Classic Federation Houses

Two elaborate Federation houses and a Melbourne 'Edwardian' home, the styles of which look back to earlier times

Table of Contents

Two elaborate Federation houses and a Melbourne 'Edwardian' home, the styles of which look back to earlier times

1. Tukurua, 1-9 Rosendo Street, Cottesloe WA 6011

Chinese inspect Tukurua, the iconic $50 million Cottesloe trophy mansion

FIRST TIME EVER OFFERED IN HISTORY!

Andrew Forrest plans to house Syrian refugees in Perth mansion

2. 'Lugano', 17 Victoria Square, Ashfield NSW 2131

3. GLENVALE - Circa 1910 1 Barkly Street, Brunswick East VIC 3057

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Sourced from three different States of Australia, here are three very different houses, all built in Federation times, but with varying internal styles.
Two of these houses have never been sold before in their century old existence.

Tukurua, 1-9 Rosendo St. Cottesloe WA		Glenvale, 1 Barkly Street,
Tukurua, (1896) 1-9 Rosendo Street, Cottesloe WA 6011 Recently completely renovated, and possibly sold for the first time to Twiggy Forrest for $16 million, then again, probably notdestined for asylum seeker occupation!	Lugano, Circa 1916 - 17 Victoria Square, Ashfield NSW 2131 Expectations are set at more than $3 million for the grand Federation mansion, complete with original timber panelling, servant’s bell and an original 1917 bathroom.	Glendale, (1910) 1 Barkly Street, Brunswick East VIC 3057 An impressive grand unrenovated 1910 Edwardian home, boasts an array of original period features.

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1. Tukurua, 1-9 Rosendo Street, Cottesloe WA 6011

• See also Cottesloe Federation Heritage, W.A.
• Heritage Registered in WA
  

JONATHAN CHANCELLOR | 2 SEPTEMBER 2014

Chinese inspect Tukurua, the iconic $50 million Cottesloe trophy mansion

Tukurua was built in 1896 as the summer residence of Western Australia’s first attorney-general, Sir Septimus Burt, handsome double storey residence sited on a gently sloping block on the corner of Rosendo Street and Marine Terrace. 

The beach-front property is located on the corner of Marine Parade and Rosendo Street, Co

• Burt's home was a substantial house, Strawberry Hill, in Adelaide Terrace, which had originally been owned by the Stone family but was purchased by Archibald Burt and extended by the prominent architect J. Talbot Hobbs to accommodate Septimus's large family of ten children ranging in ages from four to twenty-three years.
• Septimus also owned a riverside holiday home in Peppermint Grove, from which the family cruised the Swan River in their own steam boat Titu, one of only two in the colony.
• In 1896, Burt commissioned a second holiday home from architect, R. T. McMasters, to be built in the newly fashionable, beach area of Cottesloe.
• Around 1933, one of the Burt children rented the property to the Cass family, whose bed and breakfast made sufficient profit to then buy the property in 1939. During World War II, it served as military headquarters for officers and then as a home for refugee families after the fall of Singapore.
• Their daughter, Dorothea Cass left it to her friend of many decades Ted Smith in 1994, when it was valued at $4 million. It has had a $5 million six year renovation.
• The grand mansion, with 10 bedrooms and six bathrooms, at 1-9 Rosendo Street, has been listed through Frank Torre, at House Real Estate, Cottesloe.
• Already there has been Chinese buyer interest.

FIRST TIME EVER OFFERED IN HISTORY!

TWENTY years ago, Ted Smith inherited a grand but faded beachfront mansion at Cottesloe and set about ­restoring it to its former glory.
The massive restoration started in 2003 and took six years with up to 14 tradesmen on-site at any time. Smith ­remembers working 17-hour days. The historic house had been ravaged by the salt and wind.

