The original 5 roomed house was built by Alfred Reynolds Huntley, engineer and surveyor, who bought a portion of the land from the Crown in 1851; he also bought surrounding land grants and owned Huntleys Point. The house was extended in 1870 or 1880 and A.R. Huntley’s son, Alfred Stafford Huntley, naval architect and surveyor, occupied the home after his own house, Ethelstone, was demolished for the construction of the Gladesville Bridge.