Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Willandra – 782 Victoria Road – Ryde – NSW

Colonial Georgian villa · Built 1841–44 · Standing — City of Ryde; SHR #00026

From the Kissing Point ridge James Devlin’s Ryde House once faced the Parramatta River over orchards. The village took the name Ryde from the same impulse that named the house. Later Mannings called it Willandra; a girls’ school filled the rooms; Shell put bowsers across the Victoria Road face. Community lobbying and early National Estate money bought it for Council. Clive Lucas put the Georgian symmetry back. The Historical Society still keeps the keys.

At a glance

Address: 782 Victoria Road, Ryde NSW 2112 (cnr Devlin / Willandra Street context; public entry often via Willandra Street)
Built: 1841–1844 (occupied 1845); builder James Devlin
Architect: attributed to William Weaver (Maguire 1984 — attribution, not proven commission)
Style: Colonial Georgian / Georgian Revival — two-storey, five-bay, hipped roof, stone-paved / stone-columned verandahs, rendered sandstock brick, cedar joinery
Original name: Ryde House; later Willandra (Manning / Suttor trustees; Aboriginal gloss “rushing water” in SHR — treat as traditional attribution)
Heritage: NSW SHR #00026 (2 Apr 1999); former PCO 1979; Register of the National Estate 002928; National Trust #10813; Ryde LEP
Fate / use: Standing — City of Ryde ownership; restored 1979–80; home of Ryde District Historical Society (and formerly shared with City of Ryde Art Society)

Site & setting

Part of John Small’s 1794 Eastern Farms / Kissing Point grant; acquired by James Devlin 1828. Devlin’s 1841 Village of Ryde subdivision (with James Shepherd) put the mansion on the ridge between “East” and “West” Ryde looking to the river.

Today the curtilage is a tight corner lot at Victoria Road / Devlin Street underpass — axial river views remain; village context largely erased by 1990s road works. Aboriginal Country: Wallumedegal / Wallumattagal (Ryde / Parramatta River) — acknowledge in publish voice.

Timeline

1794 – Small grant; later Devlin holding 1828.
1841–45 – Ryde House built / occupied; Devlin bankrupt 1844, released 1845.
1874–75 – Devlin sells; family to Wagga; Devlin dies 1875.
1870s–90s – Jane Darvall; then trustees for Caroline Manning (née Suttor); name settles as Willandra; let 1894 after Manning divorce scandal.
1894–99 – Ellen Pye — Rydalmount Boarding and Day School for Girls.
1921 / 1925 – Willandra Estate subdivisions; Willandra Street named.
1932+ – Roland Small petrol bowser; garage / motor works on Victoria Road frontage.
1952–70 – Shell service station in rear annexes; then used-car yard era.
1973–76/79 – Demolition threat; Federal National Estate grant; Council purchase (1976 RCC / Wikipedia; some accounts 1974 — soft).
5 Jan 1979 / 14 Dec 1979 – Interim then permanent conservation order.
1979–80 – Clive Lucas restoration; RAIA merit award.
2 Apr 1999 – SHR #00026.
Today – RDHS museum / open days (confirm hours at publish).

Architecture & interiors

Symmetrical two-storey Georgian: shuttered French doors below, 12-light sashes above, elliptical fanlight, encircling verandah on stone columns (SHR: columns turned in one piece). Interiors: marble and Marulan sandstone chimneypieces; geometric stair; stencilled hall frieze recovered in restoration; blackbutt downstairs / pine upstairs floors. Kitchen retains wood-fuelled stove (Cashman). Exterior restored to deep terracotta found by Lucas team (shock to cream-era memories).

People & anecdotes

James Devlin — wheelwright → contractor → alderman; Devlin Street / Creek namesakes; Riverina pastoralist.

Caroline & John Edye Manning — ferry / merchant world; Willandra name; 1894 sale of contents.

Ellen Pye — school principal; later Toorak College.

Save Willandra — Ryde District Historical Society + National Trust + Tom Uren-era Federal funding — early test case for heritage legislation.

