Transcription:
PLAN / OF THE / TUSCULUM ESTATE / Situate at / WOOLLOOMOOLOO BAY / PART OF WHICH TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION / ON ……………… BY / MR. STUBBS / 1842
C. E. Langley Civil Engineer Land Surveyor &c. / No. 8 George Street Sydney. — T. Lisley [?Lithographer] / No. 11 Brougham Place.
Plan labels: Mc. Leay Street 66 feet wide · [?Bishop's] Residence · Victoria Street · Brougham Street · Bay Street · Duke Street · Dowling Street · Sections I–V · H. C. Sempill Esqre · Mr. M. O'Connell · Heirs of the late Judge Stephens · Woolloomooloo Bay · “Proposed Circular Quay for Public Purposes to be continued round the Domain [?Fam Cove]”.
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PLAN OF / DARLINGHURST ALLOTMENTS / being part of the / TUSCULUM ESTATE. / Subdivided into convenient Plots suitable for Villa or Cottage Sites, and commanding the most charming positions in the Neighbourhood of the City. / To be Sold by / MESSRS MORT & BROWN. / on …………… / by Order of the Proprietor / George John Rogers Esqr. — J. Allan Lithr. 2 Bridge St.
TERMS: 10 per Cent. Cash deposit. / 15 per Cent. Bill at 3 months. / 25 per Cent. Bill at 3 years. / 25 per Cent. Bill at 4 years / 25 per Cent. Bill at 5 years. / The three last payments bearing interest at the rate of 8 per Cent. per Annum.
Plan labels: Dowling Street · Brougham Street · Victoria Street · Albert Street · Macleay Street · Sections 1–5 · Bishops Paddock · Mr. Longs Residence · Mr. Longs Stables · Dr. Nicholson's Residence · The Estate of Dr. Nicholson · Mrs Stevens Residence · Residence of J. Raymond Esqr. · Woolloomooloo Bay · Landing Wharf from Boats · High Water Mark. Lot purchasers pencilled include Venteman, J. O'Neill, J. Sheehy, M. Dillon, M. Dunan [?], E. Venteman, J. Greer, T. Jones, J. Gould. Pencil note top left: [?Grant … dated 11th Oct 1831] [illegible].
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Plan labels: VICTORIA ST. · ALBERT ST. · MACLEAY ST. · MR. W. LONG · Road / Lane · Cottages · “Lots 5 to 1[?7] inclusive 0 1 13 purchased by Mr. Long”.
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POTTS POINT / TUSCULUM HOUSE & GROUNDS ESTATE / Subdivision in 6 Magnificent Building Lots including House Block which comprises stately Residence “TUSCULUM” containing very large accommodation
The last opportunity to buy vacant land in the Heart of this Great Apartment District, suitable for Flats, Boarding Houses etc. where the upper floors will have Unsurpassed Views of the City and Harbour, and in the immediate vicinity of Palatial Flat & Apartment Buildings; such as “KINGSCLERE”, the 11 Story Building in course of completion opposite, and Nos 44 & 52 Macleay Street etc.
AUCTION SALE on the GROUND at 3 P.M. SATY 21ST JANY 1928 / HARDIE & GORMAN PTY LTD. Auctioneers, 36 Martin Place / TORRENS TITLE
David L. Aitken & Barron, Vendors Solicitors, 81 Elizabeth St. / Victor Cornfield, Licensed Surveyor, 9 Martin Place. Streets: Manning St. · Tusculum St. · Hughes St. · Victoria St. · Macleay St. · Greenknowe Ave. · Larbert [?]
TERMS: For Lots 1 and 3 to 6: Cash or 15% Deposit, Balance in 12 equal quarterly payments, Interest at 6½%. For Lot 2: Cash or 15% Deposit, Balance on contract payable in 12 equal quarterly payments, or 15% Deposit, a further 35% in 3 months, balance on mortgage for 3 years from date of contract, with Interest at 7%. Right to pay off. All measurements are subject to Dep. Plan.
Photo captions: “Large Block of Magnificent Apartments nearly completed” — IN POSITION AS SHOWN · “KINGSCLERE” — IN POSITION AS SHOWN. F. Cunninghame & Co. Ltd. Litho Sydney.
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SYDNEY PROPERTY SALE. Tusculum House and grounds, at Potts Point (Sydney) were submitted to auction on Saturday afternoon. This fine old historic residence, built of stone, with cedar fittings throughout, stands in spacious grounds, with frontage to Manning, Hughes, and Tusculum Streets. The house was built by Mr. W. Long in 1835, and is in a wonderful state of preservation. There was a good deal of competition, but in no case was the reserve reached. The house, however, was sold with the land upon which it stands, for £10,000, subject to approval. The grounds were subdivided into five building blocks, and these were, after spirited competition, passed in for private treaty, the best offers being from £77/10/ to £157 a foot, according to the position of the lots.
[Note: the clipping's statement that W. Long built the house in 1835 is the newspaper's own; the house was built c.1831–36 for A. B. Spark to John Verge's design, and William Long bought it later — see the post text.]
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PROPERTY MARKET. The operations in real estate have this week again been on a limited scale, though the auction rooms are well attended, competition does not reach to buying point, and almost everything is passed on for further negotiation. Nearly all the business done [?is] effected by private negotiation. To-morrow (Saturday) afternoon, suburban subdivisions are to be offered as follows:—By Messrs. Hardie and Gorman, ten splendid business sites, with frontages to the Avenue and Military-road, Mosman, the site of the old Congregational Church. By Messrs. Raine and Horne, the Grand View Estate, Randwick, comprising 22 good-sized allotments, from which as the name implies, there is a magnificent view, with contiguity to the tramline, fronting good streets. The following particulars of business have been supplied:—
Richardson and Wrench, Limited, report having sold by auction and private contract during the week the following properties:—Block of land, forming part of Tusculum Estate, Potts Point, fronting Tusculum-street, for the sum of £818 [?] 15s; allotment of land forming part of Vaucluse Estate (fourth subdivision) for the sum of £360 [?]; small freehold property fronting Brougham-street, Glebe, for £820 [?]; allotment, fronting Parramatta-road, Strathfield (part of Salisbury Estate), for the sum of £106 13s 4d.
Messrs. Hardie and Gorman report having sold during the week the following properties:—Coogee, residence and grounds known as Athol Park, for £1650 [?]; city, business premises fronting Regent-street, for £420 [?]; Hurstville, block of land, 75ft to Wontora-road, at 35s per foot, £131 [?] 5s; Waverley, block of land, … [The remainder of the column (further Hardie and Gorman, Mossrs. Slade and Brown and Hugh Dixson [?] sales) is too small in this copy to read reliably: [illegible].]
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Catalogue / THE VALUABLE / Furniture and Appointments / —AT— / “TUSCULUM,” / The Residence of L. E. ISAACS, Esq. / Macleay Street, Potts Point. / Important Auction Sale / Wednesday, 19th December, 1906. / JAMES R. LAWSON & LITTLE, Fine Art and General Auctioneers, 128 & 130 PITT ST. (Near King St.), SYDNEY. Telephone 2056. / Webbdale, Shoosmith and Co., Printers, Sydney.
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CATALOGUE OF THE / Valuable Furniture / Recherche and Costly Appointments, / Superb Ronisch Pianoforte, Drawing Room Grand, in Walnut Case. / Carrara Marble Statuary, / Sterling Silver Plate, / Crystal Cut Table Glass. / Royal Wilton Pile & Axminster Carpets, &c. &c. &c.
To be Sold by Auction —ON— Wednesday, 19th December, 1906 at 11 o'clock a.m., and throughout the day, —AT— “TUSCULUM,” Macleay Street, Potts Point, Under instructions from L. E. ISAACS, Esq., in consequence of his departure for Europe. / JAMES R. LAWSON & LITTLE, Fine Art and General Auctioneers, 128-130 PITT STREET (near King Street), SYDNEY. TELEPHONE 2056.
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Special Note — “Tusculum” — Will be open to view on . . . . TUESDAY, 18th December, from 10 o'clock a.m. to 5 o'clock p.m., and Prior to Sale on WEDNESDAY, 19th December, from 9 o'clock a.m.
The Auctioneers beg respectfully to direct Special Attention to the Artistic Character and General Excellence of the Furniture and Appointments throughout the Residence.
Musicians should find the Magnificent Ronisch Drawing Room Grand Pianoforte of Special Interest.
☞ The whole of the Furniture and Effects have been in use a short period only, the principal Suites and most Important Items having been imported from England within the last eighteen months.
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4 — CONDITIONS OF SALE.
1. The highest bidder to be the purchaser, and in case of dispute the lot to be put up again, and the Auctioneer's decision to be final.
2. Every bidding shall be at least 5 per cent. in advance of the previous one, and no party will be allowed to retract his or her bidding after once taken.