• “All of the outside wooden verandas had to be demolished and not one metre of wood could be re-used. Plenty of people didn’t think I would be able to do it, but I think that people generally credit me with doing a good job,” Ted, 80, says humbly.
• Tukurua was built in 1896 as the summer residence of Western Australia’s first attorney-general, Sir Septimus Burt, and his large family. In 1933, one of the Burt children rented the property to Mr and Mrs Berry Cass, who established a successful bed-and-breakfast there and made sufficient profit to buy the property in 1939.
• Their daughter, Dorothea Cass, was one of the first women to graduate from the University of Western Australia and worked as a journalist and radio programmer. She inherited Tukurua and, on her death in 1994, left it to her friend of many decades Ted Smith.
• Smith had lived in a weatherboard cottage on the grounds since 1973 and said he owed it to his friend to ­restore her family’s beautiful home. “Dorothea worked hard to keep this land together and went through great privation,” Smith says. “I think she left it to me because she knew I wasn’t a drinker, I didn’t squander my money and I was good at finances.”

Humble beginnings: This is how the property looked before extensive restoration

When he inherited the property in 1994, it was valued at $4 million. Twenty years later the grand mansion, with 10 bedrooms and six bathrooms, is expected to sell for about $50m. Key to its appeal is the large block, 5001sq m, overlooking beautiful Cottesloe beach. Ted has loved the space and the fresh air of living so close to the beach but is finally ready to downsize.

• Cottesloe is a beachside suburb of Perth, located halfway between the city’s central business district and the port of Fremantle. The median house price in Cottesloe was $1.76 million in May, according to RP Data. The median in wider Perth was $540,000.
• Address: ‘Tukurua’, 1-9 Rosendo Street, Cottesloe, Perth, $50m.

Mr Smith says it's time for him to downsize from the sprawling property

• Andrew Forrest plans to house Syrian refugees in Perth mansion

• THE AUSTRALIAN, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 1:41PM
• Andrew Burrell, WA Chief Reporter, Perth

Mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest plans to house scores of Syrian refugees at a 21-room luxury mansion opposite Perth’s famous Cottesloe Beach — as long as he can convince the elderly resident of the property to settle on the controversial sale and leave.

• Mr Forrest, who is locked in a dispute with 81-year-old Ted Smith, has won the backing of the federal and state governments to use the property to accommodate some of the 12,000 Syrians who will start arriving in Australia by Christmas.
• He will co-operate with government agencies and will also use staff from his own philanthropic group Minderoo to help ease the refugees’ transition into Australian society.
• The billionaire and his family had initially intended to live at the historic property, which has sweeping views of the Indian Ocean, but they will now remain at their current (Federation Queen Anne) house, also in Cottesloe.

Ted Smith, the elderly owner of Tukurua mansion in Cottesloe.

• It is unclear whether residents of the genteel area will be receptive to Mr Forrest’s bold plan.
• Sources close to Mr Forrest said the idea to open the house to refugees came from his daughter Grace, 22, earlier this week. Grace also inspired Mr Forrest and his wife Nicola to get involved in their mission to eradicate global slavery.

The Australian revealed last week that Mr Forrest had signed a contract to buy the property known as Tukurua — a 21-room mansion on 5000sq m of prime beachfront land — for $16 million.

• But Mr Smith, who has lived at Tukurua for 43 years, is refusing to settle on the sale or move out, claiming his real estate agent pressured him to sell the home in just 30 minutes and that he had no idea what he was doing.
• A Perth psychiatrist has assessed Mr Smith as being mentally incapable of assessing the wisdom of the transaction when it was presented to him in March.

However, Mr Forrest claims Mr Smith knew what he was doing and is refusing to settle because he has “seller’s remorse”.

• Cottesloe heritage-listed coastal mansion Tukurua on property market for first time in 100 years
• CLAIRE BICKERS, PERTHNOW, JULY 29, 2014 2:28PM

Cottesloe heritage property Tukurua has gone on sale for the first time in more than 100

Cottesloe heritage property Tukurua has gone on sale for the first time in more than 100 years. The beach-front property is located on the corner of Marine Parade and Rosendo Street.

