Harper’s Mansion
Old Hume Highway, Berrima

James Harper was the son of convict parents and came to live in Berrima 1834 soon after the settlement was founded. With him were his wife Mary, who had been transported to serve a 14 year sentence, and his son, James Edward. James bought 100 acres of land and built Harpers Mansion for his family and became the licensee of one of Berrima’s inns, The Surveyor General, built by his father, William.

Mary and James were to have six more children, and Berrima was to become a busy stopping place on the Hume Highway as well as the site of the district Courthouse and Gaol.

A Currency Lad, from Convicts to Leading Citizens Years 3-6 HSIE
Students will learn about the life of James and Mary including how they built their house and how activities such as eating and drinking, keeping warm and entertaining yourself and others differed from today.

Tales of a Colonial Settlement  Years 5-6 HSIE
This includes and builds on the story of James and Mary and their home to set them in the context of the developing Berrima Village between 1830 and 1860.