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Banyule Homestead
A c. 1849[1] etching of the homestead
by the Yarra
Banyule Homestead is located in Melbourne
Banyule Homestead
Location of the homestead
in Greater Metropolitan Melbourne
Map
Alternative names
Banyule
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeHomestead
Architectural style
Elizabethan Old Colonial Gothic Revival
Location60 Buckingham Drive, Heidelberg, Yarra Ranges, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates37°44′53″S 145°05′01″E / 37.74813°S 145.08373°E / -37.74813; 145.08373
Completed
1846; 180 years ago (1846)
Renovated1908; 1975–1977
ClientJoseph Hawdon
Technical details
Material
Grounds
  • 263 ha (650 acres) (1896)
  • 9,100 m2 (98,000 sq ft) (2019)
Design and construction
ArchitectJohn Gill
Renovating team
Renovating firm
Official name
Banyule Homestead
TypeRegistered place
Designated9 October 1974
Reference no.H0926
HO13
Category
Residential buildings (private)
Official name
Banyule Homestead
TypeDefunct register
Designated21 March 1978
Reference no.5613

The Banyule Homestead, more commonly known as Banyule, is a heritage-listed homestead located at 60 Buckingham Drive, Heidelberg, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[2]

Built in 1846 on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people, the homestead was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 9 October 1974 in recognition of its historical and architectural significance;[3] and was also added to the non-statutory and now defunct Register of the National Estate on 21 March 1978,[4] and a non-statutory local government list on an unknown date.[5]

History

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Banyule was built in 1846 for Joseph Hawdon to a design by John Gill, a colonial architect. Hawdon was an Englishman who came to Australia in 1834, and in 1836 joined John Gardiner and John Hepburn to be among the first to overland cattle from New South Wales to Port Phillip. Hawdon settled in Port Phillip and became prominent in local affairs and in colonial society.[3]

In 1845, Hawdon commissioned Gill, a prominent Melbourne architect of the 1840s and 1850s, to design a house on land overlooking the Yarra at Heidelberg, set on 263 hectares (650 acres).[6] Heidelberg in the 1840s was a desirable location for the rural retreats of the colonial gentry, including Robert Martin, Thomas Wills, and R. H. Browne.[7]

Gill designed several houses in medieval styles, and Banyule is his only known house completed in the Elizabethan Old Colonial Gothic Revival style, which was more common in Sydney than in Melbourne at the time.[3] Subsequent residents of note at Banyule included James Graham, William Mitchell and Dr Robert Martin.[8] Graham and his wife developed an extensive garden on the site in the 1860s.[3]

By the 1890s, the homestead was situated on 300 hectares (750 acres) and was developed as a dairy farm during the 1940s. During the 1950s and 1960s, the homestead was extensively subdivided as part of a residential estate, amid some controversy.[6][9][10][11][12]

Recent history

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From 1975 to 1977, the house was altered to provide a gallery space for the National Gallery of Victoria's Heidelberg School Collection.[3] The property was subsequently sold and returned into private hands in 1995,[13] purchased for A$815,000.[14] A 2011 proposal to subdivide the property received significant criticism.[15] The owner listed the property for sale in 2014,[16] and was eventually sold in 2017 in an unrenovated condition for A$5.2 million.[17] An application by its new owners to Banyule City Council in 2017 to convert the property into a function centre was contested by the community, Banyule Estate Residents Group and the Heidelberg Historical Society.[18] This application was rejected, as was a later appeal.[19] Subsequently renovated, the eight-bedroom 9,100-square-metre (98,000 sq ft) property was sold again in 2019 for an undisclosed price.[20][21]

In 2015, the house was a setting for The Ex-PM, a comedic mini-series written by and stared Shaun Micallef.[22][23]