3. A deposit of 25 per cent. to be paid when required by the Auctioneer, or the whole of the purchase money if demanded, the deposit to be applicable to all or any of the lots purchased.
4. The clerk to sign the sale book for and on behalf of the vendor and purchaser.
5. No lots allowed to be removed during the sale.
6. All goods must be removed before 11 o'clock of day following sale; if not so removed, the deposit (if any) will be forfeited, and the lot stored and re-sold, either by public auction or private contract, and any deficiency arising from such second sale, together with all costs, charges and expenses attending thereon, shall be made good by the defaulter at this present sale, and it shall not be necessary to give any notice of such re-sale.
7. Each lot is sold with all faults (if any), and no claim for damage or errors of any description will be entertained; purchasers are therefore particularly requested to examine the lots before purchasing.
8. Should any deficiency arise in the quantity of goods sold, the Auctioneer will not be bound to deliver more than what is actually in his or the Vendor's possession.
TERMS: NET CASH BEFORE DELIVERY.
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CATALOGUE. Purchasers are respectfully and specially requested to note THAT ALL GOODS MUST BE PAID FOR BEFORE REMOVAL, in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of Sale as printed in this Catalogue; and that delivery will be given only on production of the Auctioneers' Invoice.
Crystal Cut Table Glass.
1 Water bottle and glass
2 Eleven liqueur glasses
3 Five tumblers
4 Eleven ice plates
5 Eleven sweetmeat dishes
6 Table Suite of Very Beautiful Crystal Cut Glass, consisting of three lemonade tumblers, twenty-four dinner tumblers, seventeen champagne glasses, eighteen port, twenty-one sherry, eighteen claret, seventeen liqueur, eighteen custard, eighteen jelly glasses, and eighteen finger bowls
7 Six porcelain menu stands
8 Two crystal cut water jugs
9 Glass-covered butter dish
10 Suite of Fine Table Glass, consisting of eight tumblers, eighteen sherry, eighteen champagnes, sixteen claret, eighteen port, and eighteen liqueur glasses
11 Two cut and engraved claret jugs
12 Electro-plated liquer stand, and twelve glasses
13 Fourteen various finger bowls
14 Eighteen ice plates
15 Cut pickle jar
16 Four round glass compot dishes
17 Two glass comportieres
18 Five various large glass dishes
Transcription:
6 — 19 Syrup jug, with plated top
20 Eighteen cut jelly glasses, two tumblers, and one claret glass
21 Eight various large glass dishes
Fine China and Porcelain.
22 Doulton Porcelain Dessert Service, floral paintings and royal blue and gold border, consisting of twelve plates and five comports
23 Twelve Exquisite Bisto China Afternoon Cups and Saucers, royal blue and gold
24 Royal Doulton White and Gold Breakfast and Tea Set, fourteen breakfast cups and saucers, eighteen tea cups and saucers, thirteen bread and butter plates, and twenty-one smaller plates
25 Four Doulton china jugs, with gold handles
26 One exhibition large willow pattern cup and saucer
27 Small wedgewood milk jug
28 Three white and gold milk jugs
29 Large opal lamp shade
30 Royal Doulton China Dinner Service, white, with gold edge, about 130 pieces
Electroplate.
31 Two small toast racks
32 Two entree dishes, with covers and moveable handles
33 Electro-plated bottle holder
34 Soup Tureen and Cover, by Elkington & Co.
35 Oviform Cold Meat Dish, with raised edge
36 Very Handsome Large Salver or Tea Tray, manufactured by Read and Barton, very richly chased and embossed
37 Two tall silver-plated candlesticks
38 Crystal sardine dish, with electro-plated mounts
39 Engraved biscuit barrel, with electro-plated mounts
40 Handsome Tea Kettle, with spirit lamp attached
41 Ice bucket, with strainer
Transcription:
7 — Sterling Silver.
42 Eighteen Sterling Silver and Gold Cased Ice Plates, with repousse borders, vine leaves and grapes; fitted with cut glass dishes and eighteen spoons en suite, by Sorley, Silversmith, Glasgow
43 Two Sterling Silver Entree Dishes, with hot water under dishes and moveable handles; by Sorley, Glasgow, weight 213 oz.
44 Sterling Silver Meat Dish, weight 270 oz., and sterling silver cover, weight 130 oz.
45 Sterling silver and cut glass champagne jug
Dining Room.
46 Two massive window cornices, with carved pediments
47 A Noble Sideboard, in Solid American Walnut, designed with lofty cabinet and mirror back, with side cupboards, the under portion fitted with plate and glass cupboards and damask drawers, boldly finished and relieved with ornate carvings; size, 7ft.
*** This Magnificent Sideboard is designed in grand proportions, finished in the highest order of English cabinet work, and should command the admiration of all lovers of high-class furniture.
48 Massive Solid Walnut Overmantel, with cabinet cupboards and shelves, designed and carved to correspond with sideboard
49 Suite of Twelve Massive and Very Handsome Solid Walnut Dining Chairs, boldly carved frames; the seats and backs upholstered in crimson morocco leather (in perfect preservation)
50 Massive Walnut Dinner Waggon, with carved back and two drawers, size 4ft. 6in.
51 Golden Oak Telescope Dining Table, with elliptic ends, on massive standards with carved lion's feet terminals and extra centre leg, extending 12ft. (This massive table can be closed up to form a circular table, and has a large extra circular top to dine twenty persons)
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8 — 52 Rich silk chenille table cover, reversible with border and fringe, deep claret colour
53 Valuable Black Marble and Bronze Clock, strikes the hours and half-hours, highly recommended as a correct timekeeper
54 Large Vienna china vase, decorated in birds and foliage
55 Two art faience vases, chocolate and green
56 Two Valuable Bronze Figures—“Peace” and “Plenty” (purchased at the sale of the Felton collection, Melbourne)
57 Two white china flower and candle holders, supported by figures of cherubs, together with shades
58 Fine china vase, blue iris on gold ground
59 Walnut butler's tray, on folding stand
60 Large faience pedestal and palm bowl, richly coloured
61 Large faience pedestal and palm bowl, richly coloured
62 Silvered glass mirror, for table plateau
63 Walnut octagon table, with rouge marble top and under platform
64 Large white china swan ornament
65 Two Massive Bronzed Ewer Shaped Vases, heavily worked in repoussé, dolphin handles, figures of cherubs, and ram's head in relief
66 Two highly decorated opal glass vases
67 Two white china flower holders
68 Two small swan flower holders
69 Glass ruby-tinted and hand-painted vase
70 Set of Table Chime Gongs, in oak stand
71 Small Spanish mahogany side table
Valuable Oil Paintings.
72 Two Large Oil Paintings—“The Holy City” and “Mount Zion” (purchased at the sale of the late Lord Loftus' collection)
S. PERCIVAL
73 Valuable Large Oil Painting—New Zealand mountain and lake scene
H. McWHITTLE
74 Valuable Oil Painting—mountain and seascape, with fishing boats
Transcription:
9 — UNKNOWN
75 Valuable Oil Painting—“The Sacrifice”—(in carved Florentine frame), from the Wentworth collection
UNKNOWN
76 Valuable Oil Painting—“The Bather Surprised”
H. McWHITTLE
77 Valuable Oil Painting—Landscape and mountain torrent
Drawing Room.
78 Royal Wilton Pile Carpet, best English manufacture, with border, size about 27ft. x 18ft., delicate peacock blue ground, with æsthetic floral design
79 White Angora goat skin rug
80 Electric Radiator, with four lights, artistic brass and copper frame
81 Two faience figures, lady and cavalier
82 Parian marble figure, girl with flower
83 The companion figure, girl standing on lotus leaf
84 Specimen flower holder, in metal frame, with storks at base
85 Blue and gold cut glass vase
86 Exquisite vase, blue iris flower on gold ground
87 Art faience bust—“Rose”
88 Companion figure—“Mohu”
89 Four small various glass vases
90 Art faience figure of cat
91 Large porcelain flower pot, green leaf decoration
92 Two small square top tables, with under shelf and framing
93 Ebonised tall pedestal, decorated incised gold, and porcelain rim
94 Artistic copper jardiniere
95 The Ronisch Drawing Room Grand Pianoforte, in very beautiful Italian Walnut Case
*** This superb instrument was specially imported for Mr. L. E. Isaacs by Messrs. Paling & Co., within the last eighteen months, and is therefore practically new. Ladies and gentlemen requiring a really high-grade Pianoforte should find the above of special interest and should personally inspect.
