Glenlee is listed by the National Trust for both its significant 'Aboriginal Cultural Heritage' and 'Early Settler History'. It contains well-preserved evidence of occupation by the Bidjigal people of the Eora nation, as listed in the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System. Middens, grinding grooves and a rock bowl are found on the property. There is also evidence that Glenlee may have been the site of first contact between officers of the First Fleet and the Aboriginal people in 1788.
The first land grant to a European settler that included Glenlee was made in 1856, and in 1908 it became home to the German immigrant Matthei family of oyster farmers and market gardeners. In 1910 Otto Emil Matthei, known as Emil, built the now historic Glenlee homestead, which still stands today. The property was owned by four generations of the family until it was sold to a private buyer in April 2024.
As a place of significant heritage and environmental value, Glenlee is irreplaceable, and the importance of its biodiversity cannot be overestimated. It contributes significantly to the natural environment of the Lugarno peninsula and the health of the surrounding area and river system.
The property protects remnant native forest and remains home to a wide range of native wildlife, including the swamp wallaby, echidna, powerful owl and eastern osprey. A significant number of endangered species, including four species of microbats, forage and nest among its 70- to 100-year-old trees and their understorey.
In June 2021, concerned local residents formed the Friends of Glenlee Association to raise a groundswell of support to fight a development application relating to the site, which was ultimately defeated. Despite a considerable outcry from the community, who lobbied the local and state governments to preserve and protect the site by purchasing the property for community use, both levels of government declined to do so. However, Georges River Council did heritage-list the property, and the report on the property’s heritage value, commissioned from GML Heritage, advised further investigation into the site’s Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Now that Glenlee has been sold to a private purchaser, Friends of Glenlee is continuing the fight to ensure that its heritage listing is honoured by the new owners, and that the Aboriginal sites and biodiversity are preserved. We also continue to urge both levels of government to ensure that further investigation into the property’s Aboriginal cultural heritage be undertaken as recommended.
Please join us in our campaign to save this jewel in Lugarno’s crown to protect the Georges River, its environmentally rich foreshore, the area’s valuable biodiversity and the heritage values of the property.
