Along with Banjo Paterson Park on Ophir Road, the Emmaville Cottage near the Botanic Gardens is a tangible link to the period more than 150 years ago when Patterson was born.

The prefabricated cottage is believed to date from the 1850s. The American redwood panels were shipped from the United States and assembled to build large numbers of cottages in Australia. The four-room cottage is typical of early Australian vernacular architecture.

The cottage was previously located at the Waratahs Sports Field, once part of the Narrambla Estate. The cottage is believed to be one of the last farm buildings from the Narrambla property. The Narrambla farming property was where the mother of Banjo Paterson came to stay before the birth of her son in 1864.

The Emmaville Cottage is one of a number of key sites around Orange with connections to one of Australia's best-known poets, Banjo Patterson.