Transcription:
10 — 96 Blue chenille piano mat
97 Music stool, upholstered in Lyons silk damask
98 Cut Brass Telescopic Drawing-Room Lamp, with electric light attachment, and supported by table, with onyx top
99 White-Enamelled Cosy Corner Fitment, with silk screen back, and shelves for ornaments, upholstered in French cretonne
100 Six various silk sofa cushions (to be sold separately)
101 Bisquit Dresden wall ornament, with figures of cherubs
102 Four various small glass vases
103 Four various small glass vases
104 Porcelain vase, with figure of girl
105 Luxurious Chesterfield Couch, upholstered in costly bourette tapestry
106 Extra Large Divan Chair, with cushion back, upholstered to correspond with Chesterfield
107 Large Easy Arm Chair, upholstered in bourette tapestry
108 Small mahogany pot stand
109 Chippendale High-Back Arm Chair, upholstered in fine Lyons silk damask
110 Another high-back chair, similar
111 Chippendale Open Back Arm Chair, upholstered in Lyons silk damask
112 Two White-Enamelled High-Backed Occasional Chairs, upholstered in Lyons silk damask
113 Enamelled Occasional Chair, upholstered in water wave, salmon pink damask
114 Hand-painted ornamental pot-stand, together with large Burmantoft palm bowl
115 Two Exquisite Dresden Wall Plaques, with figures in full relief, very delicately tinted
116 A Valuable Carrara Marble Statuary Group of large size, exquisitely chiselled—“Canova's Dancing Girls”
*** This Superb Statuary Group should attract the attention of all lovers of the Fine Arts. The chiselling is remarkably fine, and the figures of rare grace and beauty.
117 Dark mahogany pedestal stand, with carved cabriole legs
118 Two mahogany Chippendale tall palm stands
119 Large green Burmantoft palm bowl
120 Art porcelain vase, with figures of children
Transcription:
11 — 121 Very Handsome Drawing-room Lamp, with Electro-plated Standard, Parian figure at base—“Kneeling Venus,” together with shade, complete
122 Small rustic flower holder
123 Green-tinted glass vase, richly embellished
124 Very Massive Carved Arm Chair, the back, seat, arms, and legs very profusely carved in dragons, figures, and foliage
125 Another massive carved arm chair similar
126 Pair of Rosewood and Marqueterie Envelope Folding Top Card Tables, with cloth lined tops and drawers
127 Large art porcelain vase, with figures of children and artificial roses
128 Large and Valuable Water-colour Drawing—New Zealand coast scene, with war canoes, by G. de Labross
129 Two Photogravures, in enamelled and silvered frames—“Painting” and “Music”
130 Exquisite coloured photogravure—“Charmant”
131 Photogravure—‘Intimate”
132 Exquisite tinted photogravure—“May Day”
133 Large photogravure, in enamelled and silvered frame—“Paledium”
134 Photogravure—“Confidence”
135 Three massive brass window poles, with rings, complete
Library.
136 Royal Axminster Carpet, size 15ft. x 12ft., rich green and peacock blue colouring
137 Valuable Black Marble Clock, with porcelain painted panel, landscape scene, river, and birds
*** A correct timekeeper, strikes the hours and half-hours, with chime.
138 Large Austrian china vase, painted with birds and flowers
139 Small Doulton ewer-shaped vase, decorations of flowers
140 Two landscape scenes, painted on glass, with gilt edges
141 Two small ruby and gold glass vases
142 Two small oak circular top pot stands
Transcription:
12 — 143 Two large green faience palm holders
144 Burmantoft faience pedestal, together with large flower pot
MASSIVE GOLDEN OAK SUITE consisting of
145 A Very Bold Sideboard, fitted with three cupboards and three drawers, bevelled mirror back, with shelf supported by massive turned columns, size 6ft.
146 Side waggon fitted with two drawers and under platform, size 4ft.
147 Telescope Dining Table, on Very Massive Standards, with carved dolphin terminals and extra centre leg, can be extended to 12ft., with spare leaves or closed to form circular table
148 Four massive oak chairs and two arm chairs, upholstered in stamped olive green morocco leather
149 Solid Golden Oak Cabinet Bookcase, fitted with fall front, disclosing secretaire, three drawers and two side cupboards, plate glass doors to book compartments, finished with very massive metal handles size 5ft.
150 A Range of Solid Oak Bookshelves, specially fitted to corner of room and constructed with numerous moveable shelves with morocco leather edging (to contain a great number of volumes)
151 Large Morris chair, with adjustable back, upholstered in dark green pantasote
152 Two artistic woven rush arm-chairs
153 One artistic woven rush arm-chair
154 One small woven rush chair
155 One small woven rush chair
156 Four cushions, in cretonne
157 Rosewood Marqueterie Chair, with tub-shaped back, upholstered in Lyons silk damask, together with loose cretonne cover
158 One tall green glass vase
159 Large porcelain vase, nursery rhyme decoration
160 Porcelain cat
Transcription:
13 — 161 Art china vase, with figure of Dutch girl
162 Three white porcelain flower holders
163 One white porcelain rustic flower holder
164 Painted covered vase
165 Electro-plated reading lamp, with reflector
166 Artistic copper jardiniere, square shaped
167 Art porcelain double-handled vases
168 Tinted glass vase
169 Copper palm holder
170 Waste paper basket
171 Square-top table, with china plaque and under shelf
172 Green chenille mat
W. H. WILLIAMHAU
173 Valuable Oil Painting—Seascape with Dutch fishing smacks
C. ANSDALE
174 Valuable oil painting—“The Old Hunter”
W. C. ROTH, 1839
175 Water-colour drawing—“Girl with Doll”
176 Two Oil Paintings—Yachting off the coast of England
177 Oil painting, on panel portrait
178 Valuable Old Oil Painting—“The Magdalen in the Desert”
179 Old Oil Painting—Woodland scene, with stream, figure in foreground
N. KOLLER
180 Oil painting—“Harvest Scene”
J. H. CARSE, 1888
181 Oil Painting—“Moonlight landscape scene”
A. ROLLETT
182 Small oil painting—Woodland scene, with river
J. LASCELLES
183 Valuable Oil Painting—Coast scene, fishing village, numerous boats and figures
Transcription:
14 — E. FOLLI
184 Two Oil Paintings—“Venetian Orange Seller,” “Venetian Girl embarking on Gondola”
J. HAWTHORN
185 Oil painting, on panel—Welsh mountain and landscape scene
186 Odd volumes of books
Bedroom (off Library).
187 Royal Axminster carpet, with border, size 18ft. x 6ft.
188 Linoleum floor mat, and waste-paper basket
189 Massive Black and Brass Half-Tester Bedstead, with ornamental footrail, wove-wire mattress, best kapok mattress, and two pillows, 6ft. 6in. x 3ft.
190 Solid Ash and Walnut Bedroom Suite, consisting of—Single wardrobe, with bevelled-edged mirror door, and three drawers under; 4ft. dressing table, with bevelled swing mirror, four jewel drawers, and two drawers under; Combination washstand, with marble top, mirror back, two drawers, and cupboard
191 Porcelain toilet service, water bottle and glass
192 Rush-seated chair
Front Vestibule and Entrance Hall.
193 Large Axminster rug, 12ft. x 3ft. 6in.
194 Two Massive Rosewood Tables, with carved frames and rouge marble tops, 4ft. 6in. x 2ft.
195 Large yellow faience palm holder
196 Large china hand-painted bowl
197 Austrian folding chair
198 Three rattan arm chairs
199 Five large cushions
Transcription:
15 — 200 One woven rush arm chair
201 One woven rush arm chair
202 Two rattan arm chairs
203 Millar's ideal reading lamp in brass, with green shade
204 White china flower pot
205 Two lacquered Japanese panels with ivory figures inlaid
206 Small oil painting—landscape, by J. H. Carse
207 Small oil painting—landscape with castle, by J. Swinton Diston
208 Patent room warmer
209 Coir mat “Tusculum” and large door scraper
210 Large crimson chenille rug
211 Three red chenille door mats
212 Massive Solid Walnut Combination Hall Stand, Console Glass and Jardiniere, fitted with cylinder pottery umbrella holders and large loose jardiniere for palms, very large console mirror, carved pediment (made specially to order)
213 Small circular top palm stand and green palm pot
214 Extra Large and Very Massive Carved Arm Chair, profusely carved in subjects of dragons, birds and foliage
215 Massive Carved Arm Chair—smaller
216 Carrara Marble Statue—“Tyrolean Shepherd playing Pipes”—on large circular pedestal, standing together about 6ft. high
217 Two fluted pedestals
218 Two art faience palm holders
219 Hand-painted wood pedestal, and large copper jardiniere
220 Two Large Porcelain Plaques, with hand-painted centres—“Dice” and “Cards,” with deep gold borders
221 Ebonised tall palm stand, and majolica flower pot
222 Oil painting—river scene, with castle, signed W.R.
223 Brass rod, and chenille portiere curtain to telephone room
Transcription:
16 — Staircase and Main Landing.