Image gallery guidance

Live post already has two modern/exterior images — keep and credit:

c.1870 Devlin family photograph of the house (Wikipedia / RDHS).
Service-station / garage era Victoria Road frontage.
1979–80 Lucas restoration progress.
Verandah columns and fanlight detail.
Parramatta River axial view from garden / underpass context.

Gallery

What stands today

Willandra stands, State-heritage listed, owned by City of Ryde. Visit via RDHS open days / advertised hours (entry often Willandra Street; note stairs / limited disability access on Council event pages). Pair with St Anne’s Ryde and Kissing Point foreshore walks.

Sources & further reading

Heritage NSW — Willandra (SHR 00026, DB 5045158): https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5045158
City of Ryde — Willandra historic building page
Wikipedia — Willandra, Ryde (SHR-derived)
Gavin Cashman, Willandra restoration articles (1982)
Live blog post: https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2024/04/willandra-782-victoria-road-ryde-new.html

Related on this blog

Merioola (Manning family — different house / generation)
Other Clive Lucas conservation cousins (Tusculum, Boronia, etc.)
Standing Georgian villas of the County of Cumberland

Add historic photos with captions and credits from Image gallery guidance.

Darling House – 8–12 Trinity Avenue – Millers Point – NSW

Darling House – 8–12 Trinity Avenue – Millers Point / Dawes Point – NSW

c.1833–1842 Georgian sandstone · Joseph Farris investment house · Standing · SHR

Quality Row stone on Trinity Avenue: built for rent, resumed after the plague, nearly lost, saved as a cottage nursing home, then restored again as harbour-edge heritage stay. The live post is a single photograph — the registers carry two centuries.

At a glance

Name: Darling House (community / grant association with Governor Ralph Darling)
Address: 8–12 Trinity Avenue, Millers Point (Dawes Point / Rocks precinct)
Built: earlier dwelling c.1833–1835; present sandstone house 1842 under Joseph Farris (SHR / URBIS CMP tradition)
Style: Old Colonial / Georgian sandstone; later verandahs / French doors (1860s tradition)
1901+ : Sydney Harbour Trust resumption; boarding house; mid-century warehouse; derelict
1994 – Restored / extended as Rocks cottage-type nursing home (community initiative; Tanner Architects)
2016–2019 – Moran purchase & major restoration; adaptive reuse as luxury suites / seniors living chapter
2023 – Reported sale $23.1m
Heritage: NSW State Heritage Register (2 Apr 1999); Millers Point / Dawes Point precinct listings; former RNE
Fate: Standing — private heritage accommodation / events (check operator)

Site & setting

Western harbour ridge — Argyle / Lower Fort / Trinity Avenue “Quality Row” mercantile enclave. Gadigal country (Tar-ra / Tullagalla / Dawes Point). Quarried sandstone likely from the peninsula. Caraher’s Stairs once climbed the north flank to Princes Street (Bridge approaches demolished stairs 1933; fragments remain).

Timeline

1823 – Grant tradition linked to Governor Darling / Susanna Ward–Douglas chain (CMP / Wikipedia synthesis).
c.1833–1835 – First stone dwelling fabric (archaeology / CMP).
1840–1842 – Title sorted (Gannon convey to Farris); 1842 house up; Martens / Fowels / Rae period views.
1842–c.1900 – Leased to middle-class tenants (musicians, booksellers, Dr Leopold Sachs, etc. — rates / SMH ads).
1900–1901 – Plague cleansing; Harbour Trust resumption; survives demolition wave.
1901–1940s – Boarding / residential; southern allotment cooperage / laundry phases (c.1918+).
1948–49 – Warehouse conversion; interiors stripped for vehicle access.
c.1992–1994 – Community campaign; aged-care restoration opens 4 Oct 1994.
2015–2016 – Hostel closes after rent reset; auction $7.7m to Shane Moran / Provectus.
2016–2019 – Major heritage upgrade (slate roof, joinery, BCA Class 3).
2023 – Reported $23.1m sale (Cheng family).

