Alta Mura – 11 King George Street – Lavender Bay – NSW
Victorian Italianate harbour villa · c.1886 (press) · Standing — private residence · North Sydney local heritage (I0326)
Lavender Bay’s corner Italianate — Alta Mura at 11 King George Street — is a locally listed Victorian house with harbour outlook, repeatedly a trophy address in the twenty-first century. The live post is a title stub; this scrapbook builds only what North Sydney LEP and careful press allow, and leaves the 1886 architect blank rather than invent one.
At a glance
- Address: 11 King George Street, Lavender Bay NSW 2060 (Lot 1 DP 80950)
- Traditional Custodians: Cammeraygal of the Eora Nation (North Sydney framing)
- Name: Alta Mura
- Built: c.1886 (real-estate / press consensus — soft pending inventory confirmation)
- Style: Victorian Italianate (North Sydney LPP heritage assessment, DA 270/24)
- Heritage: North Sydney LEP 2013 — Local item I0326 (House)
- Architect (original): Unknown in consulted sources
- Fate / current use: Standing — private dwelling; recent alterations/additions assessed by North Sydney Local Planning Panel (2025)
Site & setting
Picturesque corner site with mature trees; principal elevation relationship to Waiwera Street noted in 2025 heritage advice; northerly aspect toward Lavender Bay / harbour (press). About 200 m from foreshore in agent copy — treat distance as approximate. Part of the wider Lavender Bay heritage streetscape (neighbouring listed houses at 15 and 17 King George Street — I0327, I0328).
Timeline
- c.1886 – House built (press consensus; soft).
- 20th century – Private residential continuum — detailed early owner chain not established in this research pass (Stanton Library / rates books needed).
- c.2011 – Sold by Clive & Marilyn Steirn to Daniel & Carolyn Petre (~$6.4m — press).
- 2016 – Sold to Hamish & Lucinda McLennan (~$7.4m — press); Anna Spiro interiors; Peter Fudge gardens (press).
- Oct 2023 – Sold (~$16.85m — property statistics / press).
- 2024–25 – DA 270/24 for alterations and additions (side/rear pavilion, garage, pool, fenestration, landscaping) reported to North Sydney LPP 7 May 2025; conservation planner support subject to conditions (retain specified windows; protect front sandstone wall, etc.).
Architecture & interiors
Substantial two-storey Victorian Italianate dwelling; later side wing identified as non-original in 2025 assessment and proposed for replacement with a submissive pavilion below the main eaves (LPP agenda). Press descriptions of soaring ceilings, timber floors, marble fireplaces reflect post-renovation presentation — do not treat as unaltered 1880s schedules. Front sandstone wall called out for protection in consent conditions.
People & anecdotes
Original client and builder remain unnamed here until inventory or rates research lands. Twenty-first-century ownership (Steirn, Petre, McLennan) is property-press colour useful for “what stands today,” not for inventing a nineteenth-century salon history.
Image gallery guidance
- Historic exterior if Stanton Library / SLNSW holds one — caption carefully.
- Streetscape / corner elevation showing Italianate massing and sandstone wall.
- Avoid scraping current real-estate interiors without licence; link out if needed.
- Live post currently has no research images — publisher must source.
What stands today
Alta Mura stands as a private heritage-listed house. No public museum access. Any pavilion/pool works follow North Sydney consent conditions — check current DA status before describing fabric as completed.
Sources & further reading
- Live stub: https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2023/08/alta-mura-11-king-george-street.html
- North Sydney LEP 2013 Schedule 5 — Lavender Bay, House, 11 King George Street (I0326)
- North Sydney Local Planning Panel agenda — 7 May 2025, DA 270/24 (heritage assessment excerpts)
- Stanton Library / North Sydney heritage leaflets — search Alta Mura / King George Street
- Trove — search King George Street Lavender Bay 1880s (owner discovery)
Related on this blog
- Other Lavender Bay / North Sydney mansions (Graythwaite, The Towers / Holtermann) — search labels
- Victorian Italianate harbour villas — search labels
Add historic photos with captions and credits from Image gallery guidance.
