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An 800-acre grant
Thomas Archer arrived in New South Wales in 1812 and was sent to Port Dalrymple in northern Van Diemen’s Land the next year. In 1817 he was granted 800 acres near today’s Longford, the core of Woolmers, and in 1819 work began on the weatherboard part of the house, using timber logged on the property.


Assigned convicts
Over 35 years, more than 700 convicts were assigned to the Archer family. They worked the land and the household, learned trades, and many chose to stay once they were free to leave. Eighteen of the buildings they built still stand at Woolmers.
Six generations
In 1842–43 an Italianate addition, designed by William Archer, was built onto the house. Six generations of the Archer family lived at Woolmers until 1994. Today the estate is cared for by a not-for-profit foundation, and with neighbouring Brickendon it was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2010.