224 Four chenille slip mats
225 Rustic flower stand
226 Ash circular table, in iron frame
227 Indian embroidered table cover
228 Large Water-colour Drawing—“Sydney Harbour.” Dismantled barque in Neutral Bay; by Captain P. Taylor
229 Oil painting—Trawlers
230 Small oil painting—Cattle
231 Crimson Axminster carpet runner
232 Solid Cedar Two-door Wardrobe, with ample hanging spaces, extra well made and finished
Bedroom No. 1.
233 Royal Axminster Carpet, best English manufacture, with border, pale green ground with festoons of roses, about 22ft. x 15ft.
234 Linoleum floor mat, and waste-paper basket
235 Artistic Overmantel, with carved frame, bevelled centre mirror and side panels, with autotype portraits
236 Clock in porcelain case, with cameo decoration and two side vases to correspond
237 Two white porcelain combination flower and candle holders, with fancy shades
238 Two highly-decorated glass vases
239 Pair of Solid Mahogany Twin Bedsteads, each 6ft. 6in. x 3ft., with brass Italian tops, highly finished and decorated with brass and copper panels, furnished with extra quality roll-edge woven wire mattresses, English horsehair mattresses of the very best quality, and feather pillows
240 Two eiderdown coverlets
241 Large Chesterfield Couch, upholstered in plain calico, soft-stuffed, with spring seat and back, together with cretonne cover and two large cushions to correspond
Transcription:
17 — FINE OLD MAHOGANY FURNITURE, REPRODUCTIONS OF DESIGNS FROM GENUINE CHIPPENDALE—VERY HIGHLY FINISHED.
*** THIS VERY BEAUTIFUL BEDROOM FURNITURE was specially imported by Mr. L. E. Isaacs within the last eighteen months, and should appeal to all lovers of the artistic, and to those who seek exclusive designs in furniture.
242 Fine Old Mahogany Dressing Table and Bureau, admirably constructed, with very large bevelled swing mirror, two extra long drawers, and three small drawers, with solid brass handles, size 5ft.
243 Fine Old Mahogany Washstand, with rail back, fitted with two drawers, and cupboards under
244 Fine Old Mahogany Bureau of Seven Drawers, with swing bevelled-edged mirror back
245 Fine Old Mahogany Dressing Table, fitted with five drawers, and large bevelled-edge swing mirror
246 Fine Old Mahogany Wardrobe, with large bevelled mirror door, fitted with ample hanging room and long drawer
247 Four mahogany chairs, with fine cane seats
248 Mahogany towel rail
249 Wedgewood double toilet service
250 Crystal cut glass water bottle and tumbler
251 Fine Old Dark Mahogany Davenport Writing Desk, fitted with three drawers with brass handles, lift lid disclosing pigeon holes, and top lined with morocco leather
252 Milner's Burglar and Fire Proof Iron Safe, size 18 x 20 x 24, on stand
253 Three Very Fine Coloured Photographs, Japanese scenes, in enamelled and gold frames—“Avenue of Trees,” “Wistaria Bridge,” and Fujiyama
254 Photo. in enamelled frame—“Mrs. Brown Potter”
255 Two Very Choice Water Colour Drawings, by Earp—Swiss mountain and lake scenes
256 Waste paper basket
Transcription:
18 — Dressing Room.
257 Royal Axminster carpet square
258 Gentleman's Wardrobe in Solid Walnut, with hanging compartment enclosed by bevelled mirror door, side cupboard, four small drawers and three large drawers, size 5ft.
259 Gentleman's Dwarf Wardrobe in English Birch, fitted with two side hanging compartments and five drawers in centre
260 Small clock in gilt ormolu frame
261 Polished pine pedestal washstand, with high tiled back, rouge marble top, cupboard and four drawers
262 Wedgewood toilet service
263 Lino. floor mat, water bottle and glass
264 Gentleman's shaving mirror, telescopic iron frame
265 Iron hat and coat stand
266 Small bamboo table
267 Golden Oak Boot and Dressing Cabinet, fitted with two drawers and under cupboard, bevelled-edge swing mirror
268 Large size towel rail
Night Nursery.
269 Royal Axminster carpet, crimson, with floral border, size 15ft. x 12ft.
270 Walnut overmantel, with bevelled-edged mirror and shelves
271 Vase, and small ornaments
272 American Walnut Bedroom Suite, consisting of wardrobe, with centre-bevelled mirror door, size 6ft.; Four feet pedestal dressing table, with long swing mirror, cupboards, and drawers; Pedestal washstand, with marble top and tiled back; Pedestal cupboard, towel rail, and two chairs
273 Austrian arm chair
274 Black and Nickel Italian Half-Tester Bedstead, wire mattress, kapok mattress and pillows, size 6ft. 6in. x 2ft. 6in.
Transcription:
19 — 275 Black and Nickel Half-Tester Bedstead, wire mattress, kapok mattress, and pillows, 6ft. 6in. x 3ft.
276 Blankets, to be sold in suitable lots
277 First-Class Sewing Machine—Invader, with table and cover
278 Single toilet service, water bottle, and glass
279 Brass window rod
280 Flat iron, and stand
281 Poker work framed panel
282 Framed picture
Bedroom No. 2.
283 Royal Axminster Carpet Square, size 12ft. x 10ft.
284 Morris green overmantel
285 Three various glass vases
286 Two metal vases, with figures
287 Morris Green Bedroom Suite, designed in artistic taste, consisting of 5ft. Wardrobe, with bevelled-edged mirror, two cupboards, recess and two drawers; Combination Dressing Chest, with swing mirror and five drawers; Combination Washstand, with high tiled back and rouge marble top and one chair
288 Single toilet service, water bottle and glass
289 Green Enamelled and Brass Bedstead, with Italian top, woven wire mattress, kapok mattress and pillows, size 6ft. 6in. x 3ft.
290 Small mahogany table
291 Two small wall brackets
292 Oil painting—Landscape and lake scene, by A. Steffani
Transcription:
20 — Bedroom No. 3.
293 Royal Axminster Carpet, about 18ft. x 15ft., with border
294 Magnificent Bedroom Suite, in Polished Huon Pine, consisting of—7ft. Wardrobe, with large bevelled-mirror door, commodiously fitted with sliding trays, drawers, and hanging compartments; Pedestal Dressing Table, with long cheval dressing mirror, and twelve drawers; Pedestal Washstand, with marble top and tiled back, pedestal cupboards and three drawers; Pedestal cupboard, towel rail, and three chairs with cretonne covers
295 Pair of Twin Nickel Italian Bedsteads, each 6ft. 6in. x 3ft., woven wire mattresses, best kapok mattresses and pillows
296 Eugenie Bedroom Lounge, covered in plain calico, together with loose cretonne cover and cushion to match
297 Austrian folding chair
298 Linoleum mat and waste paper basket
299 Fine china double toilet service
300 Cut-glass water bottle, and tumbler
301 Polished pine overmantel, with shelf top
302 Tinted glass vase
303 Two glass vases
304 Two flower and candle-holders, in white china
305 Large Coloured Japanese Photograph—“Cherry Trees in Blossom”
306 Two brass window rods
Balcony Work Room.
307 Austrian folding chair
308 Small polished pine wardrobe
309 Pine-top table
310 Four Austrian arm chairs
311 Two coir mats
Transcription:
21 — Bathroom.
312 Large linen basket
313 Small iron washstand
314 Enamelled water can and pail
315 Chair, brushes, and sundries
Bathroom No. 2.
316 Patent Bath Heater, by Fletcher, Russell & Co. with the latest improvements
317 Large arm chair, with adjustable back, loose cushions
318 Three Austrian arm chairs
319 Austrian folding chair
Bedroom No. 4. Off Telephone Room.
320 Royal Axminster carpet, 20ft. by 6ft.
321 Stained Walnut Bedroom Suite, consisting of single wardrobe with bevelled-edge mirror door and one drawer, large combination dressing chest, combination washstand with marble top and tiled back
322 Fine porcelain toilet service
323 Two Austrian chairs
324 Solid oak octagon table
325 Black and Nickel Italian Bedstead, woven wire mattress, best quality kapok mattress and pillows, 6ft. 6in. x 3ft.
326 Similar bedstead and bedding
327 Lino mat and waste paper basket
328 Chenille door mat
Transcription:
22 — Corridor and Servery.
329 Milner's Fire Proof and Burglar Proof Safe, white enamelled, size 6ft. x 4ft. x 2ft. 6in.
330 Pine table, 6ft. x 3ft. 6in.
331 Two chairs
332 Wire fruit safe
333 Three japanned canisters
334 Three wire flower holders, for table decoration
335 Six glass insulators
336 Large French coffee percolator
337 Small step-ladder
338 Four various trays
339 Earthernware jug
340 Two enamel jugs
341 Ice breaker, &c.
Glass and China Pantry.
342 Covered bucket
343 Spring-roller blind
344 First Class Family Ice Chest—“Crown Jewel”
345 Long pair steps
346 Patent carpet sweeper
347 Brooms, brushes, and dust pans
348 Two coir mats
Kitchen.
