July 2018, updated 2026:

A terracepair at 47-49 #RobeStreetStKilda that’s not only beautiful (Lin lovely #heritagecolours yay!) but unusual in many respects.

Built 1867 and probably designed by the owner/builder William Allen, they look more lacy and light than other terraces because the cast-iron has flat lacy columns instead of posts (hardly ever used in Melb), also used on the end and in the middle where normally there would be solid walls on the upper level. And they’re three storeys with a lightwell ‘area’ in front and no rear wings, more like London terraces.

An early tenant was John Figsby Young, of Young & Jackson’s, hence one name, while Farnham was an early suggested name for St Kilda. Manning Clarke was another early tenant, but didn’t score a name (Hmmm I think the names might date from quite recent years). But the most famous tenants were #AlbertTucker and #JoyHester, who lived in the upstarts front room in Figsby for about a year 1945-46. Tucker painted his #ImagesofModernEvil series here, and no 24 depicts the cast iron ! Joy had Sweeney while she was here.

After many years as guest/boarding houses, they were renovated in c1980.

Update : Only Fareham has sold in recent decades, in 2014, when the cast iron on Figsby was blue. My photo of 2018 shows it all a matching, but now it’s slightly different shades (pics 4,5).

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