About Us
The Doncaster is privately owned by Gabriele Borscz, an interior designer who has made Braidwood her home after living in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Gabriele is known for her collection of unique antiques and artifacts and is delighted to share the Doncaster as a haven of rest and relaxation.
Our history
For curious travellers who want to discover The Doncaster’s history, it was built as one of the first grand hotels in Braidwood, built on one of the town’s highest points. It was considered a landmark property at the turn of the last century. When the building came up for sale, an order of the Good Samaritan Nuns purchased the property and repurposed it into a convent, a day school, and a boarding school.
In the 1890's, a fire swept through part of the building and the local Catholic community decided to demolish the remains (as it was unfit to live in) and rebuilt it to its current form today, recycling all the previous building’s materials. The nuns were active in the Braidwood community and the convent housed generations of children.
Interestingly, during World War 2, children from Sydney were sent to Braidwood by their parents for safekeeping from the fear of Japanese invasion. Many of these children did not see their families for up to two years and lived in crowded conditions at the convent, some even sleeping on the upper verandah all year round. In the 1970s the convent was privately sold, and the original name of the first hotel was revived. The Doncaster was once again open to the public.