customer Service on 9847 6853.



The homestead is over a century old, having been built in 1900 by Sam Fagan. It was where the Fagan family lived for multiple generations, including Sam with his wife Emma and their seven kids (four daughters and three sons). Bruce and Ida Fagan, two of Sam's kids, donated the land to the Department of Lands in 1980.



The original furnishings of the house are gone but the Friends of Fagan Park have filled the rooms with items that really give you a sense of how the area's pioneers lived; it's not just a house, but a living space.



As well as the homestead, the Fagan's also built a packing shed and milking complex, which make up the current Rural Museum. Here you'll find, tools, machinery, tractors and more.



Fagan Park itself is open from 7.00am to 6.30pm every day except Christmas Day, and is one of the best picnic spots in the Northern Suburbs. Parking costs $5.00 per vehicle.

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