161 Princes Highway, Dapto NSW 2530

This is a house of historical significance - shame that it will be getting demolished so so many other historical buildings in the area

In 1906 my great great grandmother married John Reed, Publican, in this house. It was the residence of Reeds' Hotel, Dapto. At the back of the house are the original stables from the hotel. The house is under a heritage protection order. It should not be demolished.

Why do councils think they have the right to destroy history. How do you destroy a house with heritage protection order. This house is family history to alot of people and my family is in that group it hurts to know the house will be gone for ever 😢

This house is off great Dapto history. At the rate governments are stealing the history of families and towns is criminal. This house has a historical preservation order, how can it get demolished?another 20yrs people will be sad with council because you have destroyed so much history.SHAME SHAME SHAME

Please don't demolish this house if it has heritage protection doesn't that mean it cannot be destroyed...it is a historic property

This house is part of Dapto history, it should not be demolished.
John Reed was the Publican of Dapto Hotel, from 1876, he lived in this house for many years. He was well known in the area. Reed Park is named after him

Come on guys have a heart just knowing this is the oldest home in Dapto with so much history surly instead of demolishing Preserve the history of the area it’s the only one that’s left.
Read Louise Roy’s comment above & have a heart it should have been more published with the public not like this very sneaky Council we the rate Payers should have the final say not a pen pusher working for the council.

I think that our heritage should be preserved and this beautiful home restored to its former glory not demolished. Don't let us lose another part of the region's history.

I remember this house from when I was younger , I used to walk pass it on my way to school.very big shame to knock it down

This house needs to be saved from destruction!! It has significant historical history and is heritage protected so why is it not being saved??

What a shame, this house should be preserved as it is a rare building of historic significance in Dapto.

Progress can destroy the hearts of towns and cities. There is nothing attractive nor will it be historical in our children's future just ugly square building. At the very, very least greedy developers and councillors, restore! No foresight! Relocate .. can it be successfully. It is always about the almighty dollar. In Tenterfield a historic house was saved. The council wanted to knock it down. It has been restored. Tourists bring money into a town (once we can all travel again). Australia doesn't need more of these "icons" ... oh how I detest this word. Grow some testicles and make rules to protect our heritage.

This was the home of former convict John Reed, who did many amazing things for the people of Kiama and Dapto. He was a generous man who donated large sums of money to various causes, the Irish Famine Relief Fund, Dr Thomas' Surgical Instruments fund at Albert Memorial Hospital, the Indian Famine Relief Fund, Dapto Agricultural Society, Bulli Relief Fund and he donated the land for Reed Park. John Reed campaigned against the removal of the Council Chambers from Dapto and other council injustices and he would not approve of his home being demolished. John Reed was born in 1825 in Somersetshire. He was transported to Australia in 1841 as a convict. He was described as 5' 3", 18 years old, farm labourer. He could read and write. He had been found guilty of housebreaking. He suffered several lashings in Tasmania and was sentenced to the chain gang in a coal mine due to misdemeanours and escape attempts. One of the accusations in Tasmania was 'having vegetables improperly in his possession'. He was also accused of using indecent language, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, misconduct with cakes in the bakehouse and lighting a fire in a hut because he was freezing. He received his Certificate of Freedom in 1855, married his first wife and travelled to the Illawarra from Hobart. John Reed died in this house in 1914 aged 90. This history must be preserved, even if the house is moved to another location.

The removal of this historical residence will be the destruction of one of the few remaining links with Dapto's past and the many notable characters who laid the foundations for the local community, bringing it from a straggling bush village to a vibrant town, and now a significant suburb. A full account of John Reed's life and contribution to the local commuinty can be found in our recent publication "West Dapto Catholic Cemetery - The Early Families". It would be a pity if the worth of the building was assessed only as that of a humble structure, rather than as a lasting memento of an historical individual and the fledgling community in which both he and his hotel played such important roles.

Heritage can be quickly destroyed, and is impossible to replace. By retaining your heritage such as with this case, you are improving your towns ability to attract tourism and with tourism comes dollars.
Repurposing the building is one answer, as a gallery, tea rooms etc.
Relocating the building should be avoided if at all possible, as this destroys part of its significance.
Please think carefully before making any decision, as you won't get a second chance.
Robert Cooke
B.A. Cultural Heritage Conservation

Once our history is gone, it can never be replaced. Please do not destroy this piece if Dapto history

It is appalling the council has demolished so many historic buildings, especially in Dapto.
Dapto needs to preserve its history, now more then ever.
The over crowding of West Dapto and all it's new construction leaves Dapto with limited historical memories.
To demolish this beautiful house would be a disgrace.

