Roofline of the "Banyule Homestead" a Flemish Gothic Revival Mansion - Heidelberg

            Rising like Sleeping Beauty's Castle from behind its hedge, the “Banyule Homestead” is a magnificent Flemish Gothic Revival mansion built on the crest of a hill in the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg.  

In 1842, British born overlander and grazier Joseph Hawdon (1813- 1871) built a single storey homestead of clay and local quarried stone on a two hundred and sixty-six hectare estate in an area of Victoria called Banule Flats – named after the local Wurundjeri Aboriginal tribe’s word for “hill”, on which he built his homestead.  In 1845 he commissioned architect John Gill (1796 – 1866) to build a grand two-storey gentleman’s residence of stuccoed brick on stone fittings.  This building is now known as the “Banyule Homestead”.  The two-storey pale building is one of the oldest homesteads in Victoria. Built of hand-made bricks, the building combines Romantic Gothic and Tudor-Revival style architecture with Flemish inflences.  Asymmetrically composed, the design is characterised by its Flemish gabled parapets and corner pinnacles, bay window and porch, pepper-pot chimneys and prominent string courses.  The property took full advantage of the beautiful views and was very near to the Yarra River, and at one time had a magnificent garden of sweeping manicured lawns and burgeoning flower beds.

Despite John Gill constructing an idyllic and grand gentleman’s homstead for him overlooking the Yarra Valley, Joseph Hawdon did not remain at “Banyule Homestead” very long, returning to England in 1858 and then going to New Zealand in 1863 where he spent the remainder of his days, dying in Christchurch in 1871.  The “Banyule Homestead” estate was passed on to his daughters and their descendants.  The property remained in-tact until the 1950s, by which time land in the suburbs of Heidelberg and Rosanna were highly sought after.  The owners, in need of money themselves, subdivided the property.  The Banule Flats portion of the estate was acquired by the Commonwealth Government to retain as natural parkland, whilst the remainder became residential properties.  This subdivision continued until only one hectare of the original two hundred and sixty-six remained.  Finally, in 1974, the Victorian State Government bought the estate and between 1977 and 1985 the homestead operated as part of the National Gallery of Victoria and housed the Manton Collection - paintings by the original Heidelberg School of artists who painted in the local area.  In 1985, the National Gallery of Victoria decided to bring many of its collections back together to its St Kilda Road premises, including the Manton Collection after security concerns at “Banyule Homestead”.  The mansion was subsequently sold.  It is still in private hands to this day.

At the time of photographing, the house has fallen into some disrepair with the stucco work in major need of restoration.  The current owners applied to the National Trust for a further subdivision, requesting permission for three townhouses to be constructed on the former gallery carpark to the right-hand side of the house, claiming they will spend $300,000 of the money made from the sale on maintenance of the “Banyule Homestead” over a ten year period.  Much to everyone’s surprise, the National Trust approved their suggestion, but there has been much local protest and complaints from the wider Melbourne community as this sets a dangerous precedent for National Trust properties Australia wide.  Personally, I hope that the request is overturned, as it seems to me that the current owners, who have a very large swimming pool, two tennis courts and no less than four prestigious cars in their driveway and their multi car garage, are in no need of the additional revenue.

John Gill also designed “Royal Terrace” in Carlton along Nicholson Street in 1853, “Holyman House” on Melbourne’s Flinders Street in 1858 and the “Goldsborough Mort Building” on Bourke Street in 1862, just four years prior to his death.

Taken on: September 18, 2011

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/4.9, 1/640 sec, 18.6mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/4.9
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/640)
Focal Length:	18.6mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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