| Swifts | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Alternative names | The Swifts |
| General information | |
| Type | Heritage listed house |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Location | 68 Darling Point Road, Darling Point, Municipality of Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°52′10″S 151°14′18″E / 33.8695°S 151.2383°E |
| Groundbreaking | 1873 |
| Completed | 1877 |
| Renovated | from 1997 ongoing |
| Client | Sir Robert Lucas Lucas-Tooth |
| Owner | Dr Shane Moran |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | G. A. Morrell |
| Awards and prizes | Governor Lachlan Macquarie Award (2012)[1] |
| Official name | The Swifts, 68 Darling Point Rd, Darling Point, NSW, Australia |
| Type | Defunct register |
| Designated | 21 October 1980 |
| Reference no. | 2577 |
| Type | Historic |
| Place File No. | 1/12/041/0091 |
| Official name | Swifts |
| Type | State heritage (complex / group) |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 146 |
| Type | Other – Landscape – Cultural |
| Category | Landscape – Cultural |
Swifts (also known as The Swifts) is a heritage-listed late-Victorian castellated Gothic Revival mansion located in the suburb of Darling Point, Sydney. Swifts is a rare survivor of a group of similar grand private residences sited on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour. It is described by the Australian Heritage Council as "perhaps the grandest house remaining in Sydney".[2] Swifts was listed on the Register of the National Estate on 21 October 1980,[3] and the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[4]
The motto Perseverantia Palmam Obtinebit, being Latin for "perseverance gains the prize", is carved into the eastern façade of Swifts and seems to sum up the home as well as the lives of those who have lived in it.
Designed by G. A. Morrell, Swifts was built in stages from around 1873 to 1882 by Sir Robert Lucas Lucas-Tooth, the distinguished Australian brewer.[5] In the 1880s, Sir Robert Lucas-Tooth had the house significantly remodelled in the style and likeness of his family home, Great Swifts Manor in Cranbrook, Kent.[6][7] The house was subsequently purchased by Edmund Resch, also a brewer, and eventually bequeathed by his son Edmund Resch Jr to the Roman Catholic Church upon his death in 1963. In 1997, Swifts was acquired by the Moran family and, in what saved the home from a state of dereliction and possible destruction, underwent total restoration and renovation. Dr Shane Moran is the current owner.[8][9][10][11][12][13]
- ^ "National Architecture Awards 2012: Heritage". Architecture & Design. 2 November 2012. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Swifts (The) – Full LEP listing – Description in Further Comments". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "The Swifts, 68 Darling Point Rd, Darling Point, NSW, Australia (Place ID 2577)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Swifts". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00146. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ADB Toothwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Great Swifts Manor" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "The Official Website of Cranbrook Kent England UK – Near Sissinghurst Castle Gardens – The Weald of Kent – Homepage". www.cranbrook.org. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ Chancellor, Jonathan (2008). "Coe takes the prize with Ritossa Sale' in "Title Deeds"". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Swifts Sydney (2012). "'History', in "Swifts Soirees 2012" – Artistic Director David Rowden – The Grand Ballroom, 68 Darling Point Road, Darling Point – Inaugural Concert series in support of the Opera Foundation Australia". Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ "Swifts, Darling Point – Restoration". Nine. 26 October 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018.
- ^ "A Sneak Peek Inside One of Sydney's Most Famous Houses". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. 21 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Darling Point Mansion Swifts set to be Brought into the New Century". Domain. Fairfax Media. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018.
- ^ "A Sneak Peek Inside One of Sydney's Most Famous Houses – Swifts Mansion". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. 21 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019.