Architecture & interiors

Two-storey Regency / Georgian sandstone; Welsh slate roof (recent full replacement); cast-iron / metal verandah balustrades; French doors to first-floor balcony; fanlight entry. 1994 southern wing / rear addition (Tanner). Generous garden curtilage rare for Millers Point free-standing houses (significance statements). Describe publicly documented fabric only.

People & anecdotes

Joseph Henry Farris (1807–1859) — boat builder, publican (Young Princess / Hero of Waterloo chapter; Whalers Arms), water-police sergeant; investment landlord, not resident.

Sydney Harbour Trust — plague-era remaking of The Rocks / Millers Point shoreline and housing.

Resident Action Group / Rocks Cottage Nursing Home Committee — 1990s save-and-adapt campaign.

Moran family — parallel heritage restorations (Swifts, Redleaf Wahroonga, Juniper Hall via family members) noted in press — useful cross-links, not ownership conflation.

Image gallery guidance

Keep live exterior photo; re-credit.
Joseph Fowels / John Rae 1840s views with house identified (SLNSW).
c.1862 / c.1901 historic photos (CMP / Wikipedia commons where licensed).
Caraher’s Stairs remnant / Bridge approach context.
Post-1994 and post-2016 restoration exteriors (operator / press with credit).

Gallery

What stands today

Darling House stands as restored heritage accommodation beside the Harbour Bridge approach. Private / commercial — book via operator; not a free museum. Pair with Spencer Lodge (demolished Millers Point mercantile villa) for precinct contrast.

Sources & further reading

Live stub: https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2024/04/darling-house-8-12-trinity-avenue.html
Heritage NSW — Building / Darling House SHR (item details IDs 5045233 / local 2423654): apps.environment.nsw.gov.au heritage search
URBIS Conservation Management Plan (2015–16) — Darling House, 8–12 Trinity Avenue
Wikipedia overview (verify against SHR/CMP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darling_House,_Millers_Point
WA Today / Domain — 2023 sale reporting
Operator site (current use only): https://darlinghouse.com.au/

Related on this blog

Spencer Lodge – Millers Point (demolished neighbour story)
Juniper Hall – Paddington (Moran-family restoration parallel)
Redleaf – Wahroonga

Add historic photos with captions and credits from Image gallery guidance.

"Emu Hall" - 2-26 Great Western Highway - Emu Plains - New South Wales

The house is on the western side of the Nepean River, located at the foot of the Blue Mountains.
It's Mid 19th Century Italianate Style

"Emu Hall" was erected for James Tobias Ryan (1818-1899) between 1851 & 1854.

Ryan was a pastoralist, a butcher, politician & sportsman who was born near Penrith NSW. Fropm 1860-1872 he was the member for Nepean in the NSW Legislative Aassembly. He was a popular Parliamentatiran but did not aspire to a Ministerial Appointment

Ryan was a well known sportsman, a good boxer, and pidgeon shooter. he was also a race horse owner, breeder as well as a gambling man. This led to his decline and on his death he was penniless.

The siting of the house in riverside grounds is indicative of a new wealthy class of family durin gthe mid 19th Century. It has landmark Status on Both highway and River

It has a hipped Corrugated steel roof & verandahs to the southern and eastern elevations with cast iron columns, decorative lace friezes and blaustrading.

Fenestration consists of large sashed windows and french doors. Newer dormer windows have been added to the roof. The house has an enclosed service yard and a free standing service wing.

within the property there are brick stables and a derelict timber slab barn.

Monday, November 13, 2023

Greycliffe – 21–23 Mona Road – Vaucluse – NSW

Built c.1851–52 · Architect John Frederick Hilly · Standing — within Sydney Harbour National Park / Nielsen Park (NPWS)

When John Reeve married Fanny Wentworth he bought Shark Beach land from William Charles Wentworth and paid Hilly about £5,000 for a sandstone Gothic villa. The couple never settled — England called — so Collectors of Customs and premiers leased the views instead. Fire gutted the house in 1897; it was rebuilt the same year. From 1911 public ownership turned Greycliffe into a babies’ hospital and Tresillian mothercraft home. Today the gables still face the harbour above Nielsen Park.

