The following is from an article (one in a series on Melbourne’s Historic homes) on Banyule Homestead published in The Age 28 April 1933.
Completed in 1846, this was the home of Joseph Hawdon, overlander and pioneer settler
The walls made of sandstone 3 feet thick were quarried on the site. There are no windows in the front of the house on the lower floor. Embrasures are there to suggest that they were part of the design, but the original plan explodes the idea. The timber for the ceiling, rafters, doors, floors were imported from England and are made of teak and cedar. The whole house reveals ship work – the joisting, dovetailing and wooden pegs hold the timber in the 20 roomed house. A plain, narrow but substantial stairway leads from a rambling large hall, off which march spacious dining, drawing and lounge rooms, full of antiques collected by Mr Gordon Lyons.
The house belongs to the early pastoral era of Victoria. Until 1850 the country was regarded as the distinctively aristocratic locality.. the beauty of the river, serene and quiet, romantic aspect of the place gave it an early reputation amongst the Melbourne men of means who sought a site for a country residence.
Such men as Hawdon, Smyth, McArthur, Bolden Mr Justice Willis were all local celebrities who built good homes, and laid out farm yards and made the place notable for its elegance.
Image: Unsigned watercolour of Banyule Homestead. From the collection of Heidelberg Historical Society
The Age Series in 1933 about “Melbourne’s Historic Homes” was written by “C.E.S” Do you know who the author was?
Thanks Susan,
We do not know who “C.E.S.” was. Some further searches on Trove might unravel this.