349 Two spring-roller blinds
350 Three towel rollers
351 Large Kitchen Dresser, with glass doors, under cupboards, and drawers
352 Smaller dresser, with glass sliding doors
353 Extra large white wood kitchen table
354 White wood table, one drawer
355 Six Austrian arm chairs
356 Large bread crock
Transcription:
23 — 357 Flour tin
358 Set six glass jars, with covers
359 Twenty-six china plates, and odd crockery
360 Three mixing bowls
361 One large mixing bowl
362 Two salt boxes, and spice box
363 Glass butter, sugar basin, lemon squeezer, and brown tea pot
364 Odd china
365 Three china jugs, and two pottery jugs
Scullery.
366 Fibre matting
367 Pine table, with drawer
368 Two chopping boards, paste board, and tray
369 Eight enamelled pie dishes
370 Three tin pudding bowls
371 Ice bucket
372 Two large wire covers
373 Two billy cans, and two wash-up dishes
374 Three enamelled buckets
375 Spring-roller blind
Servant's Quarters.
376 Lino. on stairs and in passage
Bedroom No. 1.
377 Linoleum
378 Bedside rug
379 Spring-roller blind
380 Single half-tester bedstead and bedding
381 Stained combination dressing chest
382 One chair
383 Washstand and toilet ware
384 Hanging wardrobe
Transcription:
24 — Bedroom No. 2.
385 Linoleum
386 Spring blind
387 Bedside rug
388 Single half-tester bedstead and bedding
389 Rush seated chair
390 Pine combination dressing chest
391 Washstand and toilet ware
392 Pine hanging wardrobe
Bedroom No. 3.
393 Linoleum on floor
394 Spring-roller blind
395 Bedside rug
396 Single half-tester bedstead and bedding
397 Pine combination dressing chest
398 Pine hanging wardrobe
399 Rush-seated chair
Bedroom No. 4.
400 Linoleum
401 Two spring-roller blinds
402 Bedside rug
403 Single half-tester bedstead and bedding
404 Two pine hanging wardrobes
405 Washstand and toilet ware
406 Stained walnut combination dressing chest
407 Rush-seated chair
Transcription:
25 — Outside.
408 Five Austrian chairs, with embossed seats
409 One rush seated chair
410 Crates and sundry cases
411 Trestle and board
412 White enamelled cabinet fitment
413 Rat traps
414 Mice traps
415 Axe, tomahawk, &c.
416 Two garbage tins
417 Wheelbarrow
418 Chaff cutter
419 Large pianoforte case
420 Two cisterns
421 Knife machine
422 Corn cracker
423 Trestles and boards
424 Wire clothes lines
425 Ransomes' Lawn Mower (large size)
426 Little Wonder lawn mower
427 Lawn tennis marker
428 Sprinkler
429 Garden tools
430 Roll wire netting
431 Pots for plants, &c
432 Two long ladders
433 Three garden seats
434 Marble-top table
435 Monarch Water Ballast Iron Garden Roller
436 Gates, post, and trellis work
Laundry.
437 Large ironing table, with drawer
438 Smaller ironing table, with drawer
439 Two-Roller Patent Mangle, Edward Jewell (new)
440 Iron heating stove, and six flat irons
441 Two skirt boards
442 Three clothes baskets
Transcription:
26 — 443 Clothes drainer
444 Patent wringer
445 Bucket, starch dish, pail, and dipper
446 Preserving bottles
447 Two foot-boards
Cottage.
448 Oak pattern linoleum
449 Five window blinds, pole and curtains
450 Walnut Cabinet, fitted with cupboard, drawer, and shelf back
451 China flower bowl
452 Oval top table, and cover
453 Three Austrian arm chairs
454 Small wood seat
455 Tennis set, with net
456 Croquet set
457 Engraving Royal family
458 Axminster carpet
459 Single stained walnut bedroom suite, three pieces
460 Single toilet service
461 Single half-tester bedstead and bedding
462 Cretonne curtain
463 Towel rail
Transcription:
Back cover: JAMES R. LAWSON & LITTLE, Fine Art and General Auctioneers, Valuers, Arbitrators, and General COMMISSION AGENTS, 128 & 130 PITT STREET (Near KING STREET), SYDNEY.
Transcription:
Armistice Day in Sydney — General Monash Honoured
A DINNER PARTY AT POTTS POINT. After the ceremony in connection with the opening of the Jewish Memorial Hall Mr. O. Phillips entertained those in the picture at dinner at Tusculum, his Potts Point home. Back Row (left to right): Rev. J. Danglow (Melbourne), Captain A. M. Cohen, A. [?Bluske], Mrs. A. W. Hyman, E. Davis, Major A. W. Hyman, Mrs. E. Davis, S. S. Cohen, Mrs. J. J. Cohen, Rabbi F. L. Cohen. Front Row: Mrs. Danglow (Melbourne), Judge Cohen, Mrs. O. Phillips, General Sir John Monash, O. Phillips, Mrs. F. L. Cohen, Rabbi [?Brodie] (East Melbourne). [Caption is faint in this copy; several names are uncertain.]
AT THE MARTIN PLACE COMMEMORATION OF ARMISTICE DAY. A great crowd assembled in Martin Place on Sunday morning under the auspices of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers' Imperial League, and the commemoration service was very impressive. Many war-time organisations were [illegible]
Transcription:
FOR £28,000 / TUSCULUM HOUSE SOLD / POTTS PT. MANSION
Tusculum House, a fine old mansion at Pott's Point, was sold with its grounds at auction to-day by Hardie and Gorman, Pty., Ltd., for £28,000.
The property has frontages of 130 feet to Manning-street, 229 feet to Tusculum-street, and 111 feet to Hughes-street.
The house is of solid stone, and was built many years ago. It contains about 22 rooms, in addition to offices.
ULTIMO PROPERTY. A block of 90 terrace houses 149 to 233 Pyrmont-street, 2 to 84 Experiment-street and 12a to 20 Allen-street was submitted by the same agents to-day but was passed in at £26,500.
Transcription:
INDOOR AUCTIONS THIS WEEK / “Tusculum” Estate, Potts Point, in Hardie and Gorman's List / TO-DAY.
HARDIE and GORMAN will offer at auction in their rooms, 36 Martin Place, Sydney, at 11 a.m., the following list of investment and residential properties:—City-Ultimo: Harris Estate Freeholds, 48 shops and houses, Nos. 224 to 318 Harris Street, extending from Allen and Gipps Streets, and 90 houses, Nos. 149 to 233 Pyrmont Street, Nos. 2 to 84 Experiment Street, and Nos. 12a to 20 Allen Street. Pyrmont: Interest of lease, having about 12 years to run, of premises situate at the corner of Miller and Mount Streets. Darlinghurst-Potts Point: Important subdivisional sale of the old-time mansion known as “Tusculum,” house and grounds, situate just off Macleay Street, and fronting Manning, Tusculum, and Hughes Streets. (The property will first be offered in one line, and, if not so sold, then in three lots.) Darlinghurst-Paddington: Two-storey house, No. 10 Church Street. Paddington: Two-storey house, No. 162 Sutherland Street. Wollstonecraft: Detached cottage residence, “Kinross,” No. 17 Morton Street. Marrickville: Cottage, No. 244, Victoria Road. Marrickville: Semi-detached cottage, No. 239 Victoria Road. Marrickville: Double-fronted shop and dwelling, No. 253 Victoria Road. Marrickville: Pair of semi-detached cottages, Nos. 256 and 258 Victoria Road. Marrickville: Cottage, No. 288 Victoria Road. Marrickville: Single-fronted cottage, No. 290 Victoria Road. Parramatta: Shop and dwelling, No. 63 George Street. Parramatta: Two cottages, Nos. 125 and 127 George Street. Harris Park: Five detached cottages, fronting Wigram Street (to be sold separately). Bexley: Two detached cottages, Nos. 60 and 62 Abercrombie Street (to be sold separately). Gordon: Four building sites, Highlands Avenue. Mona Vale: Five allotments of land, Darley and Allen Streets. Marrickville: Double-fronted shop and dwelling, No. 92 Sydenham Road. St. Marys: Subdivision block of land, Great Western Road. Ashfield: Cottage residence, “Tassie,” No. 89 Bland Street.
TO-MORROW. RAINE AND HORNE will be submitting for sale in their rooms, 70 Pitt Street, Sydney, at 11 a.m., the following suburban and country properties:—Woollahra Point: “Byrn-Y-Mor,” Wyuna Road, a modern residence, converted into two excellent roomy flats, with extensive harbor views. Kirribilli: Elamang Avenue, “The Moorings,” a palatial bungalow residence, with extensive water frontage to Neutral Bay, having lounge hall, drawing-room, with ingle, dining-room, breakfast-room, these three rooms all connect with sliding doors, four bedrooms, dressing-room, [clipping cut off]
Transcription:
HISTORIC HOME AT POTT'S POINT SOLD FOR £28,000. / “TUSCULUM,” BUILT IN 1835 FOR THE LATE MR. WILLIAM LONG.