At a glance

Address: 21–23 Mona Road, Vaucluse NSW (Shark Beach / Nielsen Park)
Built: c.1851–52 (DoS constructed 1851; Hilly attributed 1852; live post / NPWS 1851–52)
Architect: John Frederick Hilly
Style: Victorian Rustic / neo-Gothic sandstone — gables, carved bargeboards, cedar joinery, fine plasterwork, long hall, stair; stables at rear (live post / DoS)
Original owners: John Reeve & Fanny Katherine Wentworth (never resident)
Early lessees: John George Nathaniel Gibbes (Collector of Customs) & Elizabeth, 1852–1859, then to Yarralumla; later notables including (DoS occupancy links) W. B. Dalley, John Robertson, Isabella Martin periods
Heritage: Part of Nielsen Park / Hermitage Foreshore SHR complex (DB 5063400); Register of the National Estate (Greycliffe House); Sydney Harbour National Park from 1978 (DoS)
Fate / current use: Standing — NPWS / Sydney Harbour National Park; heritage tours by arrangement; not a furnished MHNSW house museum

Site & setting

Wentworth Vaucluse Estate subdivision — ~14 acres at Shark Beach (NPWS). Gardens historically tumbled to the beach; bush frames the house; unobstructed harbour channel views (live post). Steele Point battery and recreational Nielsen Park layers surround (SHR Nielsen Park). Carriage drive survives as sealed entrance road (Wikipedia / NPWS).

Timeline

1847 – Fanny Wentworth marries John Reeve (family histories; secondary).
c.1851–52 – Reeve purchases Shark Beach land; Hilly builds Greycliffe (~£5,000 — DoS); Reeves leave for England by 1854 (DoS ownership end 1854).
1852–59 – Gibbes tenancy; customs lookout from verandah (live post / DoS).
1859 – Gibbes retire to Yarralumla (later Governor-General’s residence) (live post).
Later 19th c. – Leases to prominent Sydney figures (DoS names Dalley, Robertson, Isabella Martin 1882–89).
3 Feb 1897 – Severe fire; rebuild Mar–Dec 1897 (DoS milestones) — fabric today is post-fire as well as Hilly Gothic.
1911 – Transfer to public ownership; recreation reserve era for Nielsen Park (DoS / SHR).
1914–1934/35 – Lady Edeline Hospital for Babies (DoS alternate name dates 1914–1935; SHR 1914–1934).
1930s–1968 – Tresillian Mothercraft Training School / home (DoS 1938–68; SHR 1934–68) — do not force a single start year.
1978 – Added to Sydney Harbour National Park (DoS).
Today – NPWS precinct; guided heritage tours offered on request (NPWS).

Architecture & interiors

Sandstone; cedar joinery; plasterwork; multiple gables; carved bargeboards; long entrance hall; stair; rear stables (live post). SHR: outstanding Hilly Gothic Revival example in a suite with nearby Hilly houses (e.g. Carrara / Strickland House). Post-1897 rebuild means “intact 1852 interiors” claims need caution — say well-preserved Gothic character with fire rebuild layer (DoS).

People & anecdotes

Fanny Katherine Wentworth — daughter of W. C. & Sarah; English years after 1854 (DoS). John Reeve — wealthy English migrant / Gippsland squatter (DoS). J. G. N. Gibbes — customs vantage on the main harbour channel. Hospital era commemorates Lady Edeline Strickland; matron Kaibel’s 1930s parterre noted on SHR.

Link back to Vaucluse House as parent estate.

Image gallery guidance

Live post is text-heavy without embeds — add credited images:

1. Greycliffe House, Vaucluse, 1875–85 (SLNSW SPF — DoS media a089396)

2. Harbour elevation / gables today (NPWS / Wikimedia with licence)

3. Nielsen Park foreshore looking to house

4. Lady Edeline / Tresillian era photographs — SLNSW / Trove

5. Compare: Vaucluse House; Strickland House (Carrara)

What stands today

Greycliffe stands inside Sydney Harbour National Park – Nielsen Park. Exterior/grounds via park visit; interior access typically via booked NPWS heritage tour (nationalparks.nsw.gov.au — confirm current offer). Pair with Vaucluse House museum and Hermitage Foreshore walk.

