construction took place after 1810; and it is reported by Hawkesbury historian D. G. Bowd that the Wesleyan Methodist minister Samuel Leigh visited Rose Cottage in 1817. However, despite later research to confirm the citation of Samuel Leigh's visit to the cottage, no reference has been located. Additional research undertaken for this report also failed to locate positive documentary evidence of the existence of Rose Cottage any earlier than 1854 when Thomas II Rose made a devise in his will for his farm on Mackay's grant and the buildings thereon. From the physical evidence it can be reasonably determined that the main part of the cottage (Spaces 1, 2, 5, 6, and the verandah) was constructed prior to 1820, indicated by the use of gudgeon hinges, the vertical timber slab construction technique, and the window sashes used in the front/north facade of the cottage. The skillion-roofed section containing the kitchen and a rear bedroom appears to be an early addition possibly dating to the 1830s. While previous historical assessments may be inaccurate and much about the history of the place is still unknown, Rose Cottage, together with the associated land, is demonstrative of the form of rural development from the earliest period of settlement on the Hawkesbury River. No other similar examples of this age and retaining a relationship with the former farm lands are known from the Wilberforce area. The associated land, comprising approximately 15 acres of William Mackay's 30 acre grant of 1794, was farmed by the Rose family from 1809, when Joshua Rose acquired the property, to 1961, when John Henry Rose died and the cottage and land were acquired by Bill McLachlan, founder of the Australiana Pioneer Village. Some aspects of the long-term land use of the place are still evident on the grounds of the Pioneer Village, including some mid-twentieth century fencing, the grove of eucalypts to the south of the cottage, and a line of trees marking the western boundary line of the farm. Many settlers who received land grants in the initial settlement of the Hawkesbury vacated the land after the damaging floods of 1802 and 1806. In the case of the grant containing Rose Cottage, the land was subdivided in half in January 1806, creating two 15 acres farms. Later subdivisions within the Rose family were made through wills. In each subdivision, the new lots maintained direct access to the Hawkesbury River,