• IT’S the empty Cottesloe block that has had developers drooling for decades.
• Sitting opposite the beach in Perth’s most sought-after coastal suburb, the 2000sqm parcel of vacant land went on sale along with one of Perth’s most “exceptional” heritage properties for the first time in more than 100 years this week.
• The whole property, known as Tukurua, is located on a 5000sqm parcel which is estimated to be worth about $50m — a price point that would smash records for the area.
• If sold, it would become Perth’s second most expensive home purchase, after Angela Bennett’s Mosman Park estate sold in 2009 for $57.5m.

The beach-front property is located on the corner of Marine Parade and Rosendo Street, Cottesloe

The grand heritage home sits elevated on the back half of the property with an empty lot in front.

• From the home’s wraparound balconies, it offers spectacular ocean views.
• For people driving by on Marine Parade, it’s a glimpse into what life was like for WA’s wealthy elite more than a century ago.

The 2000sqm parcel of vacant land adjacent will be highly sought after by developers.

Built in 1896, the home was the summer residence of WA’s first attorney general, Septimus Burt.

• The house is listed on the State Heritage Register with an indefinite interim extension, which offers it all the protection of the Act.
• But the vacant block in front could potentially be developed into some of the most sought-after property in Perth.

Inside Tukurua — a bedrioom with uninterrupted views of Cottesloe Beach.

Architecture Institute of Australia WA president Philip Griffiths, a heritage specialist, said the ideal development would be to turn the block back into a garden.

• “But that’s not going to happen,” Mr Griffiths said.
• “The important thing is for the prime views to be retained. A combination of one and two storeys would be acceptable.”

This leadlight is not Art Nouveau but gothic Queen Anne style	This leadlighting is not Art Nouveau but geometric Victorian era style

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2. 'Lugano', 17 Victoria Square, Ashfield NSW 2131

Circa 1916 - stately period home in exclusive setting

• Heritage Registered in NSW
• 'Legal manouevres' Sep 4, 2015 Lucy Macken

Carroll & O’Dea partner Howard Harrison and his fellow lawyer wife Anne Clarke were no sooner whispered to be the more than $2.5 million buyers of the Redfern home of High Court Judge Virginia Bell than they have listed their Ashfield prize, "Lugarno".

• Expectations are set at more than $3 million for the grand Federation mansion, complete with original timber panelling, servant’s bell and an original 1917 bathroom.

The grand Federation home, "Lugano", 17 Victoria Square Ashfield

Built for former Ryde alderman William Thomas Rabone, the property became a regular hangout for the King of Tonga Taufa’ahau Tupou IV when he was at Newington College, before the Rabone family sold it in 1967.

• Having last traded in 1991 for $725,000, the statement home goes to auction on September 19 through Harris Tripp’s Virginia Nicoll.

This Federation home has Victorian era Scottish-themed leadlight.

One of the area's finest period homes, 'Lugano' is a property of grand proportions and distinguished style. The grand residence offers splendid original features, exceptional entertaining areas and a large landscaped garden with a swimming pool. Regarded as The Best Address, it stands moments from Trinity Grammar and is within Summer Hill Public School catchment.

17 Victoria Square Ashfield

- Four/Five bedrooms, two bathrooms, elegant library, deluxe marble kitchen, graceful formal lounge, grand formal dining room

Edwardian style fireplace surrounds, but in marble, not timber.

- Spectacular light-filled living room, casual dining room, covered bbq area, large sandstone entertaining space

Pressed metal ceilings at 17 Victoria Square Ashfield

- Eight fireplaces, ducted a/c, polished timber floors, majestic leadlight door, high ceilings, huge attic storage area

Window nook, pressed metal ceilings and Federation era fireplace at Lugano, 17 Victoria Square, Ashfield

- Manicured gardens, heated swimming pool, sun-soaked upper level terrace, rear lane access to automatic garage

17 Victoria Square Ashfield

• Land size: approximately 715 square metres
• Internal size: approximately 335 square metres
• Council rates: approximately $2,791.00 per annum
• Water rates: approximately $780.00 per annum

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3. GLENVALE - Circa 1910 1 Barkly Street, Brunswick East VIC 3057

Executors Auction

The Warburton family home offered for the first time in 105 years

• Classic in design this impressive grand unrenovated Edwardian boasts an array of period features. The ornate entrance feature delicate lead light windows, deep and richer in colour are highlighted by the barleycorn twisted cast iron posts and lattice work greet you as you approach this classic home.