Sources & further reading

Dictionary of Sydney — Greycliffe House: https://dictionaryofsydney.org/building/greycliffe_house
Heritage NSW — Nielsen Park and the Hermitage Foreshore Reserve: https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5063400
NPWS — Greycliffe House and Nielsen Park heritage tour: https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/guided-tours/greycliffe-house-and-nielsen-park-heritage-tour
Dictionary of Sydney / ADB links — W. C. Wentworth; Vaucluse House parent estate
Live post: https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2023/11/greycliffe-2123-mona-road-vaucluse-new.html
Trove — Greycliffe fire February 1897; Lady Edeline Hospital; Tresillian Vaucluse

Related on this blog

Vaucluse House – Vaucluse
Other Vaucluse / South Head posts

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

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.

Cherwell – 11 Hopetoun Avenue – Vaucluse – NSW

c.1926 grand residence (agent consensus) · Standing — private · Architect / heritage listing not confirmed this pass · Research-gap honest stub

The live post pins Cherwell to 11 Hopetoun Avenue, Vaucluse. Twenty-first-century sales copy calls it a c.1926 sandstone-and-brick mansion with ornate ceilings and jarrah parquetry, long held by one family before a 2023 sale. This enrichment keeps that address and name, refuses to invent an architect or early owner chain, and flags heritage status as unverified until a Woollahra inventory sheet lands.

At a glance

Name: Cherwell
Address: 11 Hopetoun Avenue, Vaucluse NSW 2030 (corner / dual access with Petrarch Avenue in agent copy)
Built: c.1926 (Ray White / McGrath sales consensus — soft pending rate-book confirmation)
Architect / first owner: not found in consulted sources this pass
Fabric notes (press only): sandstone and brick; high ornate ceilings; jarrah parquetry; cedar stair; leadlight bathroom window cited in listings
Heritage listing: not confirmed this pass — do not invent SHR/LEP item numbers
Fate: Standing — private residence (sold Aug 2023 per agent reports)

Site & setting

Vaucluse residential streets between New South Head Road and the harbour reserves — agent copy notes proximity to Nielsen Park / Parsley Bay walking catchments and a path toward Vaucluse House. Aboriginal Country: Birrabirragal / harbour peoples of the eastern peninsula — acknowledge at publish. Allotment claimed ~847 m² corner block (agent).

Timeline

c.1926 – House built (agent consensus; soft).
20th–21st c. – Private occupancy; “one family for 30 years” claim in 2020s marketing — not a full title chain.
31 Aug 2023 – Reported sold (agent sites).
Live blog – Thin address stub; this page is the honest research-gap fill.

Architecture & interiors

Press description only: substantial Inter-War / late Federation–period grand house (exact style label not locked), sandstone and brick, ornate ceilings, jarrah floors, fireplaces, cellar. No measured heritage inventory consulted. Do not write a speculative style essay beyond the photographs you publish.

People & anecdotes

None securely named for the original build in sources used here. Recent vendors/purchasers belong to privacy-sensitive property press — omit personal detail unless a published heritage study names them for historical reasons.

Image gallery guidance

Street / corner elevation (public realm).
Any SLNSW / Woollahra Local History historic plate once matched to this address.
Avoid scraping current real-estate interiors without licence.
Sands / rate-book screenshot once the 1920s owner is proven.

What stands today

Cherwell stands as a private house at 11 Hopetoun Avenue. No public access. Before calling it heritage-listed, check Woollahra LEP Schedule 5 and council inventory.

Sources & further reading

Live stub: https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2026/09/cherwell-11-hopetoun-avenue-vaucluse.html
Agent sale pages (2023) — Cherwell c.1926 fabric colour only (Ray White Double Bay / McGrath)
Research gaps: Woollahra Library rate books; Sands “Cherwell” + Hopetoun Avenue; Woollahra LEP Sch 5; Trove building notices

Related on this blog

Vaucluse cluster: Strickland House; The Hermitage; Clairvaux; Vaucluse House
Other Inter-War eastern suburbs mansions — search labels

Research-gap page: expand only when Sands/LEP evidence arrives.

