The original grant of 1000 acres was made by Governor Macquarie to Dr. Robert Townson in 1810. He named his estate after the Roman agricultural scholar Marcus Terentius Varro (116-37 BC) and used the Roman model of ‘trenching’ advocated by Varro to configure his vines over a vast area, the only known example in Australia and still visible today.

 

After his death in 1827, Varro Ville was owned by a number of colonial luminaries including the explorer Captain Charles Sturt who proclaimed Varro Ville the model for water conservation essential for agricultural expansion in Australia. Varro Ville was also owned by the first Postmaster General of NSW James Raymond, and NSW Supreme Court Judge Alfred Cheeke. It was Cheeke who built the current house (aka Varro Ville Homestead) in 1858-1859 within a few yards of the earlier home built by Townson and enlarged by Sturt. 

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The architectural firm of Weaver and Kemp were engaged to design the new house. Like Weaver’s other houses, the form of Varro Ville is a ‘U’ shape with large service wings enclosing a courtyard and underground water tank at the rear. Varro Ville is Weaver’s most substantial single-storey house.

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Further history of the property provided by the current owners available here.