King Charles Hillview Estate Australian headquarters plans, Digi Mart USA News (Dumfries House, Scotland): New photos have been released showing King Charles looking over plans for the new headquarters of The King’s Foundation Australia, in NSW. The images were published on the eve of the monarch’s 78th birthday on Saturday and show His Majesty at Dumfries House in Scotland, which serves as the epicentre of The King’s Foundation.
While in Australia in 2024, His Majesty announced the opening of an Australian arm of his charity. It will be run from Hillview Estate, a heritage-registered building in Sutton Forest, about 90 minutes southwest of Sydney, within the NSW Southern Highlands.
“Like Dumfries House, the UK headquarters saved by The King for the local community in 2007, the estate will benefit the local community and become a national hub for education in traditional skills and heritage crafts,” a statement said.
The property was a country summer retreat for 16 successive Governors of NSW for 75 years, before it was bought by a private owner in the late 1950s and sold back to the state government in 1985. Over the 39 years in between, it was heritage accommodation and a popular wedding venue, before being earmarked for its new royal purpose.
During the visit to Dumfries House in September, the King met members of the Australian foundation team and renowned garden landscaper Paul Bangay in the Walled Garden Pavilion. They discussed concept designs for one of the first stages of work in restoring the property to its former glory, the historic gardens.
“It was wonderful to be back at Dumfries House and present the initial garden designs for Hillview Estate to His Majesty with our garden designer Paul Bangay,” The King’s Foundation Australia CEO Constantine Innemée said.
“Paul is a talented and passionate landscaper and horticulturist, and it has been inspiring to work with him on garden plans for Hillview. Finding ways of improving how we live in harmony with nature will be core to our work here in Australia, and the gardens at Hillview will play a key part in that educational mission.
“It is an exciting part of the journey to be exploring these initial designs, and a privilege to be able to do so with His Majesty – who is such a knowledgeable and experienced gardener himself.”
Australia has a special place for King Charles, with the now monarch spending six months at Geelong Grammar School in Victoria as a teen.