Please don't allow this to be demolished. It has historical value to the Dapto community and should be preserved for future generations. I have lived in the Dapto area for over 30 years and slowly seen the loss of many historical buildings in that time.

This house holds great historical significance to the dapto area. Many of our beloved historical houses have been demolished and this is probably the oldest that we have and maybe the last of its kind. This should have been protected. What will be left of our history once this is gone? I object to the proposal in its entirety. There are other options. At the very least it should be relocated to a safe place. This council over many years have approved the destruction of historical buildings in the region. this must stop!! Once it's gone - it's lost to future generations forever leaving no physical connection to our early days. My family have been settled in the area since the late 1800's. We need these places preserved as our connection to the past! Stop the destruction and do the right thing by the greater community before it's too late!!

Are you all bonkers Wollongong City council???
How can you even think of demolishing this eminent piece of Dapto history!!
John Reed is Dapto royalty.
His house should be preserved to remind us of the huge achievements this once convict made to the Illawarra region.
So much of the Illawarra’s history has been destroyed already for the almighty dollar!

I am against the plan to demolish this Historical house at Dapto. There are few historical houses left in the Wollongong Council area.As this house belonged to an early pioneer and is on the Historical Register it should be maintained.

Please don’t demolish this house. It is of great cultural and historical Significance to the Dapto area being possibly the oldest remaining homes that are still in almost original condition- I understand the stables at the back of the property are also original. The Original owners and residents of the building are also significant to the area and form an important part of the Dapto story. I believe that it would be really irresponsible of the council to disregard these factors and allow this Remaining example of local history be lost.

Horrific that Wollongong council is taking away history. You should be working hard to preserve it, instead of knocking every old beauty down.

Too many buildings of historic significance have already gone from Wollongong and its suburbs. It is time to stop and protect the area’s settler history. This is an important structure. Please please leave us and future generations a glimpse of history

Dear Planning Authority,

Small glimpses into our history is what ties the future to the past.
Towns which destroy their history end up as soulless, concrete intrusions onto the landscape.
It is not just the older generation which mourns the passing of these historical buildings. It will also be mourned by generations to come, when they ask,
rightly, "How was this allowed to happen?"

This should be preserved as a small museum and provide some character and richness to the community. It is of historical and heritage value

Please do not destroy another piece of Dapto’s history. This little house is full of important stories that need to be shared with the rest of the community..not knocked down to be forever forgotten.

So much of Dapto's historic buildings are lost to history - The Central Hotel, Brownsville House, Brownsville Mill, The Regal Theatre, The Dapto Hotel. Many of these lost in our lifetime. Demolished for carparks and deemed not worth saving. Historic farm houses in west Dapto fallen to ruin. Enough is enough!

I am shocked to learn this picturesque original house is scheduled to be demolished. It should not be demolished as it is heritage listed. It was the home of John Reed a local Publican, who did so much for Dapto and the surrounding district. Reed Park is named after John Reed and his good works for this community. It’s the oldest house in Dapto and has a lot of historic significance as it was the residence of Reeds Hotel. It still has the original hotel stables at the back. Why would you demolish this NSW heritage listed building? Please rethink this decision and save this historic house.

I have watched this house be rented and re-rented and recently sold and have always wanted to buy it and preserve its beautiful presence and history. When it was sold this year I thought to myself 'I hope they are going to preserve it...' but sadly this doesnt seem to be the case.
We have thousands of town houses and units and new land developments in Dapto and the Illawarra, what we dont have is alot of our history left. Our colonial buildings. There are so many other blocks of land to build on. Leave this house alone. Heritage list it and leave it alone... please.

PLEASE do not demolish this part of Dapto’s history, I grew up in Dapto and knew the children that lived in the house next door. There was (is) a cellar from the original hotel still located beneath the two properties and this would be destroyed if the house was demolished for redevelopment. Does it not have enough historical significance to leave it standing????

One of the oldest house in Dapto and with a great historical background of early settlers history. Surely it can’t be demolished, this is an important home in an old area and there are too few of them left. It’s of historic and heritage value and would make a great small museum of local history if preserved.

Dapto residents have very few buildings of it's early past. Our past is important in forming our Community’s identity. The stories we tell through these buildings enrich our lives and ground us to the place where we live. Surely there must be a way to preserve this home?

Please ,do not demolish it , if needs be remove it to a secure location, a very nice house with a great history .

When it is gone, it’s gone forever. Places like this are disappearing at alarming rates. Please consider the significance of this building before destroying it.

