Saturday, July 29, 2023

Fairfield House - Windsor - New South Wales

 



Fairfield House - Windsor - NSW






Fairfield House, the 1833 Georgian mansion built by pioneer William Cox at Windsor, has been sold by the executors of the late karate world champ­ion-turned-professional poker player, Ladislaus “Joe” Meissner.

It sold for $2.4m through Lloyds Real Estate, which marketed it as suitable as a boutique hotel, day spa, aged-care facility or function venue, with its R2 and RE2 zoning.

The original 1830s house that sits on 7822sq m was expan­ded into a remarkable trophy home in the 1880s by Henry McQuade, manager of Her Majesty’s Theatre, and his actress wife Cissy Durant. It comes with a ballroom with two cloakrooms.

Meissner, who was last in the news in 2009 with his unsuccessful Western Sydney A-League proposal, paid $900,000 for the property in 1988 with his then wife, Sharron.

It was three years after The Sunday Telegraph published a 1985 report that he owned the infamous “Love Boat” that briefly scandalised NSW politics.


With connections to the NSW Labor Party as former secretary of its Enmore branch, it was alleged senior party figures had consorted with organised crime figures and a prostitute, Virginia Perger, aboard his boat the Kanzen.

Probate was granted in mid-June following Joe’s death, aged 79, last November.


The court, which was notified of his death in May, is set to hear the application next month. There has been a caveat on the Haymarket title from Xiuhua Shi since 2013 after a claim of being a co-purchaser in 2002.

It was the strata corporation’s ninth petition since 2007 to seek strata payments and arising legal costs.

According to PropTrack the median house price in Windsor, NSW is $825,000, down 12.6 per cent over the past 12 months.













 



























Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Caerleon – 13–15 Ginahgulla Road – Bellevue Hill – NSW

Caerleon – 13–15 Ginahgulla Road Bellevue Hill NSW

Built 1885–87 · Queen Anne Revival · Standing — private Register of the National Estate Place ID 2475

Charles Burton Fairfax wanted a country house above the harbour in the newest English taste. Sydney architect Harry Kent drew the first plans; London’s Maurice Bingham Adams reworked them so thoroughly that Kent’s name vanished when the design was exhibited abroad — yet Kent still supervised the bricklayers. Red brick, stone dressings, terracotta shingles, leadlights and candle-snuffer chimneys: Caerleon is widely called Australias first major Queen Anne house, and the template for a thousand Federation roofs.

At a glance

  • Address: 13–15 Ginahgulla Road, Bellevue Hill NSW — south-east corner of Kambala Road (not “81 Kambala Road”)
  • Built: 1885–1887
  • Client: Charles Burton Fairfax (1859–1941), Sydney Morning Herald proprietor; grandson of founder John Fairfax; eldest son of James Reading Fairfax
  • Architects: Harry Kent (Sydney) — original plans; Maurice Bingham Adams (London) extensive redesign; Kent supervised construction
  • Style: Queen Anne / Federation Queen Anne precursor — red brick, stone dressings, terracotta shingles, balconies, bays, verandahs, leadlight, elaborate chimneys
  • Name: after Caerleon, Wales (Welsh Caerllion)
  • Heritage: Register of the National Estate Place ID 2475 (registered 21 March 1978); also New South Wales / Woollahra local heritage listing
  • Fate / use: Standing — private residence; not a public museum

Site & setting

Bellevue Hill ridge — Gadigal Country; late-Victorian Fairfax / newspaper-gentry enclave beside the older Fairfax seat Ginahgulla (later Fairfax House / Scots College). The house sits in a mature garden on the Ginahgulla / Kambala corner with the harbour-oriented aspect historically prized. Private — admire from the public street only.

Timeline

  • 1882 – Charles B. Fairfax acquires the adjoining portion near Ginahgulla.
  • 1885 – Kent plans; Adams London redesign; construction begins.
  • 1885–87 – House completed for C. B. Fairfax; Kent on site as supervisor.
  • 1880s – Adams exhibits plans in London without Kent’s name (credit controversy).

Architecture & interiors

A substantial two-storey Queen Anne house in a mature garden: red brick with stone dressings; upper storey and roof in terracotta shingles; verandahs, bay windows, balconies, leaded and stained glass, and elaborate chimneys. Many fittings and materials were imported from England. Interiors show Robert Adam and eighteenth-century French influence — chimney pieces, doorcases, wainscots, friezes and ceilings. Adams also designed decorative ironmongery and gates. Heritage assessments call it extremely avant-garde for its date and among Australia’s finest Queen Anne examples; it set the tone for later Federation Queen Anne houses.

People & anecdotes

Charles Burton Fairfax — newspaper dynasty; Bellevue Hill statement house beside the family’s Ginahgulla estate.
Harry Kent vs Maurice Adams — colonial architects credit snubbed in the imperial capital; local supervision still Kent’s.
Name Caerleon — Welsh Roman fortress town; Fairfax choice of historical weight.

What stands today

Caerleon stands as a private heritage house. No routine public access. View façades and garden edge from Ginahgulla Road / Kambala Road footpaths without trespassing.

Sources & further reading

  • Australian Heritage Database — Caerleon, Place ID 2475: environment.gov.au AHDB
  • Woollahra Council Local history fast facts C (Caerleon, 15 Ginahgulla Road)
  • Wikipedia — Caerleon, Bellevue Hill
  • MHNSW / Caroline Simpson Library — Caerleon exhibition note (Adams / Fairfax)
  • Sydney Morning Herald, 25 January 2008 (sale report)

Related on this blog

  • Other Bellevue Hill Fairfax-era houses (Ginahgulla / Fairfax House, Rona, Trahlee, Leura, Cranbrook)
  • Federation / Queen Anne comparisons across the eastern suburbs

"But-Har-Gra" - Corner Of Georges River Road And Croydon Avenue, Croydon Park - Sydney - NSW

 


"But-Har-Gra" -  Corner Of Georges  River Road And Croydon Avenue, Croydon Park - Sydney - NSW








"But-Har-Gra"Is A Heritage Listed Mansion On The Corner Of Georges River Road & Croydon Avenue - Croydon Park 

It Was Built in 1890 In The Victorian Architectural Style & Became The Church Of England Hostek For Girls And founded By Mariam Annette Grant (Nee Button). The Name "But'Har'Gra' Comes From Her Maiden Name & her Two Married Names. 
The Estate Was Left To The Church Of England & Since 1959 Has Been Used As A Residential Accommodation For Students & Their Families Of The Moore Theological College Which Instructs Ministers For The Anglican Church Of Sydney