Transcription:
Rona
Circa 1883
Rona – 51 Fairfax Road (Ginahgulla Road gate) – Bellevue Hill – NSW
Victorian Rustic Gothic Revival sandstone mansion · Built 1883 · Standing — private · RNE Place ID 2579 · Woollahra local heritage
Edward William Knox of Colonial Sugar Refining raised a gabled sandstone house on the Bellevue Hill crest and named it Rona. Gustavus Alphonse Morell gave it Victorian Rustic Gothic form — terracotta shingles, attic upper floor, harbour prospect — a cousin in spirit to Greycliffe at Vaucluse. Fire, flat conversion, and later private restorations changed the plan; the silhouette still reads as one of the ridge’s great Knox-era piles. This is a new scrapbook entry: no prior dedicated Rona post on the blog.
At a glance
- Address: 51 Fairfax Road, Bellevue Hill NSW 2023; also 6 Ginahgulla Road (gatehouse / Ginahgulla entry — Australian Heritage Database). Domain 2016 marketing used “2 Ginahgulla” (flag)
- Traditional Custodians: Gadigal / Cadigal Country (Bellevue Hill ridge)
- Built: 1883 for Edward William Knox (ADB; Dictionary of Sydney; AHD)
- Architect: Gustavus Alphonse Morell (G. A. Morell); Dictionary of Sydney also credits Morell and Kemp (flag partnership timing)
- Style: Victorian Rustic Gothic Revival / Neo-Gothic — Sydney sandstone, terracotta shingle roof; upper floor reads as attic storey (AHD)
- Model note: design tradition links to Greycliffe House, Vaucluse — childhood home of Mrs Knox (Edith, ne Willis) per Wikipedia (flag / cross-link Greycliffe)
- Fire & works: severely damaged 1905; restored with modifications by William Wardell Jnr (Wikipedia) / William Waddell jnr (Domain) — flag spelling
- 1951: John Mansfield removed large south centre gable → central courtyard and two apartments for Knox descendants (AHD; Wikipedia)
- Heritage: Register of the National Estate Place ID 2579 (21 Oct 1980); Woollahra LEP (Heritage NSW DB 2711104; LEP 1995 / LEP 2014 item)
- Estate: originally c.6 ha / 16 acres (Wikipedia); later reduced — Domain 2016 cited c.5,700 m²
- Fate: Standing — private residence; Knox family until late 20th century; reported sales 1989 $9.6m (John Schaeffer), 2005 (Terry & Kyril Agnew), Wikipedia asserts 2018 c.$58m (secondary — flag)
Site & setting
Bellevue Hill crest — panoramic harbour prospect cited on AHD as central to significance. Dual entries historically: Fairfax Road and Ginahgulla Road wrought-iron gates / gatehouse (Domain; AHD location line). Mature garden and state-significant trees noted in sale reporting; private — admire from public streets only.
Nearby Bellevue Hill scrapbook neighbours: Caerleon (Ginahgulla / Fairfax newspaper gentry), Ginahgulla / Fairfax House (Scots College — Victoria Road), Girrahween, Venetia / Bellevue. Do not confuse Rona’s Ginahgulla gate with Ginahgulla the Fairfax mansion.
Timeline
- 1 Apr 1847 – Edward William Knox born Sydney; CSR dynasty (ADB).
- 30 Jan 1878 – Marries Edith Willis at St Matthews, Manly (ADB).
- 1880 – Knox general manager of C.S.R. (ADB).
- 1883 – Rona completed; Knox commodore Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron 1883–84 (ADB).
- 1887–1902 – Knox Woollahra alderman (ADB).
- 1905 – House severely damaged by fire; Wardell/Waddell Jnr restoration (flag spelling).
- 26 Jun 1933 – E. W. Knox dies at Rona; buried Waverley after All Saints Woollahra service (ADB).
- 1951 – John Mansfield conversion: south centre gable removed; two flats around courtyard (AHD).
- Later 20th c. – Three generations of Knox descendants including Martha Rutledge line (Wikipedia — treat as secondary family note).
- 1989 – Reported sale $9.6m to art collector John Schaeffer (Domain).
- 2005 – Sold to Terry & Kyril Agnew (Domain).
- 2016 – Domain “Rona renaissance” marketing / renovation coverage.
- 2018 – Wikipedia asserts major sale c.$58m (flag / secondary).
- Today – Private heritage house; Woollahra local list + RNE archive record.
Architecture & interiors
AHD: substantial Victorian Neo-Gothic stone house with terracotta shingle roof; upper floor as attic storey; original joinery and several panelled ceilings retained at time of RNE description. 1951 Mansfield work removed original stair hall to form central courtyard and two large flats — later owners have re-roofed / re-enclosed the courtyard in glass.
Compare publicly to Greycliffe (Rustic Gothic sandstone marine villa) and Morell’s other eastern work (e.g. Swifts tradition on this blog).
People & anecdotes
Edward William Knox (18471933) CSR industrialist; shy, telephone-averse; yachtsman (Sirocco); Union Club; University Senate; gallery trustee; died at Rona (ADB — Martha Rutledge). Edith Knox (née Willis) — childhood Greycliffe link in secondary sources. Gustavus Alphonse Morell — civil engineer–architect; Swifts / theatre work in DoS architect cards. John Mansfield — 1951 flat conversion. Later private custodians (Schaeffer, Agnew, post-2018 owners) — restoration chapters.
What stands today
Rona stands as a private Woollahra heritage house. No routine public access. View façades, gates and garden edge from Fairfax Road / Ginahgulla Road footpaths without trespassing. Cross-link Bellevue Hill Fairfax–Knox ridge posts and Greycliffe.
Sources & further reading
- Heritage NSW — Rona - house (DB 2711104): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=2711104
- Australian Heritage Database — Rona, Place ID 2579: https://environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=2579
- ADB — Knox, Edward William (1847–1933): https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/knox-edward-william-6990
- Dictionary of Sydney — Rona (building): https://dictionaryofsydney.org/building/rona
- Domain — “Rona renaissance…,” 18 Oct 2016 (sale/ownership chronology — secondary)
- Wikipedia — Rona, Bellevue Hill (portal; verify against AHD / ADB / Heritage NSW)
- Trove — search: Rona Bellevue Hill; Edward William Knox Rona; “Rona” Fairfax Road fire 1905
Related on this blog
- Greycliffe, Vaucluse — Rustic Gothic model / Willis childhood tradition
- Caerleon, Bellevue Hill — Ginahgulla ridge neighbour
- Hordern / Ginahgulla–Fairfax House (Scots) — Victoria Road Fairfax pile
- Girrahween / Venetia–Bellevue — Bellevue Hill cluster
- Swifts, Darling Point — Morell circle
