VILLA WEBBER LANDWORKS Sardinia presents
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LANDWORKS Sardinia presents
VILLA WEBBER
RMIT
PARCO NAZIONALE
rEGioNE
dell’
UNIVERSITA’ MMLU@AA ARCIPELAGO DI LA MADDALENA
Master in Mediterranean COMUNE DI
DEGLI STUDI
LA MADDALENA auToNoMa
www.landworks.eu DI SASSARI Lanscape Urbanism
Architecture at Alghero DELLa SarDEGNa UNIVERSITY
M ELBOURN E
“...a man who valued his own honesty, son of the celebrated General Webber, like
Byron’s Harold he loved solitude, loved this island, in his beautiful dwelling he esta-
blished a library of which any town could be proud...”
LW Sardinia 2014 biography
J. P. WEBBER
James Phillips Webber was born in Wales in 1797. His Anglo-Irish father Edward was 1,500 acres on the condition he maintain 15 convicts off the government stores. Within wheat and other crops. He was also a pioneer on the wine industry in the colony. In the colony (Sydney Herald 29 October 1835 p.1). Webber and his alter ego OPQ were fre-
a Lieutenant-General in the British army and his Dutch-American mother Charlotte months he amended his request to 2,000 acres and undertook to support 20 convicts. 1833 Webber purchased 1,380 acres of land in the upper Hunter between present day quently criticised and sometimes lampooned by the Sydney Gazette and the Australian.
was the daughter of the once immensely wealthy Frederick Philipse III of New York, a Webber initially named his land ‘Markham’ and later reverted to using its Aboriginal Cassilis and Merriwa, and he named this land ‘Munmurra Station’. By mid 1834 Webber had endured enough. James Webber was one of the pioneers of
British loyalist who fled to England at the end of the American war of independence. In name, ‘Tocal’, which means ‘plenty’ or ‘bountiful’. In 1825 he purchased adjoining land In 1833 James Webber became embroiled in a public and bitter conflict with the Go- the wine industry in Australia, and the mounds of his vineyard can still be seen at Tocal.
1821, at the age of 23, James Phillips Webber applied to Lord Bathurst at the Colonial to the west, bringing his Tocal estate to 3,300 acres. In 1830 with support from his first vernor of New South Wales, Richard Bourke. Writing under the pseudonym of ‘OPQ’, In 1834 he sent vine cuttings from Tocal to George Wyndham’s vineyard at Dalwood,
Office in London for a grant of land in New South Wales, declaring he had £3,000 in cousin Lord Strangford who was a high-ranking British diplomat, Webber was granted Webber launched a stinging attack on Bourke’s administration of the convict system which in the 20th century became the well-known Wyndham Estate winery.In August
cash and credit at this disposal to develop his grant. This equates to over $500,000 in a further 2,560 acres of land on the upper Paterson River, which he named ‘Emral’. in the inaugural issue of the New South Wales Magazine in August 1833. Webber was he sold his magnificent Tocal estate to Sydney merchants Caleb and Felix Wilson and
equivalent purchasing power in today’s dollars. Bathurst granted Webber’s request In July 1822 James Webber and William Dun became foundation members of the Agri- later exposed as the feisty and notorious OPQ by the Sydney Gazette and Australian left the colony in late 1835 after selling all his other land holdings including Munmurra
within 24 hours of receiving it, and Webber set sail, arriving in New South Wales on the cultural Society of New South Wales, their names appearing on the first member- newspapers. Station and Emral.
