Tarella Cottage
Tarella was built in 1890 by John McLaughlin, a Sydney solicitor, on a 50 acre grant of land awarded to him for his service in the Volunteer Reserve. The house continued to be owned by the McLaughlin family until the estate was left to the Blue Mountains Historical Society on the death of the last member of the family, Beryl McLaughlin, the Society's benefactor. The cottage stands in its original state, and is set up in the period of the early 1900's. . The grant is on Cox's Road at the site of 'Hobby's Reach', the stretch of road constructed by LT. Hobby in Cox's absence. In C.1886 John McLaughlin built Tarella as a holiday home for his family, and it was in the family's ownership until 1988 when the last remaining daughter Beryl (there being no issue) bequeathed the cottage, the contents and the remaining three acres to the Blue Mountains Historical Society. A separate building, the Research Centre, holds relevant archives of the Blue Mountains.
Collections
arella holds some McLaughlin furniture, silver, china, clothing and memorabilia plus much more added to the collection, enabling us to set up rooms in the cottage of the early 1900's. The Research centre holds an historic photo collection of the Blue Mountains. It also holds Birth, Death and Marriage documents of NSW, over 3000 photos, maps, books, articles and much information of residences and families.