King House, Milton

King House, 50 Wason Street, Milton

King House in Milton is an imposing two storey Georgian style Victorian residence. It is also a significant part of Wason Street’s impressive and valuable surviving historic streetscape.

James King (1808-1892), described as a gardener, was transported to NSW in 1830 for stealing two cows. In 1840, he was sent to the Hunter district where he was employed as an overseer of gardens.
Here he met, and in 1847 married, Harriet Bayley. They were to have 11 children, of whom three died at an early age.

By 1852, when their fifth child Ellenor was born, James and Harriet and family had moved to Kiama.
In January 1860, King purchased 103 acres on Burrill Lake at what is now known as Kings Point for £103. The streets of Kings Point are named after some of the male members of the King family.

The youngest of the 11 children, twins Edmond and Edwin (the latter popularly known as Winnie), were born on 28th July, 1865. Edwin married Mary Ann Jones in 1885 and it is believed her father, John Jones, gave them the parcel of land on the south-east corner of Wason and Charles Street, Milton, as a wedding present. He also had a house constructed on it which, in recent years, became known as King House.

Edwin and Mary had three children. The youngest, Lois, inherited the house on the death of her parents, and she sold it to the Warden family who were well-known local public benefactors.

In 1967 it was re-sold for a peppercorn sum to the Wollongong Legacy Club. Four units were erected for Legacy widows on the land. Legacy has allowed King House to be used by other community groups including the Milton-Ulladulla & District Historical Society, Alliance Française, and the Anglican Church. From mid-1994 the building was restored. When it was officially reopened in September 1995, the original King family Bible was returned to King House.