Minstrel on 11 January 1822. He immediately began to arrange for his grant of land. On ship role alongside high-profile colonials such as Piper, Wollstonecraft, Blaxland and Webber fuelled the conflict by leading a colonial petition against Bourke in 1833 and In 1845 James Webber again became a landholder in New South Wales when his brother
21 January 1822 Webber and another new arrival, William Dun, were permitted to travel Oxley. In January 1825, at the age of 27, James Webber was appointed Justice of the when that had little effect he marshalled the support of fellow Hunter Valley settlers John died suddenly of smallpox in London and ownership of John’s 10,270 acre proper-
by government ship to the Newcastle penal settlement. Newcastle was still a closed Peace (Honorary Magistrate) at Patersons Plains, the first to undertake the role the- and magistrates to directly petition the King of England to repeal Bourke’s contro- ty ‘Guygallon’ on the upper Paterson River passed to James. James owned Guygallon
port and shipping movements there were strictly controlled by government. re. His principal duty as magistrate was to preside on the Patersons Plains Bench to versial 1832 Summary Jurisdiction Act which, much to Webber’s disgust, had reduced until his death in 1877 even though, to the best of our knowledge, he never returned to
It was almost certainly on this trip that Webber and Dun selected their land. Evidently hear charges brought against convicts by their masters and overseers and to dispense the power of magistrates to flog convicts and send them to iron gangs. The petition Australia and did not set foot on it while he owned it. Little is known of Webber’s mo-
the two men travelled together to Newcastle and then onwards to inspect land on the summary justice, usually in the form of a flogging, to those found guilty. A scourger became widely known in the colonial newspapers as the Hole-and-Corner Petition be- vements after he left NSW in November 1835 except that he became an international
Paterson River at Patersons Plains. Webber’s land was immediately across the river (flogger) was also appointed to Patersons Plains in 1825 so settlers could now have cause its protagonists, according to their opponents, secretly drew up the document merchant and probably lived on the continent, with a secondary residence in London.
from Dun’s. their convicts sentenced and flogged locally. and crept about like rats in the dark rather than invite public scrutiny of the document. For the first year after his return to London he toured Europe, and his letter written
On 1 March 1822 Dangar was instructed to survey the lower Hunter prior to large scale By 1828 there were 34 convicts assigned to Webber at Tocal and only two free workers, Webber was branded as one of the ‘exclusives’ by those who championed the eman- from Rome in December 1836 is shown at the very bottom of this web page. He arrived
settlement and to accommodate James Webber and William Dun who had already so his estate was developed and operated with a nearly all-convict workforce. Webber cipist cause and sought improved rights for convicts and ex-convicts. Bourke and the back in London in mid 1837 and departed for New York two months later.
picked out their land. Webber occupied his grant from March 1822 and it was set at and his convicts ran sheep and cattle and grew large quantities of tobacco along with emancipists soon became Webber’s nemesis. Webber advises his intention to leave
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LW Sardinia 2014 australia tocal nsw picture by Amanda Moore
Webber at TOCAL
The Tocal area is the traditional land of the Gringai clan of the Wonnarua people, a Myrtle and Marguerita Curtis came to live with Charles at Tocal. CB Alexander updated
group of indigenous people of Australia. Within the area are Aboriginal stone grindings the property with new technology and mechanisation. He paradoxically indulged in the
indicating thousands of years of human activity. In 1822 land of the area was granted purchase of three Rolls Royce vehicles, despite his continual frugality in general. Re-
by the colonial government to James Phillips Webber. Approximately 150 convict men alising his family line was at its end, he looked toward leaving the entire estate toward
and boys were living and working at Tocal between 1822 and 1840. They cleared the developing numerous agricultural colleges; As his estate still held land at 5 areas in
land, planted crops andbuilt fences - transforming the area into a circumscribed farm. NSW, he suggested numerous colleges - multiple at each area. He died in 1947, leaving
Some of the crops planted included tobacco, hops and grapes; there were also beef a complex will. The will was mostly disregarded as unworkable, but was implemented
and dairy cattle, horses and merino sheep. In 1834, Tocal was sold to Caleb and Felix in spirit by eventually providing for the establishment of the CB Alexander Agricultural
Wilson, father and son. Four years later Caleb died, andin 1841 Felix built a homestead College, Tocal, under the Presbyterian Churh. Work began on the College in 1963 and
on the property which is still standing today. In 1844 Charles Reynolds began to lease it was opened by the Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies in 1965.
the property from the Wilsons. During the period 1844 to 1926 the Reynolds family ran In 1970 the College was run by the NSW Department of Agriculture. The Curtis sisters
the property as a stud, breeding Hereford, Devon and thoroughbred studs - some of continued to live at the homestead until their deaths in 1985, when management of
the best cattle and horses for the time. In 1865 Felix Wilson died and Tocal waswilled Tocal Homestead passed to the CB Alexander Foundation.