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"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

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Victorian Sydney - Overview Of Sydney Atchitecture

As late as the middle of the 20th century, Sydney was still a Victorian City, one that had its own intern replace the earlier colonial town.

Here in there, in the commercial centre, appeared a towering building of steel and glass somewhat like a gold tooth in a discoloured, Victorian mouth. A few tattered early colonial buildings remains like power, goes from a vanished age; But elsewhere, the Town Hall, the Cathedral’s, many of the hospitals, houses, and most of the office buildings, came into being while the Queen Victoria lift.

But elsewhere, the Town Hall, the Cathedral’s, many of the hospitals, houses, and most of the office buildings, came into being while the Queen Victoria lift.

In the bin business area, there were Edwardian buildings, and a greater number from the period of the 1930s, whilst Modern shops ran in and broken ranks Burnett Street awnings. But a glance at the buildings above the awning is revealed, statistically, predominant Victoriana. In the commercial areas, all the changed considerably in the years 1955 to 1960 when the third Sydney appeared with your Matic suddenness, as Victorian Sydney began to decay. The Victorian public buildings largely remain; the Victorian office buildings have fallen, and are falling, like weeks to weeks talk before the reaper.

modern shops ran in unbroken ranks, Burnett Street awnings. But a glance at the buildings above the awnings revealed, statistically, predominant Victoriana. In the commercial areas, all the changed considerably in the years 1955 to 1960, when the third Sydney appeared with traumatic suddenness, as Victorian Sydney, began to decay. The Victorian public buildings largely remain; the Victorian office buildings have fallen, and are falling, like weeks to weeks talk before the reaper.

But in the shopping area of the centre of the city, although the shops continually replace themselves, the buildings above still have Victorian, visually separated from the shops by the awnings; a curious mixture of the work of the 20th and the 19th centuries.

Stretching, mainly West, which from the centre of the city is a core Victorian suburbs, about which whole groups of new suburbs of growing, but this colour, the head of the octopus, like plan of modern Sydney, has been built before 1900.

These old suburbs are, too, now period with modern buildings, which, in time will grow, and multiply, until they sweep inside the earlier work, but in the meantime, some of the loveliest living areas of Sydney of those with Victorian houses in graceful churches dream among the century, old graves of trees trees that are great grandfather’s planted.

These old suburbs are, two, now pitted with modern buildings, which, in time will grow, and multiply, until they sweet beside the earlier work, but in the meantime, some of the loveliest living areas of Sydney of those were Victorian houses in graceful churches dream among the century, old graves of trees trees that are great grandfather‘s planted.

In time, as the trees are cut down in the buildings, vanish, with then we’ll go, Victorian Sydney, and its architecture, the visible framework of the story of a fascinating era.

By 1850 be early colonial period in Australia was passing away. New South Wales has been found as a convict settlement, but now the transportation of convicts, except to Tasmania, had ceased. The progress of agriculture in grazing, we’re growing in mining, and the increasing flowers, immigrant settlers, we are slowly changing the status of the country. As the colonial atmosphere send out, the outlines of a nation began to emerge.

By 1850, the early colonial period in Australia was passing away. New South Wales has been founded in a convict settlement, but now the transportation of convicts, excepted, Tasmania, had ceased. The progress of agriculture and grazing, wool, growing in mining, and the increasing flow of immigrant settlers, we’re slowly changing the status of the country. As the colonial atmosphere send out, the outlines of the nation began to emerge.

Charleze Fitzroy was to see changes that were beyond imagination when he arrived from England in 1846 to take up residence in the present present. Government house in Sydney. Completed only one year before, the great classic pile of government house itself in no way resembled to colonial architecture of the town that they spread along the valley, just to the Westwood. It was a pleasant town of Georgian Architecture, created under the influence of true colonialism that had carried on from the 18th century, the development of which work has been examined elsewhere. But the forces of change were at work, and, as always, architecture with reflect them.

architecture, created under the influence of true colonialism that had carried on from the 18th century, the development of which work has been examined elsewhere. But the forces of change were at work, and, as always, architecture was to reflect them.

