Historical Walking Tour of Maitland
Looking for things to do in Maitland? Start with its history. Maitland began as a camp for convict timber cutters, and its fertile soil soon made it the chief town of the Hunter Valley: by the 1840s only Sydney had a larger population. That trade wealth built the heritage you can walk today: merchants' town houses in Church Street, a Blacket-designed church, a Federation court house, a Victorian saddlery, and Cintra, a villa built for a Jewish merchant family. This self-guided walk links 11 historic places, each with a short audio story in the Sitesy app.
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What is Maitland known for?
Maitland is known as the historic commercial centre of the Hunter Valley. Starting as a camp for convict timber cutters, it grew on the district's fertile soil and by the 1840s was the region's chief town, with a population exceeded only by Sydney. Its business houses served the rural industries around it, and the wealth shows in the High Street Court House, the Barden and Ribee Saddlery, the twin merchants' houses Brough and Grossmann, Edmund Blacket's St Mary's church, and the oldest surviving synagogue in NSW outside Sydney.
The route: 11 historic places in Maitland
Start at Barden and Ribee Saddlery. Tap a stop to see it on the map.
Pins are numbered in walking order; lines join them directly, not along streets. Walking directions in Google Maps
- 1
Barden and Ribee Saddlery
Built in 1888 to a design by architect John W. Pender, this two-storey Victorian Free Classical brick building housed a saddlery firm founded in 1872 by Thomas Ribee and J. W. Barden. Retail below, storeroom above, its original signage survives. Now a restaurant; State Heritage listed since 1999.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2
Maitland Court House
Designed by NSW Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon and opened in December 1896, this grand Federation Free Classical building of red brick with sandstone trim served as a joint courthouse and police station. Its clock tower is a High Street landmark. Added to the NSW State Heritage Register in 1999, it still hosts the Local Court.
Source: Wikipedia
- 3
Cintra House, Garden and Stables
Designed by Maitland architect J. W. Pender and built in 1878 for Benn Levy, of the Levy and Cohen merchant families, Cintra is an outstanding and highly intact Victorian Italianate town villa. Pender extended it in 1887 for Neville Cohen, taking it to 31 rooms, and the original stables, kitchen and laundry still stand in a historic garden. A recognised Maitland landmark.
Source: NSW State Heritage Inventory
- 4
Maitland Synagogue
Designed by architect John W. Pender and completed in 1879, this Romanesque Revival building with corbelled arcades and round-headed arches served Maitland's Jewish community only until 1898. Later a dance hall, credit union and more, it is the oldest surviving synagogue in NSW outside Sydney, state heritage-listed in 1999.
Source: Wikipedia
- 5
Brough House
Built between 1860 and 1862 by businessmen Isaac Beckett and Samuel Owens, this two-storey Victorian residence sits beside its near-identical twin, Grossmann House, on Church Street. It later became a girls' school hostel, then housed the Maitland Art Gallery from 1975 until 2003. Managed by the National Trust, it joined the NSW State Heritage Register in 2002.
Source: Wikipedia
- 6
Grossmann House
Twin of Brough House next door, this large Victorian town house was built about 1860 by merchants Samuel Owens and Isaac Beckett, who lived in it with his wife and daughter. In 1893 the pair of houses became a girls' high school, named after its first headmistress, Jeanette Grossmann. The National Trust has run it as a house museum since the 1960s, and its rose garden of repeat-flowering heritage varieties was planted in 1973.
Source: NSW State Heritage Inventory
- 7
St Mary's the Virgin Anglican Church
Designed by celebrated colonial architect Edmund Blacket, this Anglican church on Church Street had its foundation stone laid in 1860 and opened for services in 1867, with the stone tower completed in 1887. A landmark example of High Victorian Gothic, its slender spire and tracery windows earned it a place on the NSW State Heritage Register in 1999.
Source: Wikipedia
- 8
Maitland railway station
Opened in 1880 as West Maitland and renamed Maitland in 1949, this junction station marks where the Main Northern and North Coast lines diverge. Its 1880 first-class platform building and 1914 island platform survive, and the whole station was added to the NSW State Heritage Register in 1999.
Source: Wikipedia
- 9
Maitland Post Office
Built in 1881 by the NSW Colonial Architect's Office under James Barnet, this Victorian Italianate post office on High Street sports a corner clock-tower campanile. Sited on higher ground to escape flooding, it still serves as an Australia Post office and was added to the NSW State Heritage Register in 1999.
Source: Wikipedia
- 10
Maitland Lodge of Unity Masonic Hall and Lodge
Designed by regional architect J. W. Pender, himself a lodge member, this Masonic hall was built in 1886-87 in an unusual Moorish-influenced Victorian style. It serves the Lodge of Unity, established in 1840 as the fifth Masonic lodge in NSW and the first outside Sydney. Listed on the NSW State Heritage Register in 2014.
Source: Wikipedia
- 11
Maitland Town Hall
Designed by local architects Lee and Scobie after a competition, this Victorian Classical hall opened on 28 February 1890 with its symmetrical facade, central tower and Corinthian columns. Edmund Barton launched his 1901 federal campaign here. It joined the NSW State Heritage Register in 1999.
Source: Wikipedia
Maitland's Jewish heritage
Cintra, on Regent Street, was designed by the Hunter architect J. W. Pender and built in 1878 for Benn W. Levy, a member of the Levy and Cohen families, an important Jewish merchant family both locally and internationally. Levy moved to London in 1887 to head the Cohen business there, and Cintra passed to his cousin Neville Cohen, for whom Pender designed extensions. The house is recognised for its links to the Jewish community in Maitland, Sydney and the United Kingdom. The former Maitland Synagogue, also by Pender, is another stop on this walk.
Source: NSW State Heritage Inventory
How the walk works
Open it from this page
Tap Start this walk free. The walk opens in the Sitesy app in your browser, with the route and every stop ready.
Walk and listen
Each stop's story plays as you arrive, with directions to the next one. Pause for a coffee whenever you like.
Save it before you go
Save the walk's audio to your phone at home, so the stories play even where the signal drops.
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Before you go
More walks nearby
Questions
How long is the Maitland walking tour?
About 96 minutes over roughly 3.5 km at a relaxed pace.
Can I do the tour offline?
Yes — load the tour in the Sitesy app beforehand and it’s cached for offline use.
What is the history of Maitland in brief?
Maitland grew from a camp for convict timber cutters into the chief town of the Hunter Valley. By the 1840s its population was exceeded only by Sydney's, and its merchants built the churches, houses and civic buildings on this walk.
What is Maitland known for?
Maitland is known as the historic commercial centre of the Hunter Valley. Starting as a camp for convict timber cutters, it grew on the district's fertile soil and by the 1840s was the region's chief town, with a population exceeded only by Sydney. Its business houses served the rural industries around it, and the wealth shows in the High Street Court House, the Barden and Ribee Saddlery, the twin merchants' houses Brough and Grossmann, Edmund Blacket's St Mary's church, and the oldest surviving synagogue in NSW outside Sydney.
Is the Maitland walking tour free?
Yes. Open it in the Sitesy app and every stop on this walk is free to hear, with no account needed. Free listeners also get 5 stories a day about wherever they are and 1 custom walk a week. The Trip pass (A$7.99 for 7 days) and Sitesy Plus (A$8.99 a month) unlock unlimited stories and walks.
Page last updated 14 October 2026.