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Property Details
| Property ID: 33 |
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| Street Address: | |
| Suburb/Postcode: | Burwood
2134 |
| City: | Sydney |
| State: | NSW |
| Country: | Australia |
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| Council/LGA: | Burwood |
| Zoning: | |
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| Category: | House |
| Name(s): | |
| Built: | c. 1885 ~ 1886 |
| Architect: | |
| Builder: | |
| Architectual Type: | Victorian |
| Demolished: | No |
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A substantial, first-class two-storey Victorian villa residence, stuccoed, with a hipped roof of slate featuring several decorated chimneys. The main gable projects forward featuring a prominent, detailed bargeboard and finial. A rectangular bay projects from the main gable abundant with various decorative mouldings such bands and borders above and below the windows and across the bay. The windows are a prominent and recurring feature, with all featuring rounded heads, typically with a larger window flanked by narrower ones on either side. The verandah features highly detailed cast iron columns, arranged in pairs, fretwork brackets, frieze, balustrading and is floored with tessellated tiles and sandstone edging. Both verandah and balcony feature impressive doors with sidelights and transom window as well as 3 full-length windows. The balcony features a corrugated iron bullnose roof.
The house is one of two twin villas along with 'Merioola' (No. 51) next door. There is very little separating the two in design, apart from some slight differences in the decoration work underneath the first floor windows in the main gabled bay. The house is also in excellent condition with all original features appearing to be intact. It is set well back from the street amongst established trees, shrubs and an attractive garden.
Along with 'Merioola' next door, the house contributes greatly to the streetscape of Park Road and both villas paint an imposing and attractive picture when viewed from the street or from the grounds of Burwood Park. Very few of the original homes facing Burwood Park remain, as such, No. 51 & No. 53 serve as an excellent reminder of the numerous high-quality villas, mansions and semi-detached Victorian homes that once existed, facing the park from the surrounding streets. |
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'Malua' is one of two twin villa residences to be built on land from the 1885 subdivision of the Burwood House Estate. On July 11, 1885 an auction sale occured, with the sale of 'Burwood House' and lots fronting Park Road (then known as Riverview terrace or Riverview street), Rowley Street (then known as Rowley Place) and Gordon Street (then known as Burwood Street). 'Burwood House' was sold as Lot 1 with the house on a 206ft by 370ft block of land. Lots 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the subdivision were sold with frontages to Park Road ranging from 60ft to 73ft and depths of around 220ft - each. These lots would for most part be the future locations of the houses at Number 53, 51, 49 and 47 Park Road - all of which still stand today. Two of these lots with 60ft by 220ft blocks of land were purchased for the erection of two identical villa residences - 'Malua' (No. 53) and 'Merioola' (No. 51).[1]
During August 1885, several ads were placed in the Sydney Morning Herald by the architects Ellis and Slatyer to builders for tenders, "for the erection of Two First-class Villa Residences, Riverview-terrace, Burwood." Tenders closed on August 31, 1885.[2] During September, ads could be found for tenders wanted for the brickwork of two villas next to 'Burwood House', indicating that early construction work on the villas had already commenced.[3] By mid to late November ads were found calling for "6 smart carpenters, 6 joiners" for a job at River View-street, Burwood, indicating that most of the brickwork had probably been completed by this point.[4] One final ad was found in early January 1886 calling for a "good joiner" to "Apply stair hand at villas next Burwood House, Burwood".[5] Both villa residences were probably completed by around March 1886.
In late February 1886 'Merioola' appeared on the market for lease, being referred to as the "new" residence between 'Burwood House' and Miss Lester's ('Kent House') and that it would be ready for occupation in about a fortnight. There is no mention made of 'Malua' being next door, suggesting the possibility that 'Merioola' was the first of the two villas to be completed. While 'Merioola' would be put on the market for lease, 'Malua' became home to Miss Laura Hardie, the only daughter of Mr. Robert W. Hardie, a businessman. Mr. Hardie lived at the Victorian mansion 'Ilfracombe' (formerly at No. 61 Park Road - current location of Ilfracombe Avenue). 'Malua' was evidently named after Mr. Hardie's place of birth in Malua, Samoa. While entirely speculatory, it's possible that Mr. Hardie himself purchased the 2 lots of land and commissioned to have the two villas built, with one, No. 53, to become home for his daughter and the other (No. 51) to be used for investment as a rental property.
Miss Hardie would reside at 'Malua' until sometime during 1896, then the house was put on the market for lease in December 1896. The house would continue to appear on the market through to about the end of March 1897 suggesting it took some time before a tenant would be found.[6] During that same year the house was leased to Fanny Amelia Atcherley (nee Lavers), the widow of Stephen Atcherley, whom she married on January 2, 1889.[7] Stephen Atcherley (d. 1894)[8][9] was a tea merchant who along with Thomas Carr Dawson (d. 1899),[10] founded the firm Atcherley & Dawson, tea merchants, operating from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Fanny Atcherley would reside at 'Malua' for about 3 years and then depart for Melbourne. In March 1900, an auction sale of personal effects and items from the residence occured due to her departure[11] and the house would soon be leased to Rev. R. Scott West.[12] After the departure of Rev. Scott West in 1904, the house appeared on the market for sale for the first time. The ad goes into good detail describing the house including it's land as having a 60ft frontage facing the park and a depth of 200ft (a later ad in 1921 would list the depth as 218ft).[13]
By around 1917, the house was occupied by the Kemp family. On October 18, 1917, Phillip Sydney King Kemp, a resident of the house and husband of Gertrude Laura Kemp was killed in France while serving in World War I.[14] About 4 years later the house would appear on the market for sale again[15] this time being purchased by Nigel Cherry Willis, a solicitor.[16] The Willis family would reside at the house well into the 1930's and around 1934, Mr. Willis would form a partnership with a Mr. John Corcoran and establish the legal firm N. Cherry Willis, and Corcoran, Solicitors.[17]
Acknowledgements & Thanks: Atcherley.co.uk |
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