[Note: the caption's 1835 / William Long attribution is the newspaper's; Tusculum was built c.1831–36 for A. B. Spark — Long was a later owner.]
Transcription:
£28,000 Paid for a Potts Point Home
The magnificent residence, known as “Tusculum” House, at Darlinghurst-Potts Point, was sold by Hardie and Gorman yesterday for £28,000.
Its spacious grounds have a frontage to Manning Street of 150 feet, 229 feet to Tusculum Street, and 111 feet to Hughes Street.
The house is a solid stone structure of two floors, roofed with slates, and it contains all the appointments looked for in a large residence, including five bedrooms for maid-servants.
In a detached two-story brick building with slate roof, there is ample garage accommodation, man's quarters, and laundry.
Photo caption: “TUSCULUM” HOUSE.
Transcription:
Darlinghurst-Potts Point / [photo label] KINGSCLERE / This magnificent building is opposite “Tusculum” Estate, which Hardie and Gorman will auction on the ground at 3 p.m. next Saturday.
Transcription:
NEXT SATURDAY'S SUBDIVISIONS / Important Auction on the Ground at Darlinghurst-Potts Point
In addition to the subdivision auction of Enderbury Estate, Bankstown, by Bloomfields, Ltd., particulars of which were published in this section last Saturday, Hardie and Gorman Pty., Ltd., will place under the hammer, at 3 p.m. next Saturday, Tusculum house and grounds.
THIS stately and substantial residence is in the midst of a district that has been much sought after in recent years by wealthy citizens and enterprising speculators.
During last year as much as £29,000 was paid for a private home not far from “Tusculum,” and in the same locality vacant land has quite recently been sold at £150 per foot.
Tusculum estate consists of six choice building sites, including that on which the mansion stands, and competition by potential new owners is expected to be exceptionally keen.
Transcription:
“TUSCULUM” / POTT'S PT. SUBDIVISION / FIVE BLOCKS PASSED IN
Although most of the well known Sydney investors were present at Hardie and Gorman Pty., Ltd.'s subdivision of “Tusculum” and grounds at Pott's Point yesterday afternoon, little business was done.
The house block, with 68 feet frontage to Manning-street, on which the stately old home of “Tusculum” stands, was sold, subject to approval, for £10,000. Five blocks of the vacant land, comprising “Tusculum” gardens, were passed in at prices ranging from £77 10s to £157 a foot.
Messrs. Richardson and Wrench, Ltd., report having sold by public auction on the ground, various allotments in the “Bunyas” Estate, Ashfield. The prices realised ranged from £16 to £25 per foot. The total sales amounted to £4800.
S. C. E. Herring, in conjunction with Robey, Hanson and Strong, Ltd., reported successful sales of Crown land at Balgowlah yesterday. Nineteen out of 21 blocks were sold at prices ranging from £3 to £7 2s 6d a foot. The amount realised from the sales was £4470 11s 6d.
Transcription:
PROPERTY SALES. / TUSCULUM HOUSE AND GROUNDS. / UP TO £157 A FOOT OFFERED.
Tusculum House and grounds, at Potts Point were submitted to auction on Saturday afternoon by Hardie and Gorman Pty., Ltd. This fine old historic residence, built of stone, with cedar fittings throughout, stands in spacious grounds, with frontage to Manning, Hughes, and Tusculum streets. The house was built by Mr. W. Long in 1835, and is in a wonderful state of preservation.
Mr. C. B. Byrne conducted the sale. There was a good deal of competition, but in no case was the reserve reached. The house, however, was sold, with the land upon which it stands, for £10,000, subject to approval. The grounds were subdivided into five building blocks, and these were, after spirited competition, passed in for private treaty, the best offers being from £77/10/ to £157 a foot, according to the position of the lots.
LAND SALE AT BALGOWLAH. Crown land at Balgowlah was sold on Saturday at prices ranging from £3 to £7/2/6 a foot, 19 out of 21 blocks offered realising a total of £4470/11/6. The blocks were situated in Griffiths-street and Jamieson-street, close to the Manly Golf Club House. The blocks had frontages of from 45 feet to 53 feet. Mr. S. C. E. Herring, of Castlereagh-street, and Robey, Hanson, and Strong, Limited, of Manly, were the auctioneers.
Transcription:
SYDNEY PROPERTY SALE. Tusculum House and grounds, at Potts Point (Sydney) were submitted to auction on Saturday afternoon. This fine old historic residence, built of stone, with cedar fittings throughout, stands in spacious grounds, with frontage to Manning, Hughes, and Tusculum Streets. The house was built by Mr. W. Long in 1835, and is in a wonderful state of preservation. There was a good deal of competition, but in no case was the reserve reached. The house, however, was sold with the land upon which it stands, for £10,000, subject to approval. The grounds were subdivided into five building blocks, and these were, after spirited competition, passed in for private treaty, the best offers being from £77/10/ to £157 a foot, according to the position of the lots.
Transcription:
The Old Order Passes
ANOTHER old Potts Point home is about to disappear down the maw of the Moloch that we call flatland. Larbert, at the corner of Greenknowe Avenue and Macleay Street, has passed into the hands of the interests that build in this handy area the class of home that is so much the vogue to-day. Soon it will be no more. Larbert Lodge was built and tenanted by C. D. Riddell, the Colonial Treasurer, in the days before responsible government. The exact date of erection is obscure, but, as Riddell was in office from 1829 to the establishment of responsible government, it was probably erected at some time in the first half of that period. Subsequently Captain Lamb occupied the property, and in recent years it has been occupied in turn by Mr. Norman Cohen and Mr. L. M. Phillips. Larbert is one of the few remaining old homes on Potts Point. The others are Charlemont Hospital, formerly Clarens, originally the home of George Richard Griffiths, father of Mr. F. C. Griffiths, a former general manager in Australia for the Union Bank. Later the property was occupied by Sir James Martin when he was Chief Justice, and later, under the name of Wilga, was owned and occupied by the Faithfuls. Nearby are Clifford and Bomerah, the latter the McQuade home, and for some time the official residence of the Admiral in Command on the Australian station. Other notable surviving old homes are Tarmons, built by the first Sir Maurice O'Connell, and now incorporated in St. Vincent's Convent enclosure in an excellent state of preservation; Rockwall House, whose charming old-world entrance caught the artistic eye of Hardy Wilson, originally the residence of H. C. Semphill, afterwards the home of Mr. Arthur Little, and then in turn a young ladies' seminary and nurses' club; Tusculum, built and owned by Mr. A. B. Spark, and now a hospital; and Orwell House, built by Mr. Justice Stephens, first Puisne Judge of the Colony. — “Carrageen.”
Transcription:
DEATHS. CHEEKE.—Oswald Marcus, Lieut., R.N., on active service. Only son of Major and Mrs. Arthur Cheeke, grandson of the late Mrs. Selina Cheeke, and great grandson of the late William Long, of Tusculum, Potts Point. Aged 26.
IN MEMORIAM. SYMONS.—In lo[?ving] memory of Amy Mary Symons, who died on March 12, 1934 [?].
FUNERALS. CREMATION.—For all arrangements consult any Funeral Director. Cremation offices, 19 Bligh St., Syd. Ph. BW1615 [?]. After hrs. XU1717.
Transcription:
JEWELLERY SAVED IN HOSPITAL BLAZE
VALUABLE jewellery was saved by firemen from a fire which severely damaged a woman patient's room at Tusculum Private Hospital, Manning Road, Pott's Point, this morning.
A radio set, a mirror, curtains, bedclothes and furniture were destroyed or badly damaged. The patient was out of the room.
When firemen from the Darlinghurst brigade arrived, nurses were trying to salvage articles from the room. Their faces were black and their clothes soiled by smoke and soot.
Transcription:
TAKEN OVER BY U.S. ARMY AS NURSES' CENTRE / Diverted From Civilian Use
Former private hospital “Tusculum,” Manning St, Potts Point, was this morning taken over by the U.S. Army authorities under National Security Regulations to serve as a U.S. Army Nurses centre.
OPENED as a private hospital in 1928, “Tusculum” was a hospital until March of this year, when inability to secure adequate nursing and household staff forced the owner to discontinue using the premises as a hospital.
Immediate arrangements were made with thirty civilians, including women and children, to let the whole of the twenty-six rooms for residential purposes at moderate rentals and several of the intending tenants were to enter into possession during the present week.
On Saturday the owners agents, Messrs. T. Elliott and Co., were advised by phone that the premises were to be handed over to the U.S. Army and a confirmatory letter was received by them this morning by virtue of which the premises were formally taken over today.