by entail to his unborn grandson, David Wilson KC, who wasn’t born until 1879. It was
not until 1907 that Wilson sold Tocal to Charles Reynolds son, Frank. In 1926 Tocal was
sold to Jean Alexander, who lived there with her sister Isabella and brothers Robert
and Charles Boyd Alexander. Alexander’s family had been blacksmiths and farmers at
Nhill, owning 5000 acresin the area before moving to Tocal. Charles siblings Margaret
and John had married, and hence been estranged from the family. Jean died in 1938
and left the property to Charles, the youngest. The following year Margaret’s daughters
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LW Sardinia 2014 sardinia villa webber picture from www.sardegnaabbandonata.it
VILLA WEBBER
About 1850 James Phillips Webber arrived on the isolated island of La Maddalena off Byron’s Harold he loved solitude, loved this island, in his beautiful dwelling he establi-
the north coast of Sardinia and over the next few years began to purchase land there. shed a library of which any town could be proud...”. Today two street names, Via Villa
About this time he adopted an Italian son, Luigi Russo, who became Luigi Russo Web- Webberin Sardinia and Webber’s Creek Road in New South Wales, link the townships
ber. In 1855 James Webber constructed a magnificent villa on La Maddalena, and Villa of La Maddalena and Paterson in the memory of James Phillips Webber.
Webber gained the reputation as one of the finest in Sardinia. The villa was constructed
like a fortress, surrounded by three sets of massive stone walls, some of which are
seven meters high. The walls formed courtyards containing extensive gardens, and the
villa was surrounded by a vast pine forest planted by Webber at about the same time
the villa was built.
Webber was an acqaintance and neighbour of Giuseppe Garibaldi who lived on the
nearby island of Caprera and later became an Italian national hero. James Webber
served as British Vice-Consul for northern Sardinia from November 1857 to Septem-
ber 1858 and controversy dogged him there just as it had hounded him in Australia. He
argued bitterly with the British
Consul for Sardinia over Webber’s handling of support for a British ship’s captain who
had been imprisoned because of a customs incident. Webber resigned his post in pro-
test against the Consul’s criticisms. James Phillips Webber died in Pisa, Italy, in 1877
at the age of 80. In 1896 the Municipal Council of La Maddalena decided to name a stre-
et Via Villa Webber in memory of James Webber. The Council minutes describe him
as “...a man who valued his own honesty, son of the celebrated General Webber, like
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LW Sardinia 2014 Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena VILLA WEBBER
SARDINIA
Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena
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8 PALAU
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LW Sardinia 2014 Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena VILLA WEBBER
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LW Sardinia 2014 Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena VILLA WEBBER picture from www.sardegnaabbandonata.it
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LW Sardinia 2014 Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena VILLA WEBBER picture by Francesco Frascaro
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LW Sardinia 2014 Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena VILLA WEBBER picture by Francesco Frascaro
16 17LW Sardinia 2014 Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena VILLA WEBBER picture from www.sardegnaabbandonata.it
Realizing Landscape Installation
Based on our successful experience of LW Sardinia 2013,
the LANDWORKS no profit Cultural Association in collaboration with
the Villa Webber Property,
the Comune di La Maddalena,
the Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena,
the Assessorato all’Ambiente della Regione Sardegna
and other partners,
will realize a number of on-site projects to underline the significance of
the landscape, the natural and cultural heritage of Villa Webber with its
100 ha of Park inside of La Maddalena Island.
It will open new perspectives and opportunities for future development.
LANDWORKS Sardinia presents Together with local actors under the guidance
VILLA WEBBER of internationally renown guests the workshop participants will build
temporary and permanent installations.
May / June 2014 follow us
La Maddalena, Sardinia www.landworks.eu
RMIT
PARCO NAZIONALE
REGIONE
dell’
UNIVERSITA’ MMLU@AA ARCIPELAGO DI LA MADDALENA
Master in Mediterranean COMUNE DI
DEGLI STUDI
LA MADDALENA AUTONOMA
www.landworks.eu DI SASSARI Lanscape Urbanism
Architecture at Alghero DELLA SARDEGNA UNIVERSITY
MELBOURNE
18www.landwork.eu CONTACTS Scientific Director Prof. Stefan Tischer Tel. +39 332 90045877 Email: stefan.tischer@gmail.com President of LandWorks Cultural Association + Scientific Coordination Annacaterina Piras Tel. +39 347 8054065 Email: apiras.landworks@gmail.com Vice President of LandWorks Cultural Association + Logystic Coordination Paola Serrittu Tel. +39 340 1400626 Email: paolaserrittu@gmail.com For more information please contact: apiras.landworks@gmail.com
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