The well-being significance for a town of the preservation and passing down of history & culture is significant in both social and economic terms far outweighs the benefits of yet another Duplex. We can build duplex properties anywhere but we can’t get this building and it’s significance back once it is gone. Please don’t let us lose yet another historically significant building. We as a society need connection to each other and our past at the best of times, let alone in such a challenging time. If this building is saved it could be promoted for cultural/historical significance, community connection and economic benefit.

The Illawarra has so few historical buildings, why would council approve the demolition of this historic cottage in Dapto. It needs to be preserved not knocked down and as it has connections to the Reid family it has a tangible history that needs preserving.

Allowing dual occupancy has been the first step to demolition of historic houses in many other cases. The owner moves out of the historic house and into the new one and allows it to deteriorate. In this case there are stables at the back that were built in 1875 and belonged to the hotel. There should be NO change to this property.

Even though I live in North Queensland, this historice house at Dapto was the home of my great-grandmother, Susannah Ruth Reed (nee Jenkins) for the last 12 years of her life. From the photos I have seen the house is still in good condition and is a prime example of early Australian house architecture. I would like to think I could visit Dapto one day and see the home of my great grandmother.

Just don’t even think about demolishing or even moving it.. It’s Heritage,,, full stop ..
There’s plenty of dirt elsewhere to build,, my house is heritage also,,, will I be next ??

The house is under a heritage protection order. It should not be demolished.

I don't think this should get demolished. Showing my girls the history of Dapto is important they live looking at this house and stories that gow with it. Its culture for the rest of the generations to come. Be silly to knock it down. break so many hearts and history of it in so many ways. feeling really sad and disappointed about this

This home has such historic significance it’d be a crime to demolish it. Can’t it be saved and relocated if development must go forward? Seem the least that can be done to preserve our local history.

Please don't do anything to this historical home. Restore it and maybe make a museum out of it to show today's kids what life in the 1800's was like. Relocate it if you need to but keep this last piece of history intact.

Properties of historical significance must not be demolished. Forgetting heritage & our past will further lead to a soulless Dapto. If it must be redeveloped ensure that what exists must remain.

Wollongong City Council do something to be truly proud of, you are there to help the community to realize their goals & the community want this heritage homestead preserved. Become an advocate for saving this building & work with us the community, not against us, give the building some TLC instead of the bulldozer, you will feel good knowing you did the right thing-honoring a pioneer of our past & enriching our cultural future for generations to come.

Please leave this little house alone. It’s one of the last historical sites left in Dapto so we should preserve it not knock it down

The character of Dapto is enhanced by the historical houses which remain. It would be a loss of character if all the old houses were demolished. Houses of significance such as this house are diminishing in number with each year. The whole character of Dapto can only be seen if some old houses such as this remain. It is short sighted to let these houses go

We need to preserve this property not destroy it. We have lost so much of our history. We need to take note of how history is preserved in other areas...in Goulburn for an example. What they do to historical buildings in the UK is astounding.
Lets be proud of our heritage and history
Surely if it has a heritage preservation order this means it can't be destroyed.

Please save this beautiful house it's history needs to be kept, our children need to know the history of Dapto, research the history make a museum, it could be a tourist attraction, we no longer have the old post office, look around Dapto we have history just take the time to find it,,

My grandparents migrated to Australia from Scotland and lived in this house from about 1926. Their names were William and Margaret Delade. Their only child Natalie attended St John’s Catholic School, Dapto. Miss Bridget O’Brien and her two brothers owned a large parcel of land on which this building stood. They lived in the large building next door, once Reid’s Hotel and they and farmed the land, I believe it was dairying.
The little building you see today was joined onto the large two-storeyed house and the O’Brien’s rented the 4 roomed part to the Delade family. At some point, the land and the house were bought by Margaret and William. My grandfather was able to demolish the hallway joining the two structures and make the dwelling into a separate home. My sister, brother and I lived there for the first years of my life while my parents were saving to buy land and build a house in the 1950s. We spent all our school holidays with our grandparents and I remember exploring the unoccupied, large old former hotel next door, by now separated by a side fence. The Delades lived at 161 Princes Highway until 1980, a total of 54 years, the property passing to my mother until she sold it around 1995. Over the years it has gradually become more and more neglected and it’s heartbreaking to see it. Even the lovely old garden has disappeared.
Shame on the Council for not appreciating the heritage that has been left, especially in Dapto, where very little of the past remains.

This comment is a correction of my previous one. Firstly, Reid should be Reed and secondly, the owners of the large property were Miss Bridget O’Neil and her two brothers. I would also like to know if there is a requirement for the present owner to maintain the old house.