This puts an additional strain on the already overtaxed and strictly limited accommodation available for civilians. Again it raises the important question as to the limits of this encroachment. The families who have failed to secure homes in this building are forced to join the competitive scramble for somewhere to live.
The obvious solution to the position is to provide barracks accommodation for members of the Allied services.
Transcription:
… WEEK / TAKEN OVER BY U.S. ARMY AS NURSES' CENTRE. [Signage in photo: FOR HIRE / Phone [illegible] · [?A. BARTLETT] [illegible]]
Transcription:
Page 196 EDUCATION October 27, 1971 — Drawing signed: By Syd Nicholls.
THE GRANDEUR THAT WAS “TUSCULUM”. The drawing of this fine old colonial home was made from a Sydney Morning Herald photograph taken in 1928 and shows Tusculum before its mutilation during recent years when it has been successively used as a private hospital and hotel. Tusculum was designed in the 1830's which was considered the “golden years” of Australian architecture, by Architect John Verge for a Mr. A. B. Stark, a prominent citizen of his day. Morton Herman in his fine book “Early Australian Architects and Their Work” says of Tusculum, “It is thought that its first tenant was Anglican Bishop Broughton. Its apartments were generously proportioned, the former drawing room being quite adequate for a ten-bed hospital ward. Tusculum is rectangular in design, with verandas supported by cast-iron Ionic columns at their edges right round two floors. The veranda ceilings are very ornate, being of panelled cedar that looks well against the finely dressed stone walls.”
The National Trust of Australia (N.S.W.) realises the historic importance of Tusculum and is making efforts to have it restored and preserved for the nation. The Kings Cross Society is fighting to have Tusculum saved from the developers. They urge (1) it must be preserved because of its historic importance, (2) that it is a necessary breathing space for this very densely populated area of Sydney.
This graceful 138-year-old home is centrally situated in Manning Street, near Tusculum Street, Potts Point. It is one of the few remaining gems of Colonial Architecture left in the heart of the city and must be preserved for posterity as a reminder of our early history.
Restored to its original, Tusculum would make a fine museum and attract countless tourists.
[Note: “Stark” is the magazine's spelling; the owner was A. B. Spark.]
Transcription:
Architects want Tusculum
THE NSW chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects has indicated to the Heritage Council of NSW the chapter's interest in leasing Tusculum, a large two-storeyed Regency mansion in Potts Point, Sydney.
The Heritage Council resumed Tusculum in 1983 under the wilful neglect provisions of the Heritage Act.
The lessee would be responsible for the restoration of the building which, it is estimated, could cost between $300,000 and $400,000.
The NSW chapter of the RAIA is located at 196 Miller Street, North Sydney, in a two-story Federation building owned by the federal RAIA.
To lease and restore Tusculum the NSW chapter would have to sell the Miller Street property, which it is thought could realise between $700,000 and $1 million.
However the federal RAIA may not agree to its sale.
Tusculum – 1–3 Manning Street – Potts Point – NSW
Built c.1831–1836 · Architect John Verge · Standing — Australian Institute of Architects NSW Chapter HQ
On Woolloomooloo Hill — before the flats, before the Cross, before Manning Street filled in — stood a parade of white Regency villas meant to prove that Sydney had a gentry of its own. Most of that skyline is gone. Tusculum is one of the stubborn survivors: John Verge’s stucco villa for merchant A.B. Spark, episcopal town house for Bishop Broughton, Italianate-fronted mansion for the Longs, private hospital, American Red Cross wartime billet, near-ruin — and today the living headquarters of the architects of New South Wales.
At a glance
- Address: 1–3 Manning Street, Potts Point (AIA NSW Chapter lists 3 Manning Street)
- Built: c.1831–1835/36 (SHR construction years 1831–1837; Verge ledger through 1836)
- Architect: John Verge (original); later works associated with John Frederick Hilly (likely, Long era) and John Burcham Clamp (1905–06 stair / billiard room)
- Style: Colonial Regency villa, later overlaid with mid-Victorian Italianate two-storey Ionic verandahs
- Original owner: Alexander Brodie Spark (merchant); built largely as an investment
- Famous early tenant: Bishop William Grant Broughton, 1836–1851
- Heritage: NSW State Heritage Register #00027 (2 April 1999); Permanent Conservation Order 14 Dec 1979; Register of the National Estate #2034 (21 Mar 1978); National Trust #10587 (5 Apr 1976)
- Fate / current use: Standing — restored 1985–87; NSW Chapter HQ of the Australian Institute of Architects under long lease; events, meeting rooms, gallery
Site & setting
The Aboriginal name recorded for Potts Point is Derrawunn. In the late 1820s the rocky ridge inland from the point was still Eastern / Woolloomooloo Hill — close to town, high enough for harbour and mountain views, and far enough from the crowded Rocks to tempt Sydney’s “pure merinos.”
Governor Ralph Darling’s 1828 subdivision created large “town allotments” under strict villa conditions: one approved house per grant, set in gardens, generally facing the town, and built to a substantial standard. Spark’s grant of more than nine acres (September 1828) was unusual in going to a private merchant rather than a senior civil servant. From the water and from Sydney Town the finished white villas read as a civic advertisement — genteel New South Wales, on show.
Tusculum once sat near the centre of its own garden, lawn and shrubbery, with coach-house and stables, and a frontage that related to Woolloomooloo Bay. Subdivision from the 1840s onward (and especially late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century cutting-up) ate the grounds. Manning, Hughes and Tusculum Streets tell the story in their names. Today the villa is hemmed by flats — Art Deco towers toward Macleay Street, lower blocks to the west — with a reduced forecourt and the 1980s AIA wing behind. The spacious marine-villa setting is gone; the house is not.
Timeline
- 1823 – Alexander Brodie Spark arrives Sydney as a free settler (*Princess Charlotte*); builds a shipping and mercantile fortune (ADB).
- 1 Jan 1827 – Spark writes to Colonial Secretary Alexander McLeay seeking a building allotment east of Woolloomooloo Bay (quoted MHNSW / Abbott & Little).
- Sept 1828 – Spark granted 9+ acres on Woolloomooloo Hill.
- 1 June 1830 – Spark sends a house plan to the Colonial Secretary, wanting it more “ornamental”; Verge’s ledger first records the commission in 1831.
- 1831–c.1835/36 – Tusculum built under Verge; liveable by about 1835; ledger details continue to 1836. Named for ancient Tusculum near Rome.
- 1836 – Alterations for first long tenant, Bishop William Grant Broughton; Broughton household moves in. Verge involved in modifications (including expanding rooms onto the verandah per MHNSW).
- 1836–1851 – Broughton’s almost entire Australian episcopacy centred here; garden, library shelves (1839), hospitality; after Government House, the colony’s leading domestic address (SHR).
- 1840s – Depression; Spark mortgages Tusculum (ADB: £6000) and sells assets; insolvency 1844. First estate subdivisions; Broughton loses part of his cherished garden.
- 1848 – Broughton renews lease seven years at £300 p.a.; SMH sale notice describes stone house, verandah, hall, drawing & dining rooms (~26 × 18 ft), study, basement kitchen/cellarage, coach-house and stables (MHNSW quoting *SMH* 6 Sep 1848).
- Oct 1850 – Conference of Australasian Bishops accommodated at Tusculum.
- 1851–52 – Broughton leaves; William Long purchases (DoS: £3010) and occupies from 1852.
- 1850s–1870s – Long-family modernisation: slate roof, windows, chimneypieces, SE extension; earlier verandahs replaced/extended as two-storey Ionic colonnades (cast iron and wood) — likely J.F. Hilly (stylistic attribution). Italian moulded stonework ordered for rooms (MHNSW).
- 1876 – William Long dies; son William Alexander Long inherits; later lets to approved tenants including Mayor W.P. (Sir William) Manning.
- 21 Oct 1904 – Auction; Lewis Edward Isaacs buys house lot for £3,750; Burcham Clamp alters staircase/stair hall (builder John White).
- 1906 – Orwell and Alfred Phillips purchase; Orwell later sole owner; billiard-room addition likely Clamp.
- 1919 – Harold Cazneaux photograph published in *Art in Australia* special *Domestic Architecture in Australia* (Hardy Wilson collaboration) — early architectural celebrity for the house.
- 1927–28 – Further sale and subdivision; from 1928 leased as private hospital (Isabel Christie); MHNSW dates the hospital chapter 1928–1939. Operating theatre and sterilising room inserted (1928 Ross & Rowe works in SHR).
- 1933 – Further hospital works (Spain & Cosh drawings, approved June 1933 — SHR).
- 1930s – Surrounding flats rise; curtilage shrinks to roughly today’s footprint (SLNSW notes flats obscuring front by mid-1930s).
- WWII – American Red Cross officers’ club / convalescent use; basement air-raid shelter reported (MHNSW).