The autocratic governance have disappeared into history, as New South Wales approached the brink of self-government. Sydney, which had been the only considerable town in Australia, which to find its importance, is capital of the colonies, diminished proportionately as Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth crew in great Capitals of their own rich districts.

For a while, it was intended that New South Wales should keep control of the other Australian colonies, and Charleze Fitzroy and said William Denison from 1846 to 1861, each carried the title of governor general of her Majesty’s possessions in Australia, but this was more designation than the fact of authority. There are immediate successor, so John Young, boy is the even more nominal title of governor in chief.

For a while, it was intended that New South Wales should keep control of the other Australian colonies, and to Charles Fitzroy and said William Denison from 1846 to 1861, each carried the title of governor general of her Majesty‘s possessions in Australia, but this was more designation than the fact of authority. They’re immediate successor, so Jhonn Young, by the even more nominal title of governor in chief.

United 51 the small colony of Victoria was separated from the parent, colony, his capital, Sydney, was to become more self, contained in more self interested, but this greater concentration of its own affairs was, in the long run, to be beneficial to the city.

Education, which had been sponsored early in the colonies history, was now progressing to the point where elementary schools were not sufficient. Sydney University was created, we can argue, agreeably high degree of talent, to function first in the old building, which is now the Sydney Grammar School, and later in its own building.

Education, which had been sponsored early in the colonies history, was now progressing to the point where elementary schools were not sufficient. Sydney University was created, with an arguable, agreeably high degree of talent, to function first in the old building, which is now the Sydney Grammar School, and later in its own building.

The industrial revolution had reached Sydney, to provide new building, materials, and more important steel, machines that were gradually to replace the old hand craftsmanship. Fitzroy was to see the start of the building of Sydney‘s first team railway, but it was so William Denison who was to take the first triumphant ride to Parramatta in 1855. In the next year, the line was extended to Liverpool, and the middle track slowly began to transact all the countryside to the Southwood in the Westwood.

Saturday, June 10, 2023

“Strathfield” - Strathfield - New South Wales - Demolished

Ambleside - Vasileias - Ashfield Castle - Ashfield - New South Wales

Ashfield Castle (Ambleside / Vasileias) – 160 Queen Street – Ashfield – NSW

Victorian Free Gothic “Elizabethan villa” · Begun 1886 for J.B.C. Miles · Standing — private residence after convent/hostel chapters

Ashfield’s fortress-gated pile — built as Ambleside, nicknamed Ashfield Castle, briefly Vasileias under Greek Orthodox hostel use — still stands at 160 Queen Street after a decade-long private restoration. The live post is mostly photographs; this scrapbook puts Ashfield Historical Society facts under them.

At a glance

Names: Ambleside (original); popularly Ashfield Castle; institutional Vasileias (Greek Orthodox, homage to St Basil)
Address: 160 Queen Street, Ashfield NSW
Traditional Custodians: Wangal of the Eora Nation
Built: construction 1886; family occupation 1888 (Ashfield & District Historical Society)
Client: John Balfour Clement Miles — accountant / property developer; ~11 acres between Queen and Victoria Streets
Style: Victorian Free Gothic / grand “Elizabethan Villa” (Ashfield HS)
Gates: J.J. Davey designs for wrought-iron gates and masonry entrance, specs 5 Feb 1890 (Ashfield HS)
Heritage: listed as Ashfield Castle under former Ashfield LEP 1985 Sch 7; confirm current Inner West LEP ID on publish
Fate: Standing — private home (Armenis restoration from 1994)

Site & setting

Queen Street frontage of Miles’s large Ashfield holding; formidable gates and masonry entrance create the “castle” street presence. Music-room bay with figurative stained glass is the interior celebrity. Modern Ashfield surrounds the reduced curtilage — photograph gates and Gothic silhouette carefully.

