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The context of the home shifted dramatically in the late 1940s when nine acres were resumed outside the cemetery walls to create a public park. This transformed the cottage's outlook from a quiet graveyard to five acres of lush greenery.
"The 209sqm was more than enough for us and the kids," Valerie said, noting that the five acres of park across the road became an extension of their living room. "We raised our kids here; we actually had them at the Prince Alfred Hospital down the road. They played in the garden and over in the park, and it’s a very dog-friendly neighborhood. The street looks the same as it did 100 years ago, which is special."
The Howarths became embedded in the local culture, enjoying the unique pulse of the area. "We have had a really strong community in Newtown," Valerie said. "The way we knew all the shopkeepers, the people we would meet in the park, and the entertainment for the kids was everywhere. Heading into the city was easy, and the kids could go swimming at Victoria Park. It feels safe here."
Even the vibrant chaos of the local festival became part of the family's fabric. "The Newtown Festival was right opposite us. The doof tent went on across the road - we had a two-year-old who could sleep through it!"
Inside, the home is a labor of love, blending 19th-century bones with thoughtful 20th-century restoration. The floor-to-ceiling French doors in the large living room were salvaged from University Hall on the corner of Parramatta and Glebe Point Roads in the 1990s.
Of the six original doors, five survived to be restored, and Duncan hand-made the kitchen casement windows himself to match the historic aesthetic. One of their favorite spots remains the air-conditioned retreat upstairs. "Parents can have this or teenagers, it is quite private and tucked away," Duncan said. "We used it as a teenagers' retreat as they grew."
As the Howarths prepare for a "sea and tree change" to their long-term holiday home in Huskisson on the NSW South Coast, they admit the decision to leave was bittersweet.
They had even gone as far as getting approved plans for a bathroom and bedroom extension to the rear of the property, but after much agonising, they decided to embrace retirement. "They are grown up now, our oldest child is having a baby in two weeks' time," Valerie said.
"There are lots of changes going on for us and it is time to pass this very special home onto the next generation."