Description

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Banyule is a two-storey house of rendered brick on sandstone footings. The roof was originally at least partly shingled, replaced by slate by 1867. Banyule is predominantly Elizabethan in style, and its Flemish gables, crenellated oriel, pepper-pot pinnacles and chimney groups result in a most picturesque skyline. The 1846 house had three main rooms asymmetrically arranged on the ground floor and a fine staircase leading to the six rooms on the first floor. Gothic forms were used for interior details such as mantelpieces, cornices, doors and architraves. The detached two-roomed kitchen block to the north-east might have been built in c. 1843, before the main house. In 1908 there were major additions, designed by the architects Klingender & Alsop: a two-storey wing, in a style sympathetic to the original, was added to the south-east, and on the north side the kitchen block was linked to the house. In 1922 repair work was done under the supervision of A & K Henderson. In 1975–1977 the house was altered by Yuncken Freeman Architects for use by the National Gallery of Victoria. This involved the removal of internal walls and doors, filling in of fireplaces, and the removal of a chimney. It is now again a private residence.[3]

The grounds have been reduced in size, and later development, including the building of a tennis court and swimming pool, has altered the landscape. Remnants of the early garden planting, including cypress trees, paths and walls remain. The main feature of the garden is a very large and prominent Blue Atlas Cedar, (Cedrus atlantica f. glauca) in the front garden.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Gilbert, G. A. The residence of Joseph Hawdon, Esq. (H6638), c. 1849 (drawing: pencil and Chinese white on tinted paper) – via State Library Victoria.
  2. ↑ Australian Council of National Trusts (1985). Historic homesteads of Australia. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Reed. ISBN 978-0-908198-24-5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Banyule Homestead, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H0926, Heritage Overlay HO13". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "Banyule Homestead (Place ID 5613)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 21 March 1978. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  5. ↑ "Banyule Homestead". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 "The Shrinking Banyule Estate" (blog). Banyule Homestead. n.d. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  7. ↑ "The Suburbs of Melbourne". The Age. No. 24, 655. 21 April 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 11 September 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "MELBOURNE'S HISTORIC HOMES". The Age. 8 April 1933. p. 5. Retrieved 19 May 2020 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "Banyule Estate Subdivision Affair of 1958: Part 1". Heidelberg Historical Society. n.d. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  10. ↑ "Banyule Estate Subdivision Affair of 1958: Part 2". Heidelberg Historical Society. n.d. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  11. ↑ "Banyule Estate Subdivision Affair of 1958: Part 3". Heidelberg Historical Society. n.d. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  12. ↑ "Banyule Estate Subdivision Affair of 1958: Part 4". Heidelberg Historical Society. n.d. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  13. ↑ "History: 1960–2012" (blog). Banyule Homestead. 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  14. ↑ Chancellor, Jonathan (23 April 2015). "Boomtime Banyule at Heidelberg for May auction". Apartments.com.au. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  15. ↑ Carey, Adam (8 October 2011). "Slice of Heidelberg history spurs planning row". The Age. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  16. ↑ Hutchinson, Samantha (28 April 2014). "Banyule estate in Melbourne for sale". Financial Review. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  17. ↑ D'Arcy, Jayne (16 October 2017). "Banyule Homestead sells for $5.2 million". Domain.com.au. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  18. ↑ "Banyule Homestead update". Warringal Conservation Society. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  19. ↑ Buckingham Drive Pty Ltd v Banyule City Council [2018] VCAT 1285 (24 August 2018), Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Victoria)
  20. ↑ "60-74 Buckingham Drive, Heidelberg". Jellis Craig Real Estate. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  21. ↑ Smiles, Jayitri (2 May 2019). "Banyule Homestead to be restored and lived in after off-market sale". Leader Community News. Retrieved 9 September 2026 – via realestate.com.au.
  22. ↑ McMahon, Neil (21 July 2015). "Shaun Micallef steps into the PM's shoes in new ABC comedy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  23. ↑ "The Ex-PM". Shaun Micallef Online. 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2026.

Further reading

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  • Allom Lovell & Associates (April 1989). Banyule Conservation Report (Report).
  • Butler, Graeme (November 1985). Heidelberg Conservation Study (Report). Vol. Part 1.
  • Heidelberg Heritage Study (Report). Melbourne, Victoria: Heidelberg City Council. 1985.
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Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Banyule Homestead at Wikimedia Commons

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