Legal Battle Between Siblings of one of Australia's Richest Families Comes to NSW Supreme Court

The Macarthur-Onslow family are locked in a legal battle to determine with property developers to determine the worth of their late father’s land, and how the proceeds of which will be split between family members. John Macarthur, a key figure in the Rum Rebellions, died in 1984, but after the death of his second wife in 2013, there remains confusion over what he left in his Will, and what she left in hers. His children, Lee and Katrina, have different opinions on where the money should end up, and developers who ‘purchased’ the land for $175million are watching with a keen eye to see whether their 4200 house development west of Sydney will be able to go ahead.

What makes this case so complicated?

One of Australia’s oldest and richest families, with links as far back as the Rum Rebellion, have brought a $500million dispute to a NSW court, putting into jeopardy the development of 4300 home sites in the west of Sydney.

The Macarthur-Onslow family are the descendants of John Macarthur, a man so famous that in his day he has streets, and even whole towns named after him. The family are fighting over a piece of land they have long called home at Mount Gilead, and which developers are looking to take from them.

The developer in question has offered to buy the land for $175million, as well as 7.5% of the realized value of the estate, after rezoning and being sold for housing. Something that puts its value today at over $500milion.

On top of the dispute, stories the family would have otherwise liked to have remained quiet have been revealed, with rumours that the head of the family, Lady Dorothy Macarthur-Onslow, wife of Sir Denzil Macarthur-Onslow, who was an Australian war hero, was in such poor condition while constructing her Will, that she was often seen displaying erratic behaviour, such as driving around her grounds with the car doors open, as well as washing dish towels in dog bowls. This was in addition to claims that her dress sense made her look homeless, and that she would hit her daughter on the head with broomsticks or rolled-up newspapers.

High-Value Estate

A key figure in the Rum Rebellion after his arrest over a land deal in the early 1800s, John Macarthur is widely regarded as the forerunner in the wool industry in Australia, exporting the first bale of merino wool to the U.K in the 19^th century. The bale sold for a record, propelling his family, as well as NSW, to increased riches.

Macarthur’s great, great grandson, Sir Denzil Macarthur-Onslow was a volunteer for the Australian Imperial Force in 1939, and was knighted in recognition of this in 1964. The property known as Mount Gilead in the west of Sydney was developed by Sir Denzel.

Sir Denzel married Lady Macarthur-Onslow, then Dorothy Wolseley Conagher in 1950, and the couple went on to have two children, Katrina and Lee, who were raised on Mount Gilead. 

Katrina travelled to England, where she met an Eton man, Sir Charles Hobhouse, and at the age of 39, she married and became Lady Katrina Denzil Hobhouse. Four years later, the marriage fell apart, and produced no children. During the divorce proceedings, the court was told that she could not bear to return to Australia as the ‘failed daughter’. It also heard that she had fallen in love with England, in particular the countryside and hunting scene. She argued it was unreasonable to expect her to abandon her ‘English way of life.’ She went on to state that her relationship with her mother had soured, and that there was no possibility of her returning to Australia. However, after losing her claim of more than $1million against her ex-husband, Lady Hobhouse returned to Australia to live with Lady Macarthur-Onslow, who at this stage had become ‘extremely forgetful.’ While speaking to the NSW Supreme Court, Lady Hobhouse informed them that she had been forced to become her mother’s principle carer at Mount Gilead, stating that her mother could not remember where kitchen utensils were kept. 

In 2004, Lady Hobhouse’s brother, Lee, informed the family of a proposal from the property developers, Ausland, to buy and develop the land for $175million, plus 7.5% of the realised value of the potential 4200 properties on the site. The deal was held up after a dispute between brother and sister, during which Lady Hobhouse claims her mother hit her ‘over the head and face with a newspaper’, and called her a ‘silly bitch’. At this point she had begun to worry about her mother’s health, after witnessing her washing dishtowels in dog bowls, including one which had dog food in it. Despite this, there was evidence presented that Lady Onslow-Macarthur was aware of her surroundings, attending meetings with Ausland, and asking questions such as ‘when will this be rezoned?’ and ‘how much money will we get?’.

It was around this time that Lady Onslow-Macarthur drew up a second Will, putting the balance of control of the family’s holding towards Lee, and away from Katrina. This meant Lee had more power over the development of the property, sized at 740ha. The value of the property will depend on whether it can be rezoned and resold, which would place it at $500m, while the ‘unimproved value’ will sit at $25million. Lend Lease later took over the development, however its current status is unclear.

Dr Paul Darveniza, Lady Onslow-Macarthur’s doctor, spoke to the court, and revealed in his notes that she knew ‘in detail what her assets are and their approximate value.’ By 2008 Lady Macarthur-Onslow had been admitted to Lulworth House, a society aged-care home in Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay, suffering from Alzheimer’s.

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