Heaton under hammer: Loneragan family says goodbye to grand home after 130 years

Heaton Lodge, set in parklike grounds at the easternmost end of Mortimer Street, has been the home of Mudgee’s Loneragan family since 1885.

James and Elizabeth Loneragan moved into the house 12 years ago, living in the cottage on the property before moving to the main house with the death of Mr Loneragan’s parents.

Mrs Loneragan has lived alone at Heaton Lodge since her husband’s death in 2010.

She has considered the move for the last few years, and said the time had come for her to part with the property and find somewhere more manageable and a more appropriate size for one person.

“No time would be the right time, but it had to happen,” Mrs Loneragan said.

Mrs Loneragan came originally from Muswellbrook, but considers Mudgee her home now and will certainly stay in town after finding a new owner for Heaton Lodge.

She looks forward to visiting her children more, and travelling to see her new grandchild in the United States, as Heaton had not been the sort of property that could easily be left unattended.

While she has talked to her children about taking on the property, their careers keep them in Sydney, and in one case in the USA.

“They’d love to, and they love coming up here, but their lives are in Sydney and America,” Mrs Loneragan said.

The Loneragan family originally leased the house, which was then a fraction of its current size, in 1885, and purchased it 15 years later.

James Loneragan (1846 - 1914) was the founder of Loneragan’s department store, “one of the most successful and enduring family businesses in Mudgee’s history”, according to Mudgee Historical Society president John Broadley.

Mr Broadley profiled Heaton Lodge in his 2011 book Historic Houses of Mudgee, chronicling the several alterations and extensions made to the structure by the Loneragan family, turning it into the extensive residence it is today.

The property includes several outbuildings including a large stables and coach house, the cottage, and service block.

Mrs Loneragan said some of the greatest things about the house were its mature trees and the beautiful gardens established by celebrated landscape gardener Paul Sorenson in 1932.

Mrs Loneragan does a lot of work in the Heaton gardens, although she says they could not be managed without the work of the property’s excellent gardener, and has added some trees and many roses.

Some of the house’s contents, such as the table in the main dining room and several large Italian sideboards, would hardly be at home in any other residence, even if they could fit inside, and Mrs Loneragan hoped the house’s new owners might keep many of the pieces with the house.