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The new conservatory at Duntroon House, built in 1876, featured an unusual conical glass roof to protect Marrianne Campbell’s delicate plants, many of which she painted. Three facsimiles of Marrianne’s original watercolours from the National Library of Australia are currently on display. This is a real treat for visitors. According to an unnamed travel correspondent for the Australian Town and Country Journal on December 29, 1877, the conservatory housed a brick cemented pyramid with tiers of pots containing exquisite flowers, with a lemon tree on one side and an orange tree on the other. Fortunately, the conservatory survived a wild hailstorm that hit just before the travel writer’s visit, which sadly resulted in the loss of 40 lambs.
