Cooma Cottage is most noted for being the home of famous explorer, Hamilton Hume (1797-1873). Hume bought the cottage and the 100 acres for ₤601 in 1840 and lived there for the rest of his life. The original colonial bungalow, built by pioneering pastoralist Henry O’Brien with his younger brother Cornelius, forms part of Hume’s complex of dwellings and stables on the site. Hume spent 20 years enthusiastically building extensions; adding his own version of Palladian-style wings and a Greek Revival portico. Cooma Cottage now stands as a fine example of the way our pioneers constructed their dwellings and how they lived. Cooma Cottage features vast, open grounds for picnic areas and gardens.