Mort family photographs

Thomas Mort's family home, Greenoakes, was very important to him. The Mort family photographic collections contain many images of the house and its grounds.

Thomas Mort purchased the land on Darling Point from Thomas Woolley, a Sydney ironmonger, in 1846.  He employed architect F. J. Hilly to transform the original cottage on the site into a gentleman's residence. After returning from a visit to England in 1859, Mort engaged architect Edmund Blacket to make additions and extensions to the house including a large picture gallery which, along with the gardens, were opened to the public. The gallery was used to display items such as works of art and suits of armour which Mort acquired in England.

In 1849, Mort, a keen horticulturalist, employed landscape designer and nurseryman Michael Guilfoyle to create a celebrated garden that was unsurpassed in Sydney. In 1865, Horticulture Magazine described the grounds of Greenoakes as the ‘leading and model private garden in NSW’.  The garden was even visited by royalty.

‘During the visit of H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh a special journey was made along New South Head Road to visit Mr Mort's garden, and there the party tasted a rare "date plum" grown only by Mr Guilfoyle’
Illustrated Sydney News, 31 December 1853

Also included below are photographs of some of Mort's businesses, including Mort's Dock and Wool Store.