11 October 2017:
#LostMelbourne (well, there’s bits left) #ClivedenMansion was built 1887-88, designed by #WilliamWardell for ‘Australia’s only Baronet’ Sir William Clarke, with the usual 20 bedrooms, ballroom, and craftsmen brought out from Italy to do the marble and stuff. In 1909 became luxury flats with an added floor, then demolished in 1968 for Melbourne’s first #HiltonHotel, a bricky brutalist thing, that included the ‘Cliveden Room’ reusing some of the best bits.
Rather shocked when I went in 6 months ago looking for this famous room, and not finding it – only to discover that last year most of the items were sold off at auction as part of a sweeping renovation by #RotheLowman of what’s been known as the Pullman in the Park for a few years now. The items, except a few windows, went to auction at #Aingers in March 2017. At least not destroyed, but lost from public view.
Update : the fabbo big window, the doors and the fireplace were purchased by the Campbell-Pretty Family, presumably at the auction, then donated to the #NationalGalleryVictoria, and the big window is on display at the Ian Potter right now.
The NGV are calling it the Welcome Window, and they say its 1887, John William BROWN (designer), JAMES POWELL & SONS aka WHITEFRIARS GLASS WORKS, London. Photo of the window in its new home set into a wall at the NGVA. Unfortunately they’ve illuminated it with multiple small lights, so it looks rather spotty.
Storey of Melbourne 
I worked there and lived there funny looking back at pictures working there Was like in another time ..worked six days a week long hours
Memories came flooding back ….
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Te me more !
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The Hilton Hotel on the park, first opened in 1974, I started working there on November 1978, I can still remember when in 1984 for the tenth anniversary of the opening of the hotel, the Hilton had baked a fruit cake and distributed in the city of Melbourne. In the early years was a nice place to work, it was hard being a housemaid but it was fun and the staff friendly, it got very bad towards the end in the late 1990’s. I was lucky to have dined at the Cliveden with my husband and enjoyed the old decoration of the restaurant.
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