Vaucluse House has been in public ownership since 1910, initially managed by a government-appointed board of trustees as a public park and historical museum, and latterly managed as a house museum under the control of the Historic Houses Trust of NSW (now known as Sydney Living Museums). Megan Martin looks at the work of the early Vaucluse Park trustees, their approach to the house and its grounds, and their legacy of substantial acquisitions which survive today in the collection at Vaucluse House.