Stone Cottage, Minto

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Stone Cottage, Minto is a heritage-listed stone house dating from about 1830, located at Lot 315 Ben Lomond Road, Minto, in the City of Campbelltown, New South Wales. It is also known as The Jug site or the former Vineyards.

Ownership and heritage listing
- Owner: New South Wales Department of Planning and Infrastructure.
- It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 (Reference number 1388).

History and associations
- The cottage is part of the early Campbellfield estate. It is believed to have housed farm workers for the surrounding property, with Dr William Redfern living nearby at Campbellfield from about 1818 to 1828.
- In 1824, two vinedressers from Madeira, Emmanuel Serrao and Ana de Freitas, were brought to Australia on Redfern’s request to help establish Australia’s first vineyard.
- In 1949, Mr and Mrs Briggs bought the property with about 9 hectares (22.5 acres). Before this, the cottage had not been occupied for around ten years. Local lore says one room was used by convict overseers, which may explain why one room is not connected to the others.

Physical description
- The Stone Cottage has three rooms, each about 5 m by 4 m, built of sandstone with very thick cavity walls. It features a front verandah and a rear timber extension from the 1950s. The western room is accessible only from the outside, and there is a narrow doorway to the bedroom that locals associate with an illicit still.
- Exterior walls were repainted in 1997. By 1999, the building was generally well maintained, though there were cracks in the eastern wall above the fuse box and in the western wall and front facade. The interior walls are whitewashed, and the overall footprint remains relatively intact despite some alterations and additions.

Significance
- Stone Cottage is important for its possible link to convict labor and the agricultural development of the Macarthur region, illustrating how convict workers supported early food production for the colony.
- It is a good example of a colonial rustic Georgian cottage and has social value due to its associations with the Redfern family and convict labor.
- The site has potential to contribute to understanding colonial building techniques and the broader history of convict labor in New South Wales, and it stands as a relatively rare ancillary building associated with a major landholding.