Have your say on Hawkesbury's unique Slab Barns

28 January 2025

A new study of timber slab barns and outbuildings from the early days of the colony will be on public exhibition at Hawkesbury City Council from 28 January until 9 March 2025.

The slab barns and outbuildings of the Hawkesbury Local Government Area are historically significant as rare surviving evidence of the long-term agricultural development of the region from as early as 1794.

The barns have a consistency in their form and construction that is recognisable as a distinct building type. The survival of so many slab barns dating from the 19^th century, despite the devastating impacts of frequent flooding, is testament to the robustness of these simple, timber structures.

The study, by heritage architects Lucas Stapleton Johnson and Partners, built on earlier studies to identify 112 slab barns across 86 properties.

The study has recommended that 13 barns be nominated for inclusion on the State Heritage Register. The barns are in Cattai, Freemans Reach, Pitt Town, Pitt Town Bottoms, St Albans, Upper Colo, Wilberforce and Windsor.

The study has also recommended that a further 12 barns in Bowen Mountain, Cattai, Freemans Reach, Lower Portland, McGraths Hill, Richmond, St Albans, Upper Macdonald and Wilberforce be listed as local heritage items.

Council’s Your Hawkesbury Your Say provides further details about the draft study, information on what heritage listings mean for property owners and, importantly, what funding is available to the owners of heritage listed properties from both the State Government and Hawkesbury City Council.