1903 – 1904 The Rose Bay Land Company
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The Rose Bay Land Company was formed by senior Royal Sydney members in October 1903, under the chairmanship of E.P. Simpson.
Effectively the Rose Bay Land Company (later the Rose Bay Freehold Company) was an incorporated entity, a group which represented the membership of Royal Sydney Golf Club, whose primary purpose was to acquire suitable golfing terrain from the Cooper estate to enable RSGC to own its own golf course, in perpetuity.
The Land Company bought 214 acres (and were gifted an extra 12 acres revealed through a surveying error) being the land bounded by Old South Head Road, O’Sullivan Road, New South Head Road and Newcastle Street, the land acquired in 1904.
In October that year, the Company offered the Club 120 acres to lease with a view to outright purchase, to create a golf course; initially £500 was allocated to set the course out, soon increased by a further £250.
The Company issued a prospectus and sold shares, willingly taken up by Royal Sydney members keen to assist the Club towards outright ownership of its land. The Land Company also acted as estate manager and property developer, the establishment of Kent Road being one of its first projects.
In or about 1917 Royal Sydney completed the purchase of all land apart from the current practice area, that portion eventually acquired in 1926.