Daily Telegraph - Sat 12 Aug 1933 - Pg 4
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STATELY HOMES of Old POTTS POINT
To Sydney residents of half a century ago, the name "Potts Point" conjured up visions of broad tree-lined streets, stately homes, trim gardens, & the clippety-clop of thoroughbred horses drawing luxurious rubber tyred carriages.
MACLEAY STREET, sweeping in-unbroken line down the centre of this exclusive residential section, was once devoted exclusively to the homes of Sydney's aristocracy. Today, Potts Point, with its treelined streets, still remains "genteel," but gone are the stately homes. In their places are tall, modern blocks of flats. Sedate old terraces, once the homes of the "haute monde," are hung now with notices announcing "Vacancies" or "Rooms to Let." In Darlinghurst Road, now one of the most cosmopolitan thoroughfares in the world, many old homes once stood. "Sterling," the home of the McDonald family, the grandparents of Miss Pauline McDonald, a well known Sydney society beauty, has given place to the King's Cross Theatre Next door, at 107 Darlinghurst Rd, is an unpretentious grey-stoned villa, now the home & professional rooms of Dr. R. A. Eakin.
This little house, wnich once be longed to the Dent Estate, is over 70 years old, & its outside walls, 18 inches thick, were built by convicts. Mrs. Eakin is the proud possessor of one of the original fire-grates from the old home. Opposite is the once famous Alberto Terrace, originally owned by John Solomon, & now a honey comb of modern shops & flats "Springfield," now a modern guest house, its sweeping grounds cut up into streets of huge flat buildings, was once the home of the Suttor family, & many were the balls & receptions held in its lofty rooms In Macleay Street, on one corner still stands "Maramanah," an imposing mansion of the Victorian period, once the home of Mr. S. A. Josephs, which has been in possession of the Hollander family for over 40 years, & is still kept up in the style of its early days. Opposite "Maramanah" is "Ca-hors," a square stone mansion, now converted into genteel bed-sitting rooms. "Cahors" was the home of Mr. & Mrs. L. W. Levy, the parents of Mr. Sep. Levy. Many will recall the picture of the lovely Mrs. Levy, sweeping through the stone entrance-gates in her rubber- tyred carriage. Heaps of masonry & the remains of a "Minnie" golf links mark the grave of "Osterley," in turn the stately home of Sir Alexander Gordon, of Dr. Foreman, & of the late Sir Adrian Knox. The old house was demolished several years ago, &, as yet, no modern flat building has been erected on its ruins, "Kingsclere," an exclusive flat building, on the corner of Macleay St & Greenknowe Ave, stands on the site of "Bishopscourt," once the home of the Anglican Bishops of Sydney. Its broad acres & gardens have been cut up into a street of modern homes.
Opposite"Kingsclere" is "Larbert," standing with its lovely garden hidden by a high stone wall. Formerly the home of Abraham Cohen, "Larbert"' is now in possession of Mr. L. M. Phillips. Around the corner from Macleay St is "Tusculum," a lovely old white Colonial mansion. Once own ed by the late Mr. & Mrs. Walter Long, the grandparents of Mr. Oswald Cheeke, "Tusculum" is now a fashionable nursing home. Its lofty rooms, hardwood floors, & spacious verandahs are a testimony to the thoroughness of old time architecture. Standing in its own fine grounds, facing Macleay St, is "The Cairo," formerly known as "Prestonville." Originally built by the Little Estate, it was later owned by the Thorne family, of which Mrs. Spencer Brunton is a member. "The Cairo" is now a fashionable boarding establishment. "Jenner," now a hospital & for merly the home of John Nield, who built it, & "Tarana," once the home of Mr. Harry McQuade, are two other stately old homes that have given way to the progress of years.
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