  Art Nouveau leadlight at 1 Barkly Street, Brunswick East VIC

• Beyond the elaborate entrance a wide passage way leads to 3 well proportioned bedrooms featuring individual pressed metal ceilings and ornate open fire places.

  Ornate ceiling, cornice and Edwardian timber fireplace, picture rails.

• The formal lounge room is equally adorned and leads to the bathroom and maids room. The kitchen with original Kookaburra stove plus walk-in pantry and cellar is located to the rear of the property.
• Bluestone pathways lead to the maids’ quarters and onto the original stables that housed the Clydesdale horses that worked the quarry, which was located at the rear of the property from the 1840’s.

Unrenovated century-old home fetches $3.4 million at auction

• Sep 12, 2015, Emily Power Prestige reporter
• Once in a century sale

An unrenovated Brunswick East Federation house sold for $3.4 million at its first ever auction. 

• Video by Alistair Walsh and Emily Power.
• Developers fought hard for the time capsule Edwardian (of timber construction), with locals worried it would be pulled down.

A time capsule home in Brunswick East – on the market for the first time in more than a century – has soared $1.6 million over reserve.
The relic Edwardian, built 105 years ago, was bought by a developer for $3.4 million at auction on Saturday.

The buyer, who will restore the unrenovated property at 1 Barkly Street and subdivide the land at the rear – to build townhouses – beat four other bidders for the keys.

Glenvale - 1 Barkly Street, Brunswick East, Victoria. Photo: Supplied

“You literally walk up to the front door and you do step back in time,” said agent and auctioneer Alex Djorgonoski​.

• The home was immediately on the market with an attempted knock-out bid of $2 million, against a reserve of $1.8 million.
• From the moment the 1910 home named Glenvale – with stables that once kept Clydesdales and maid’s quarters at the back – came on the market, it was in danger of being torn down.

The enormous block raised the interest of the local church group and developers. Photo: Supplied

Mr Djorgonoski, from Nicholson Real Estate, said locals at open for inspections told him they were concerned the grand old three bedroom house would be razed.

• A heritage overlay applies only to the original paint colour.
• “It wasn’t particularly registered for the house, in other words there was an opportunity that someone could come here and actually pull it down,” Mr Djorgonoski said.
• The home has original lead-light windows throughout.

The home has original lead-light windows throughout. Photo: Supplied

“Even though we were all pushing to buyers to make sure they preserved it, because there is value in the property because it is so unique.

• “Ultimately a town planning permit could have been issued for demolition.”
• Mr Djorgonoski said a range of buyers were in contention at the auction, from the neighbouring church group – whose budget didn’t stretch far enough – to developers to an owner-occupier.
• Decades old decor was unearthed during a huge clean-up by the executors of the owner's will.

Decades old decor was unearthed during a huge clean-up by the executors of the owner's will. Photo: Supplied

“It has captured people’s imagination,” he said.

• “When we first visited the property we couldn’t enter the front part of the house because it was blocked up with bric-a-brac.”
• The late owner, Eric Rushka, was a German immigrant who boarded at Glenvale and inherited it from the original owners, the Warburton family.

The antique Early Kooka stove.

The antique Early Kooka stove. Photo: Supplied

The executor of Mr Rushka’s will, friend Carol Andrews, spent months with her husband and children clearing decades of clutter to reveal Glenvale’s untouched, period grandeur, including leadlight windows, brass light switches, pressed metal ceilings, an intricate fretwork verandah, a vintage Early Kooka stove and ornate fireplaces.

• A working gramophone, decades-old newspapers displayed on a hall stand, a photo of Mr Rushka by the door, vintage cookbooks in the kitchen, and sepia portraits of the Warburtons – all discovered during the clean-up – added to its romance.
• Relatives in Europe are beneficiaries of Mr Rushka’s will.