- Post-war – Nursing home / later religious centre.
- 1954 / 1956 – C.C. Phillips measured drawing (1954); aborted hotel-room and 34-unit schemes (1956) documented in SHR — not built.
- Early 1982 – Vacant; squatters, vandalism, fires to rear additions; main joinery and panelled ceilings survive (SHR).
- Dec 1979 – Permanent Conservation Order (gazetted 14 Dec 1979).
- April 1983 – First compulsory resumption under the NSW Heritage Act 1977 (~$1.03m).
- 1985–87 – Clive Lucas conservation (~$785,000 — Heritage Council / SHR); Levine & Durbach competition wing for RAIA; restoration evokes early–mid Victorian period. Villa later held on a 99-year peppercorn lease to the Institute as NSW headquarters (SHR).
- 11 March 1988 – Official opening by the Premier of NSW.
- 2 April 1999 – Entered on NSW State Heritage Register (#00027).
- 2011–13 – Further renovations addressing damp (MHNSW).
- Today – AIA NSW Chapter headquarters; villa used for meetings, gallery and receptions; rooms for hire.
Architecture & interiors
Tusculum began as a large two-storey Regency villa in stuccoed brick — Verge at the height of his Sydney practice (ADB: colony’s high-water mark of austere Regency stucco). It is one of the few Sydney colonial houses that still show the full “villa” diagram: principal floors above, basement service rooms and stair below — upstairs/downstairs domestic administration made visible in plan (SHR).
Early descriptions and the 1848 sale notice give the bones: verandah; ground-floor hall opening to drawing and dining rooms linked by folding doors; study, store, butler’s pantry and servants’ room; four bedrooms and dressing room above; kitchen, servants’ room and cellarage below; substantial coach-house and three-stall stables with loft.
What you see from the street today is heavily shaped by the Long decades: earlier Doric colonnades were replaced with a fine classical two-storey verandah of the Ionic order on three sides (cast iron and wood — MHNSW), probably completed in the late 1870s (SHR), transforming a Regency villa into a mid-Victorian Italianate mansion. SHR notes the cast-iron balustrade pattern is very close to documented Hilly work at Fiona (Edgecliff), Guntawang and the Prince of Wales Theatre — the stylistic case for Hilly. High shuttered French doors open onto the broad verandahs. The matching portico/porte-cochère on the garden side was removed in the later twentieth century. Edwardian Clamp work remade the staircase and stair hall (retained in the 1980s conservation as significant). Hospital-era accretions on the verandahs were later stripped back.
Clive Lucas — leading Verge authority — directed the 1980s conservation to reveal original form while keeping key later layers. Behind the villa, the Levine & Durbach Institute building (national competition win) holds auditorium, offices and foyer gallery — 1980s architecture deliberately paired with the conserved colonial house.
Verge’s authorship of the original villa is secure (ledger + SHR). Attribution of the Ionic verandah campaign to Hilly is persuasive but stylistic.
People & anecdotes
A.B. Spark was the merchant who named houses after classical Italy (Tusculum, Tempe) and lived the boom-and-bust of the 1830s–40s. Tusculum marked his rise; his failure to settle there marked the slide — Bank of Australia collapse, guarantees for bankrupt friends, mortgage, sale, insolvency (ADB). He poured affection into Tempe on the Cooks River instead, entertaining hundreds there in a single busy year (1839). Tusculum was the showpiece investment on the Hill; Tempe was home.
Bishop Broughton made the unfinished house decent — housing-market pressure pushed him in, but he still bemoaned a missing water pump and the lack of a proper pantry (MHNSW quoting Shaw) — then planted roses and a kitchen garden, shelved his library against damp (1839), and grumbled that it was “a sad, imperfect place and anything but episcopal” — then renewed the lease anyway because the air and the outlook answered. For fifteen years church politics, education fights, and colonial hospitality ran through these rooms. In October 1850 Australasian bishops crowded in for their conference — Emily Crawley’s letter sketches the bedding arrangements. After Government House, this was the address that mattered.
William Long, emancipist publican turned wine merchant, bought respectability in stone and cedar. His and his son’s alterations — Ionic verandahs, Italian enrichments, slate instead of shingle — are why Tusculum reads mid-Victorian from the footpath. Later names on the visitors’ book of ownership and tenancy include politicians and lawyers (Kater, Sir James Martin), Lord Mayor Sir William Manning, and the Phillips brothers (Orwell’s name echoes in nearby Orwell Street / Orwell House territory on this blog).
Twentieth-century chapters are less glamorous and just as telling: private hospital beds where drawing rooms had been; Red Cross officers in wartime; then neglect so severe the State stepped in with the Heritage Act’s first compulsory rescue. That 1983 resumption is itself a heritage landmark — proof that NSW had decided some houses were not disposable. Paul Keating’s later association with lobbying for the architects’ lease (and a suite in the complex) is a modern footnote often repeated in secondary sources.
What stands today
Tusculum stands. It is not a house museum on daily public opening like Elizabeth Bay House, but it is very much alive as the NSW Chapter headquarters of the Australian Institute of Architects at 3 Manning Street, Potts Point.
What you can do:
- Walk Manning Street and read the villa from the footpath — Ionic verandahs, stucco, reduced forecourt, flats pressing close.
- Check architecture.com.au (NSW Chapter) for events, talks, and room hire — the restored villa hosts meetings, exhibitions and receptions; public access is typically via Institute programs rather than open-house tourism.
- Pair the visit with surviving neighbours on this blog’s beat: Rockwall (Verge), and across to Elizabeth Bay House (Verge for Alexander McLeay — Museums of History NSW house museum).
- Remember the lost setting: Woolloomooloo Bay frontage and multi-acre gardens survive only in plans, early photos, and street names (Tusculum Street included).
More on Tusculum
On 1 January 1827 Alexander Brodie Spark wrote to the Colonial Secretary, Alexander McLeay, asking for a building allotment east of Woolloomooloo Bay (quoted by Museums of History NSW and by Abbott & Little). McLeay was never Tusculum’s owner or client. His own Verge house was Elizabeth Bay House, across the hill.
After the war Tusculum became a nursing home and later a religious centre. By the early 1980s it stood empty, with squatters, vandalism and fires in the rear additions, yet the main joinery and panelled ceilings survived.
Heritage statements long credited cedar joinery (said to be imported from Lebanon) in the panelled ceilings and later verandah work, and marble flooring and chimneypieces said to come from Tusculum in Italy. The State Heritage Register now notes the marble as removed.
Verge’s authorship of the original villa is secure, from his ledger and the State Heritage Register. The attribution of the Ionic verandah work to Hilly is persuasive but rests on style.
Sources & further reading
- NSW State Heritage Register — Tusculum (SHR 00027): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5045157
- Heritage NSW HMS — Tusculum item 5045157: https://www.hms.heritage.nsw.gov.au/App/Item/ViewItem?itemId=5045157
- Museums of History NSW — Tusculum story: https://mhnsw.au/stories/general/tusculum/
- Dictionary of Sydney — Tusculum: https://dictionaryofsydney.org/building/tusculum
- Dictionary of Sydney — Potts Point: https://dictionaryofsydney.org/place/potts_point
- ADB — Alexander Brodie Spark: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/spark-alexander-brodie-2684
- ADB — William Grant Broughton: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/broughton-william-grant-1832
- ADB — John Verge: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/verge-john-2757
- Australian Institute of Architects — NSW Chapter (Tusculum HQ): https://www.architecture.com.au/nsw-chapter
- SLNSW — Cazneaux / *Domestic Architecture in Australia* album: https://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110051389
- SLNSW — MacNally, *Tusculum*, 1932: https://archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110318466
- *The Villas of Potts Point* (SLNSW 2002 exhibition excerpt): https://pottspointpreservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Villas-of-Potts-Point.pdf
- Clive Lucas & Partners, *Tusculum… conservation analysis and draft conservation policy*, 1985
- Terry Kass, *History of “Tusculum”, 1–3 Manning Street, Potts Point*, Heritage Council of NSW report, 1983
- Casey & Lowe, Tusculum forecourt carpark archaeological monitoring / site inspection, 2010 (cited SHR)
- G. P. Shaw, *Patriarch and patriot: William Grant Broughton 1788–1853*, Melbourne University Press, 1978 (Broughton letters via MHNSW)
- Graham Abbott & Geoffrey Little, *The respectable Sydney merchant A. B. Spark of Tempe*, Sydney University Press, 1976
- State Library of NSW, *Villas of Darlinghurst* exhibition catalogue, 2002
- *Sydney Morning Herald* sale notice, 6 September 1848 (via MHNSW / Trove)
- Existing scrapbook post (images & clippings): https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2017/08/tusculum-potts-point.html
Related on this blog
Transcription (Map, compiled by Norman Selfe, 1906, with handwritten library note)