Timeline

1880 – Miles acquires ~11 acres between Queen and Victoria Streets; builds Holwood then moves to Ambleside on the Queen Street frontage (secondary synthesis — Ashfield HS confirms Ambleside as his third Ashfield home).
1886–1888 – Ambleside constructed and occupied (Ashfield HS).
1890 – J.J. Davey entrance/gates drawings and specifications (Ashfield HS).
to 1907 – Miles lives at Ambleside until death (secondary).
to 1955 – Remains essentially a family home for successive families (Ashfield HS).
1955 – Our Lady of Snows Convent.
1970 – Greek Orthodox Church; renamed Vasileias; hostel use; unsympathetic alterations (Ashfield HS).
1994 onward – Maria & Louis Armenis purchase; ~ten years’ restoration before moving in; 2018 Ashfield HS members’ inspection with architectural historian Robert Irving (Ashfield HS).

Architecture & interiors

Flamboyant Victorian Free Gothic / Elizabethan villa massing — towers, ornate entrance, leadlight. Music/drawing-room bay: lower lights portray composers Gounod, Weber, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Haydn; upper lights female figures for “fruits of civilization” (Inner West Leadlight). Hostel-era damage reversed in private restoration — prefer owner/HS photography with permission.

People & anecdotes

J.B.C. Miles — accountant who built gentleman’s villas on his Ashfield acres; family link noted in Ashfield HS to Sydney identity Bea Miles (great-niece donation of gate drawings). Maria & Louis Armenis — restorers who reopened the house to HS members in 2018. Robert Irving — architectural commentary on the 2018 tour.

Image gallery guidance

1. Keep live exteriors / gates / stained glass.

2. Ashfield HS tour photography with credit.

3. Davey gate drawings if Society permits reproduction.

4. Respect private-home privacy for unpublished interiors.

What stands today

Ashfield Castle / Ambleside stands as a private residence. No regular public opening — Ashfield & District Historical Society has arranged rare members’ inspections; watch their calendar. Street views of gates and roofline only unless invited.

Sources & further reading

Live post (image-led): https://historicsydneymansionsmanorshouses.blogspot.com/2023/06/ashfield-castle.html
Ashfield & District Historical Society — Past Events 2018 (Ambleside inspection): https://ashfieldhistory.org.au/2018-2/
Ashfield & District Historical Society — Newsletters 2018 (Davey gate drawings donation)
Inner West Leadlight — Queen Street Ambleside inside (composer glass schedule)
Former Ashfield LEP 1985 Schedule 7 — 160 Queen Street “Ashfield Castle”
Trove — Ambleside Ashfield; Miles Queen Street; Vasileias

Related on this blog

Glentworth – Ashfield — search labels (same suburb Italianate / institutional parallel)
Other Ashfield Victorian mansions — search labels

Historic live gallery

Images retained from the live Blogger post:

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Venetia... Vanetta Now Bellevue - 55 Leichardt Street - Glebe - New South Wales

Bellevue, Glebe Point 1899 (G'mpa Warden in photo), [with the house Venetia in the background] ... c.1899 ... W. F. Hall Photo ...

Vanetta is perhaps either a pet name for the house employed by the Warden family, or a mistransliteration or corruption of Venetia [the two storey house, right, in this photograph]. The Warden family rented Bellevue 1898-1903 - Michael Foster (Sept 2005) ...

Previosly titled: "Vanetta" Glebe Point 1899 (G'mpa Warden in photo)

The residence is now known as "Bellevue" and is situated at 55 Leichhardt Street Glebe and is Classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW).

Venetia was built about 1877 in Kennedy Street (later Leichhardt Street), Glebe for William Jarrett and demolished about 1915. Bellevue, probably a rental property, was built by local architect and builder Ambrose Thornley Junior for Jarrett. It first appears in the Glebe Rate books in 1896, unnamed, and in the Sands Directory in 1897, named Bellevue. It was acquired derelict by Leichhardt Council and was often incorrectly referred to as Venetia, long demolished, in the press and in minutes of the Heritage Council. -- Information supplied by Michael Foster (Sept 2005) ... State Library of New South Wales

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