About The Elizabeth

“The Elizabeth” is named for the adjacent small bay which in turn was named after Elizabeth Macarthur, the efficient wife of John Macarthur, the soldier, great landowner and rogue (or hero) who organised the Rum Rebellion in 1809.

The architect Robin Dyke preserved the heritage Art Deco façade of this former CSR boiler station, while creating 44 New York-style apartments, no more than four per floor.

The original building eventually contained three coal-fired high-pressure boilers, which supplied steam and hot water to CSR’s sugar refinery. It also included steam turbines which produced electricity for the refinery.

The building, with its brick Art Deco façade, commenced construction in the mid-1930s and initially contained one boiler. World War II slowed the work. The second boiler was commissioned in about 1946, and the third a decade later. The other three sides of building were of corrugated iron cladding. The full height windows on the harbour frontage allowed good light into the building and accentuated its Art Deco design.

In seeking a development consent for the site, Lend Lease commissioned a Conservation Plan from Howard Tanner & Assoc. who, in 1996, recommended retaining the brick façade.

This Plan was adopted, and the façade remains a distinctive feature of Jacksons Landing. The Elizabeth thus retains the frontage this historic industrial building which was essential to the operation of the sugar refinery, as well as some other elements from the refinery (e.g. cast iron columns at ground level).

The award-winning gardens are a striking feature of The Elizabeth, and the Strata Executive Committee has arranged for continuous garden maintenance and improvements.

The first residents moved in during 2000, and many are still owners.